Is Dead Man's Bones' record necessarily as accomplished as either of the aforementioned? Maybe not. But when one half of your band is splitting his vocations by also brandishing his face onto big studio pieces of celluloid, it's still a mightily impressive debut.

Emo/indie/pop rock for people who don't like emo/indie/pop rock. [Mar 2006, p.123]

A solid [re]introduction to the scene. [Sep 2002, p.106]

It's almost a relief when the album hangs up, like talking to a crazy and exhausting friend who didn't get the memo that we're all supposed to be zombie-d out like it's 1982 right now. [Dec 2002, p.88]

[A] time warp of an album, which takes us back to a future where grunge never happened, glam is god, disco balls sit atop the world and glitter falls from the sky. [Sep 2006, p.129]

Where Air's previous album failed to ignite like their classic Moon Safari, they have made some amends on Talkie Walkie. [Jan 2004, p.74]

There is a certain rhythm that begins to form with constantly being pulled along and feeling as though this will be the moment everything crescendos. Prepare yourself To Realize presents a Sisyphus-esque journey that can be exhausting.

Has more in common with Oasis than anything else. [Mar 2005, p.110]

Disarmingly intimate. [Dec 2003, p.87]

Each release generates one or two hits and is never regarded as a classic, but 4:21...The Day After may be an exception. [Sep 2006, p.137]

Opener 'Time to Pretend' exemplifies this best, as the synths provide quirky cartoonish bounces to tales of fancy car whipping and coke snorting pipe-dreams. However, the record grows sluggish at certain points, particularly when they try to get super sentimental on that ass.

The results... rarely match up with the legend. [Apr 2007, p.107]

More style than substance. [#104, p.95]

For the most part, Dirty Vegas play up the notoriety by not straying too far from the template set by "Days Gone By." [Jul 2002, p.98]

The end result just isn't up to the standards of which either of these musical titans are capable. [Mar 2006, p.119]

While meticulously arranged, Mind Elevation contains its share of anonymous, carbon-copy beats. [Sep 2002, p.104]

The album feels like a series of diminishing returns. [Feb 2003, p.93]

Levi seemed to have a great idea for Never Never Love, but didn't execute it as well as he possibly could have; so in practice, the record does not flow as well as he may have liked it to.

Pennington’s soaring, Rufus Wainwright-esque croon may be the most distinctive element of the record but also one of its greatest weakness.

Albums such as Wake Up! – best intentions aside – run the risk of coming across as entirely cheesy and contrived. Unfortunately, John Legend and The Roots are no exception to the rule.

Eschews gauzy isolation to embrace the heartfelt immediacy of chiming, breezy pop in a Big Star way. [Jun 2006, p.119]

You've heard it before and frankly, you've heard it better. [Jun 2004, p.90]

No one can deny the Los Angeles group's enthusiasm. However as for Mika Miko's album, their creativity seems numbed by monotonous repetition.

Finds a band in utter denial of what is precisely its appeal. [Sep 2006, p.143]

Surfing The Void unfortunately isn't a break-through or even a repeat of the past success.

Too often Mr. Beast is dire sounding and dull, and nearing deadweight. [May 2006, p.86]

It's nice that a singer/songwriter can fit comfortably on a label known for abstract techno and heady hip-hop. It's not so great when she sounds like Dido. [Apr 2005, p.109]

Dissolver is a serviceable pop-rock record that would have benefited from being subject to more of the band’s experimental tendencies, a missed opportunity for the trio to release a cutting-edge yet accessible set of music.