I Am Very Far is certainly one of the best records of the year, but looking at this stretch of recordings with such a finite lens is doing them a disservice: this is music to cherish forever.

The songs feel and sound organic and have an eerily timeless quality in their emotional universality. [#12, p.93]

An incredible electronic journey... A perfect ending for both Orbital and for fans. [#7]

Doolittle 25 captures the best of this alt-rock landmark and offers up enough goodies to justify a full-blown celebration.

The superb Painted Ruins, an album that captures the fear, confusion, and wonderment of what it's like to be alive in 2017. [Jul - Aug 2017, p.56]

Visions of a Life may be a somewhat inconsistent journey but it's also pure rock and roll splendor from a band that's super talented and not afraid to take chances.

The group had a lot of hype to live up to and they nearly managed to do it. [#9]

Copper Blue was the fierce masterpiece. [Aug/Sep 2012, p.123]

These recordings carry an arresting immediacy that hasn't waned a whit over the past century. [Aug/Sep 2012, p.124]

The thought processes of this band are etched on Pecknold's frail voice, but the development as a whole is something to truly marvel in.

Lanegan's smoky voice suits these songs perfectly, and when combined with Campbell's angelic whisper and lush but not overdone orchestration, the result is a sound that is naturally mysterious and utterly affecting. [#12, p.89]

Like all of Welcome To Mali, the underpinnings of 'I Think Of You' are fantastically layered, with a combination of precision timing and in-the-moment passion. [Winter 2009, p.68]

She delivers an effortless balance between ambition and accessibility, offering a record that is both a deeply layered work of art and full of euphoric escapist joy. Even though it is still early in the year, Desire, I Want to Turn Into You is already a strong contender for the best pop album of 2023.

Acid Tongue establishes Jenny Lewis as an idiosyncratic talent in her own right. [Fall 2008, p.76]

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

In terms of recording, speeding up, and trimming down he has produced one of his most intimate and exhilarating albums to date. [Summer 2008]

This time around, a more restrained approach means a less exhausting listening experience. [#5, p.99]

This is the band's best album since Boxer, and will stand as one of the year's best. [Jul - Sep 2017, p.58]

For the uninitiated, curious, or those simply looking for a one-stop overview, there is no better place for a comprehensive distillation of Danielson’s joyful noises. [Winter 2008]

Let's hope this superb reissue, replete with loads of essential "7 singles and ephemera remedies that, and introduces this seminal band to a new generation of indie rock fans. [Jul 2011, p.90]

At three discs and 78 tracks, the suspicion is that this set is for the truly hardcore fans for whom the previous reissues aren't enough and who need everything they can get their hands on. As such, Rhino is providing a public service. And every note of this is great, of course. For everyone else, though, they can feel relatively comfortable staying with the various beautifully done vinyl reissues of the original album or the 2001 CD reissue.

Third concludes with a string of stunners that feature sawing cello, improvisatory bursts of horns, and the most cathartic vocal performance Gibbons has ever set to tape, respectively. [Spring 2008, p.79]

Perhaps Harcourt's strongest asset is in making the hackneyed sound fresh. [#8, p.106]

Truth is that this is now the definitive version of Red. It may also ensure that the good old boys who casually sold her music, seemingly out of a mixture of greed and spite, won’t get one red cent from Red, and it proves you can take a masterpiece and make it sound even better.

Return to Cookie Mountain sweats off most of the band’s more head-scratching impulses and leaves a manic, depressive, exhilarating album of experimental pop. [#15]

On TANGK, IDLES have broadened their horizons while retaining the guts and soul that made them. With prudence, craft, and ambition they’ve created something that borders on the monumental. Divisions be damned.

A layered and beautiful work that solidifies The Shins as The Band That Matters. [#16, p.94]

A wholly stunning album. [#7]