Singer Nathan Willett's voice comes off as wandering over uninspired changes. [Jun-Jul 2013, p.97]

A mostly dull record of disco-lite. [#17, p.98]

The arrangements are too cumbersome to stand in service of the underdeveloped songs, relegating Clem Anide's delayed finale as further testament to their unfulfilled potential. [Winter 2009, p.70]

Rather than being a well-planned effort, the record is perhaps a means of casual, off-the-cuff catharsis for the artist. [#8, p.116]

Snow Patrol got it all wrong with this album. [Summer 2006, p.93]

He is a mimic of fine abilities, but he has always sounded like whatever group he’s glommed onto.

Much of the songwriting presented here also feels fairly stock. [Spring 2009, p.66]

It's an uneven album, often too earnest to be clever, which will leave listeners missing the strength and humor of his other work. [Fall 2009, p.65]

Arctic Monkeys' Alex Turner can pull off this kind of mopey swagger while still tapping toes, but for all of their infectious dance-floor grooves, The Wombats could stand to lighten up a bit.

Most of the songs on this record float by, leaving little or no impression. [#7]

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin continue their downward slide on Let It Sway. Much of the new disc lacks the variety that was spread over their debut in favor of a straightforward power-pop sound found on most of the 12 tracks here. [Summer 2010, p.80]

It's catchy sometimes, but the fuzzy punk-pop stretches itself pretty thin over a full-length. [Mar 2012, p.87]

While it shows flashes of brilliance it also exposes Toledo's early shortcomings as a songwriter. Filled with angst and the genuine spunk of Toledo's frantic guitars, Twin Fantasy is also erratic and inconsistent.

Dilla's legacy is invincible at this point, a point proved by the endless artists that still shout him out on their records. However, any lesser musician's entire discography would be forever tarnished by a release as lackluster as The Diary.

Ultimately the uninspired songwriting renders European Heartbreak incapable of being a worthwhile investment of your listening time. [Aug - Oct 2018, p.75]

Sadly, post-rock heroes Mogwai continue to plod along by either replicating their former triumphs in a less effective, less effecting, and generally sheeny-shinier manner or by loafing around with the cack-handed utilization of "progressive" electronic elements.

Pleasant, yes, amd occassionally clever--but if the band can't commit to it, why should you? [Winter 2010, p.72]

It was recorded live on a porch in Maryland, and which only serves to remind listeners how frustrating the band can be. Of course, the flip side of this is how far they've come. [Holiday 2009, p.80]

Maria too often comes across as someone who gives so much of herself to this record in an attempt to believe her own lie. [Spring 2009, p.76]

of the songs on Baby Darling Doll Face Honey have forgettable lyrics, bland, fuzz-wah guitar noodling, and an overwhelming sense of melodrama.

Volcano Choir is asking various musical questions here, and the overall answer is yes, there does come a point where things fall apart. [Fall 2009, p.68]

Paradise sounds contemporary in the worst way, instantly dated and likely soon forgotten by any new audience the band might find.

Lo-Fang tries to do too much on his debut album, Blue Film.

It would be hard to argue that the set is worth its price (for true fans, the deluxe version comes in a working amp!), but even the most cynical could find a lot of value in downloading the first seven songs of Disc One from the digital music distributor of their choice.

There's no denyng the quality of the musicianship on show here, but on a majority of tracks this descends into 1980s metal wankery. [Jun/Jul 2013, p.99]

Despite the occasional clever line or particularly striking melody, the album is largely unremarkable. [#17, p.96]

It’s as if all of these songs are the equivalent of a nutty tossed-off filler track that might close side one of an album as a joke. None of the songs are developed beyond the point of cartoonish posturing and none have much to recommend them musically.

Too much of the record comprises exhausting dancehall ballads.

Much of the record blurs into a monochromatic lull, plodding listlessly despite Peterson's fastidious production. [Spring 2009, p.76]

The album suffers both a lack of the compromise that comes with collaboration, and an inability to identify then serve the muse that all of his characters are whining about. [Spring 2009, p.70]

Neither opera nor house, The False Alarms disappoints in every possible way. [Mar-Apr 2013, p.92]

It's all just a mediocre, rewarming of Nothing Hurts. [Jul 2011, p.81]

The familiarity may be pleasing, but you may ultimately be disappointed when you realize that the original somngs they're emulating are so much better. [Winter 2009, p.81]

Where Forever was inspired by the excesses of Drake et al, wherein an album is more a morass of disconnected ideas, the suitably titled Small World narrows Mount’s vision. But without the creative divergences of its predecessor, you’re left with a fairly forgettable mush, saved only by its brevity.

The come off as Decemberists-light, and never find a spark. [Summer 2009, p.60]

There are some cacthy hooks buried deep in the goop. [Feb 2011, p.72]

Overall, Drake's dreamscapes lack the vibrancy to capture even our most alert attention. [Jul 2011, p.84]

Listening to The Place just makes you wish they were a bit happier and having a bit more fun with it. [Fall 2010, p.69]

So samey are these tracks that you could sequence them all in a completely different, random order, and the album would still sound exactly the same.

There’s an anonymity that seeps into the lyrics as well, as Knapp’s conversational tone makes them seem off-the-cuff. [Summer 2008]

Nothing Is Precious Enough For Us is full of processed cafe rock and bland gypsy folk. [Fall 2008, p.80]

While Commuter for all intents and purposes revisits that same territory, it seems the well has begun to run dry as much of the album sounds like half-baked leftovers. [Spring 2009, p.66]

Diversifying their palette would seem like a good idea, but Attack & Release proves that the more straightforward the better. [Spring 2008, p.74]

Danger Mouse's presence-and underperformance-on Little Broken Hearts turns what might otherwise just be another safe but bullshit-free Norah Jones album into an especially underwhelming affair.

It's relentlessly cloying pop music, and it would benefit immensely if the act would take a step outside their comfort zone into more nefarious territory. [Feb 2011, p.72]

The best of it is spot-on in inhabiting a kind of mythical, long-since deserted America of corn liquor and cut-throat juke joints. [Apr 2010, p.88]

While album opener 'Midnight Sun Dream' hints at the potential of Hukkelberg’s abilities within this new, less experimental-sounding context, the rest of the tracks quickly devolve into a series of anonymous encounters where style trumps substance.

Some of the songs on Planta begin as dark as the worst in Interpol's catalog. It's really no fun, and the tone makes it a lot harder to choke down the lyrics. [Jun-Jul 2013, p.86]

This feels like a record that should move the listener, yet its complete lack of conviction makes this almost impossible. [#11, p.115]

The band excels when they succumb to the light-hearted rush of the jam, which they do roughly half the time here. [Fall 2009, p.72]

Despite its accomplished musicianship and polished production, however, I And Love And You feels like somewhat of a whimper after the highs of "Emotionalism." [Fall 2009, p.75]

Harper and her cohorts have certainly created a close approximation to the heyday of Depeche Mode and Human League--but ultimately their dated sound doesn't even come close.

Unafraid of bursting your bubble, Wit's End crawls and slithers slowly, touching upon the darkest of themes.

Variously hailed as the future of pop music, the next M.I.A., and the culmination of punk, New Wave, and electronic pop, the most remarkable aspect of Santogold’s debut is how ordinary most of it is. [Summer 2008]

Despite its proliferation of modern day input, Electronica 1 sounds dated. [Nov-Dec 2015, p.71]

Although the album starts off with a bang, it all starts to sound awfully similar after three tracks. [Spring 2010, p.72]

Anywhere I Lay My Head is neither laughable nor unlistenable, but what's the most disappointing about it is that producer David Sitek of Tv on the Radio is its most prominent contributor, not Johansson. [Spring 2008, p.77]

Sure, Shout Out Louds have a gift for melody, and they use a light pop touch better than many. But after their masterwork, one expects more than 10 easygoing melodies.

Of the 12 tracks, "4 June 1989," "I Was A Bird," and "I Have Need For Solitude" stand out, but overall the album is disappointing. [Winter 2010, p.70]

Only "Hurrah" has moments reminiscent of the first record, but if the band seems this bored for the better part of 40 minutes, it's hard not to expect a listener to feel the same way. [Summer 2010, p.79]

The all-female group's full-length Slumberland bow rarely bests similar DIY bands (Miko, Vivian Girls) [Holiday 2009, p.80]

Only By The Night has exposed itself as the weakest Kings Of Leon album. [Fall 2008, p.76]

Trick is more a straight rehash of '90s R&B than any kind of homage, and without the tunes to justify it.

It's charming in small doses, but the album often comes off sounding something like a high school equivalent of They Might Be Giants. [May 2011, p.88]

The album is never able to build its momentum as it gets jostled between a fight over noise rock and soft sleeper cells.

With Behave Yourself, maturation means shaving off all those jagged edges that made the work so appealing in the first place. [Holiday 2009, p.82]

It's not all awful, and it's certainly not Gene Simmons doing "When You Wish Upon A Star," but it sure ain't the Strokes, either.

Elf Power clearly have a grasp of their production... but the songs, however crisp and clear, don't grab you as they have in that past. [Summer 2006, p.88]

At their best, The Virgins come off as a pale imitation of The Cars. At their worst, it’s The Strokes meets Franz Ferdinand without any bite. [Summer 2008]

The Cocteau Twins-lite feeling persists. [#7]

Carly Rae Jepsen and her production team try overly hard to be clever. In the end, what's left is a record that takes itself too seriously to be taken seriously by anyone else.