Taken at face value it’s undoubtedly a beautifully crafted album of minimalist ambient electronic pop imbued with subtle elegance, replete with remarkably frank lyrics. ... Whilst lyrically Midnights doesn’t quite match the poetic grandeur of folklore and evermore, there’s plenty of fun to be had, even Swift’s less elegant rhymes don’t jar, served up as they are, with a knowing wink and delivered in an engaging, relatable conversational tone.

Yet another excellent album from the Bay Area metallers, and long may it continue.

Far from that folksy, laid-back image, Helplessness Blues confirms Fleet Foxes' place as one of the most exacting, creative, and straight-up best bands making music in 2011.

Purple is an enjoyable ride that's unlikely to disappoint avowed fans of the band. But playing it safe and not advancing their thesis substantially invites comparisons to earlier artifacts of their sonic template, artifacts that shine brighter than the present one.

Throughout, Sumney's gifted voice is a constant source of fascination and pushes the beauty of Aromanticism to triumphant heights.

Compared with Reward, these songs fill up greater volumes, but they still in many ways feel like companion pieces, united by a reverential dedication to the oblique as the direct, the spasm as control, the heart as the mind.

The New Pornographers shine because every member gets their due. [#10, p.107]

Overall, your enjoyment of this album will depend on your patience and appreciation for Kozelek's idiosyncrasies. Sometimes he pulls it off wonderfully, and other times listeners might wish he'd left a little more to the imagination.

As hope, there are revealing looks at Smith's developments as a writer. [#17, p.87]

It's a lot to digest. [#14]

In all, Semper Femina is powerful display of Marling's craft and, the album's driving force, love.

Deceptive in its superficial simplicity, Heartmind is an album that demands, then requites, love and attention. It’s at times evasive, often ambiguous, always sophisticated, and never much less than compelling. For those willing to dedicate their time to exploring its shadowy riches, it’s a gratifying if elusory pleasure.

Though the work on L'Intrus is rather lean, overall the set showcases how these soundtracks find the group in their element. [May 2011, p.90]

Old LP is a steady, hard-won set of songs that unfold after many, compounded listens. The album took many years, many rehearsals, and many short, crammed studio sessions to record, but the reward becomes clearer with each listen.

Big, small, loud, quiet, but all tethered to the earth with the same level of care. Pennant line to mooring, mooring to chain, chain to anchor, but free to drift with the tides. All of them lovely and lit from within.

This is a document of one man’s mission to highlight the imperfections, inadequacies, and injustices of right-wing policies, tell the stories of ordinary folk, and give voice to the voiceless; it’s a volume of solidarity, both political and personal—something Billy Bragg will always be the standard bearer for.

Furman's outright ramshackle approach has lost its charm as his songs have become messy and overbearing. These songs are fun but confusing. They lack the allure of the straight-talking, catchy riffs which made his name.

As Wild Beasts records tend to go, Smother is par for the course in terms of its opulent eccentricities and its magnificently polished arrangements. This time around, though, the Beasts have been tamed. Frankly, that's a disappointment.

Stripped for much of the time of the horns and orchestral adornment of the first disc, Newsom turns a celebration into a confessional. Just when it seems Newsom couldn't possibly have any more rabbits in her hat, the third disc contains some gospel flourishes that concentrate her voice in a whole new way, bending down low to grab some bit of soul.

Five demos supplement this reissue, and they only serve to reaffirm the nature of Artist Proof as definitive. [Mar-Apr 2013, p.103]

If My Wife New I’d Be Dead is a promising debut from an artist who certainly knows how to craft a tune.

The piano-led “Drive Myself Home” at the album’s midpoint is perhaps the most obvious Suede sounding song on the record for those familiar with the band’s extensive back catalogue. But it’s towards the tail end of Autofiction when the record gathers momentum once more, particularly on “It’s Always the Quiet Ones”—which is reminiscent of Night Time-era Killing Joke—and closing couplet “What Am I Without You?” and “Turn Off Your Brain and Yell.”

This is a superb record, a spirted illustration of sepia-tinged Americana that feels linked inextricably with Animal Collective's "Merriweather Post Pavillion" as one of the not only most hyped, but also finest records of 2009. [Spring 2009, p.66]

Those two ["Cool & Collected" and "Donnie Darko"] towers loom over an otherwise sterile pop album, which lacks the hidden barbs and hazy ambiguity that drew Let's Eat Grandma's cult following.

In an era of scripted and calculated music, the fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants Dirty Projectors thrill at every blind turn they barrel through. [Summer 2009, p.65]

Captures a band at the height of their creative powers. [#12, p.95]

Classic Objects is an album of stories and meditations. Jenny Hval treats them like classic objects, ones that deserve care when handled. Yet these objects are far from fragile—bubbling synth pulses and rolling percussions evolve into climactic crescendos and back again.

He is just as self-effacing, funny, and principled as ever. He is still creating quality additions to one of the most consistent punk discographies out there. Most importantly, his music is still an absolute blast to experience, looking towards an uncertain future with a beautiful collective spirit.