What we get is a haunting, dreamy album. [Winter 2009, p.81]

Moon is most grounded to Earth when Merrit stays in her comfort zone. [Spring 2010, p.75]

Seefeel are definitely onto something new here, and it's worthy of the brand. [Feb. 2011, p. 73]

It's doubtful Sweatbox Dynasty will make it into anyone's regular rotation, but Fec has no doubt carved himself out a cozy little corner of difficult trash music, and a visit now and then is worth the effort.

Stars Are the Light is a decent album that shows Moon Duo know how to put a new spin on an old formula. And while it may not make a big splash, the ripple effects can be pleasing.

Favourite moves forward not one inch from Whatever, which is safe and reliable, but also repetitive. [#17, p.82]

The Drop Beneath is a little uneven, but it's engaging enough. [Jun/Jul 2014, p.95]

They're like a five-member Polyphonic Spree wearing Urban Outfitters, jacked up on Jolt cola, and rocking out in their garage with a bunch of instruments bought from a pawn shop. [#7]

The album works its minimal beats and retrograde high to near perfection, perhaps only because of it had the ultimate incubation period. [Aug/Sep 2012, p.118]

Unfortunately, the record's winning first half is followed by an intensely dull side two. [#16, p.93]

To Lose My Life is satisfying and consisitent throughout, even if White Lies treads daringly close to one-trick-pony territory. [Spring 2009, p.75]

Season's Dreaming is hit-or-miss, much like the first few albums of their greatest influence, but Blind Man's Colour has the talent to figure it out and separate their sound not only from Animal Collective, but the herds of bands with simialr influence. [Summer 2009, p.60]

He effortlessly slots into the indie imprint's avant-garde discography. [Feb. 2011, p. 74]

Live In Japan isn't a must-buy, or even a must-hear, so much as a long overdue release for completists and anyone else interested hearing one of the last century's most popular and accomplished performers at the very top of his game and height of his success.

For all its efforts to communicate, Two Saviors, ends up being as inscrutable as the concepts it tries to put forth.

While The End of That features more wonderful song craft, that counterpoint is sorely missed.

This time out, there are strains of, say, Arthur-era Kinks, all crunchy clean guitars and sturdy vocal hooks. [Aug/Sep 2012, p.122]

El Pintor is an Interpol album that does exactly what it says on the tin, with no alarms and no surprises.

The problems are not Spektor's songwriting or singing or playing... but they are equally underemphasized and poorly recorded. [#13, p.88]

A strong four-song start to the album. ... Unfortunately the remaining tracks are somewhat of a mixed bag and instead of straddling the line between country and bittersweet indie pop they all too often cross the line into country. These pleasant tunes don’t have enough sharp dynamics to give them an edge and so end up as mostly fluff without so much substance and represent the reflective mood of the album.

Argos' smarm-charm remains solid, and the band behind the man can still walk the walk. {May 2011, p. 76]

Rhino attempts to place the focus back on the music, to put you right back there in the mud. And they succeed, man--just don't eat the brown Metamucil.

It is not an album that will ever be treated with the same awed reverence as the band's first three albums, but it is a work of great talent and a happy note to end the mixtape for this chapter of our lives. [Aug/Sep 2012, p.121]

Adding to his old-time preacher's moan and expressive banjo, Whitmore utilizes a full band for the first time in this collection of songs lamenting corrupt authority in all its various forms. [Winter 2009, p.79]

There's a loose swagger throughout the nine songs. ... It seems that Foxygen rolled through Seeing Other People, making new music for the sake of making music.

There's plenty to love here in the melody department, and Dee Dee's too great of a songwriter to make a complete dud of a record. [Oct. 2011, p. 80]

It's just a little too easy to wonder how Black Hours may have evolved with Walkmen drummer Peter Bauer's restlessly inventive percussion propelling the lulls, or how a democratic approach may have suppressed a few indulgences. In other words, imagine if this had been a Walkmen record...

He defers too many vocals to his backing gospel singers, and his synth pop sound does nothing to distinguish this from his work with The Killers. Oddly, this is the album's greatest strength.

Available as a second disc with The Fame or as a self-contained album, The Fame Monster continues where Gaga's debut left off and features eight new tracks of varying quality.

Their seventh full-length album is a case study in everything they do well. [Fall 2007, p.87]

Love You's sticky problem is the same one that plagues all but the Thriller/Purple Rain-iest of pop records, and it's that everything that comes between the hits sounds like filler in comparison.

It's a debut that both dips and dives heavily but benefits from a strange lack of artfulness. [Feb/Mar 2014, p.75]

By trying to be the band everyone wants them to be, Braids have sacrificed the qualities that made them so captivating. And that is one hell of a shame.

It's hard not to think that either she just hasn't perfected this style yet or it's a one-off detour. Only time will tell, but wherever Dee Dee or Kristin goes, this album proves that it's well worth keeping up with her output.

If Idle No More doesn't necessarily sound like the product of manic intensity and dripping sweat, there's no questioning the spirit at the heart of this solid, memorable set. [Aug-Sep 2013, p.91]

Even though The Information is neither a leap forward or nearly as exceptional as his previous collaborations with Godrich, it does serve as hope that Beck still has some great work ahead of him. [#15]

Wrapping her melodies around her stabbed guitar in 'Give Me Back My Heart Attack' creates a wonderful effect, and the slow sway of 'It’s Okay' entrances. [Fall 2008, p.86]

Many listeners will get a thrill from the laser-pointed precision of the final product, a sort of quest for sonic perfection. But unless the bulk of Timony and Ex Hex fans have been harvesting a secret love for Rainbow or Foreigner for all these years, the sheer bloodlessness, the cleanliness, the emphatic punklessness of it all might just make it a pill too bland for many to swallow.

There is a sameness to the songs, but it doesn't work against the album as much as makes it a cohesive listen. [Feb/Mar 2014, p.75]

There is some pabulum filler... But Abaddon's best moments are as good as Pinback's ever been. [#8, p.111]

Assume Form is surely a shift toward a more optimistic Blake, but occasionally at the cost of song quality and his expected moments of spicy originality. It's a good, sometimes excellent, yet quite uneven record.

If it doesn't quite scale the heights of "All We Could Do Was Sing," it surpasses its predecessor in terms of raw emotion. [Fall 2009, p.60]

Wildly inconsistent but sometimes brilliant. [#8, p.110]

McCauley's lyrics sometimes get a little lazy, but at best spits fire and brimstone. The drawback here is that the songs don't hold together well. [Spring 2010, p.75]

With Lortz's new project, sans the Dutchess, the styling is more psychedelic folk.

As a concept, this is an excellent work, filled with flashes of greatness. But as an album, Showtunes is often dragging and uneven. [#13, p.93]

It's raw, but Always Want doesn't change notions. [#39, p.75]

Another solid addition to the Giants' catalogue, but as with their last few records, it doesn't seem likey they put their back into it. [#7]

The songs here... are much more developed and better arranged than anything she'd done on her own before. [#9]

Pond's music leans a little more joyous, perhaps, and is more infused with glam and classic rock [than sister band, Tame Impala.] [March 2012, p.79]

The hardcore supergroup rips through 16 songs in a tad over a half hour ferociously, but also maintains a tight song structure. [Jun/Jul 2014, p.95]

The results can be attractive, scatterbrained, and pleasantly inebriating. [Spring 2010, p.63]

The resulting album is as expected, but nonetheless interesting, juxtaposition of dirty grooves under a pristine techno framework. [Summer 2008, p.93]

Gentleman Reg returns with a fine collection of whip-smart pop ditties. [Spring 2009, p.76]

Bishop's got an adept pair of hands in everything, it seems, from the shambling to the shamanic. [Aug/Sep 2012, p.124]

Neither as good nor as boring as you might think. [#10, p.112]

What both sinks and saves the album is Ashcroft's songwriting. [#13, p.90]

Highways is a far cry from what made this now deceased legend eternal. [#14]

The songs are undeniably likeable, their likability almost formulaic, yet still surprisingly retaining a fresh-faced charm.

It's difficult to imagine Wooden Shjips recording an album that presents more of a psych rock statement of purpose than West. [Oct. 2011, p. 83]

The themes of anger, rejection, and guilt run dreadfully close to emo territory. [#13, p.99]

A Chorus of Storytellers is an evocative, full-bodied record from a band nearing the peak of their powers. [Winter 2010, p.68]

Baldi has clearly carved out his own corner of plainspoken wisdom; on Final Summer, unfortunately, the songs don’t quite do his insights justice.

This is an intelligent, sometimes daring album that manages to convey a great deal of emotion and will surprise even the most skeptical listener. [Aug/Sep 2012, p.124]

If "City Of Refuge" unfolded like a Calexico album produced by Jim O'Rourke, Texas Rose, with its bold re-imaging of the old-time country idiom, has more in common with "Van Lear Rose."

Johnston's first album in six years, Is and Always Was, is uniformaly listenable. [Holiday 2009, p.78]

Asides for some duds, Schneider mostly hits his mark. [Spring 2010, p.68]

Though the production is adventurous and innovative, the melodies and songs themselves can be a bit too similar to each other, with nearly every track finding a tasteful balance of playfully meandering melodies and plaintively wistful rhythms. [#14]

Moffat's drawn from a more experimental palette, illustrated nicely on his fine outing with ad hoc backing band The Best-Ofs. [Spring 2009, p.72]

This seems to be the goal, to tigh-0rope sentimentality and emotion, sarcasm and genuineness, spoof and homage, and to that end, My Best Human Face succeeds. [May - Jun 2016, p.95]

Is it a grand goof or an impasioned plea for love? Probably both at once, which illustrates the preverse appeal of this fine album. [Winter 2010, p.64]

The issue that plagues False Idols is that we only ever seem to hear the seed of each idea. Credit goes to Tricky for variety, but it would be a more rewarding experience if we were able to listen to the songs evolve and develop.

This bold misstep is evidence that even the greatest bands on the planet occasionally display mortal chinks in the artistic armor. [#5, p.98]

Rise won't grab you like those classic Puppets records do. But upon several listens, the album offers definite pleasures, as well as a couple surefire tunes that stand with the band's bes. [Summer 2007, p.91]

Hold On Baby certainly has its hits, and Straus’ star power is no less evident even when the music doesn’t measure up. While her sophomore record is somewhat of a slump, King Princess’ talent still reigns.

While the band is probably not in danger of rubbing shoulders with Nickleback on commercial airwaves in the next few months, they wear their new sonic heft well. [Summer 2010, p.86]

If The Little Ones' debut had been released in June, it would undoubtedly have been proclaimed the soundgrack of the summer, but the band's relentlessly bright, angst-free sound seems to have even greater appeal the darker and shirter the days become. [fall 2008, p.76]

Brun’s cracked porcelain soprano is best heard when not overlade with overwrought fragility. [Year End 2008]

Black Moth Super Rainbow principal Tobacco's new solo full-length sticks to the formula established by his band, but adds a healthy dose of drum machine. [Fall 2008, p.87]

The four other songs on Always are not bad, but "City" is essential. [Aug/Sep 2012, p.125]

In the end, Berlin: Live is a wonderful closure for a black sheep in Reed's discography as well as a vital document of an artist still infused today with the same spirit that guided his creative golden years. [Year End 2008]

Spends too much time building and not enough time delivering the knockout. [#13, p.99]

Yet overall there is some intangible ingredient missing here and while the tracks can be enjoyable and soothing while playing there’s not quite enough bite to make them memorable.

Without Viglione as a foil, the songs on Palmer's solo debut seem to have lost some delicacy and character. [Fall 2008, p.78]

Beware is sloppy in a back porch way. Which can be very appealing, but there's something missing here. [Winter 2009, p.70]

Overall, this material seems like it would kill if used as a soundtrack to a movie or TV show.... But sometimes, the experimental nature of the album goes too far.

While Magic Chairs is decidely more hit than miss, one can't help but wonder, "where have I heard this before?" Oh yeah...in every other ultra-pleasant orchestral popper out there. [Winter 2010, p.82]

Those who love The Strokes will dig the obviously better musicianship.... Those in the hate camp will think the musicianship still sucks. [#12, p.93]

Think Broadcast with a warmer heart, or Luna with a mechanical one. [#15]

At their best, Late of the Pier is like some video-game-raised second coming of Roxy Music, all hooks, humor, attitude, and experimentation. But when they falter, it’s clear--they tag one too many parts into a song, never quite sure the painting’s done; or spit out throwaway dancepunk. [Year End 2008]

Whilst tracks like "Butterflies" and "High Horse" offer the best of what Musgraves can do in terms of balancing her obvious charm against a certain steely underbelly that has served her so well so far in her career, all too often, Golden Hour delivers a lackluster vibe and a feeling that Musgraves has become too infatuated with the pop side of her artistry and is beginning to forget about the things that made her so interesting and worth investing in in the first place.

As the album progresses, the heavy psych rock quotient is upped and the flute becomes a non factor, making way for an impressive and explosive debut. [Fall 2010, p.65]

Its debut had a rawness that this album lacks. Nonetheless, these songs, especially "Dead Oaks" and the gorgeous "School Friends" comprise a winning collection of emotional songs about relationships, romantic and otherwise. [#40, p.78]

This is farm from Berman's best work, but sequencing aside, there is enough here to suggest that he's still got something left in the tank. [Jul - Sep 2017, p.59]

His devoted followers/collectors will find plenty to like here in this convergence of talents, as this group's interpretations of the murder ballads work as well as their new takes on the Oldham originals. ... Less dedicated fans who prefer to cherry-pick the best releases which float to the top of Oldham's flowing river of output may want to keep waiting, as this is more of a compelling curiosity than a cohesive album.

It's engaging stuff. It just outstays its welcome a bit.

Join Us, the band's first non-children's record since 2007, presents standard rock topics in unconventional packages.

Akin to their debut, Fool's Gold have a habit of fizzling like a caffeine rush half-way through, the once-crystalline pop teetering on rustic in its redundancy.