The vocals are almost hilariously monotone, the lyrics loaded with crass, elementary rhymes, and the instrumentation is simply dreadful. [Jul 2014, p.98]

The Pretty Reckless seems to have tried too hard to come across as outrageous. It's got every contrived reference possible along with clips of brainwashing television sermons and sound bites recreated from cheap porn. [Apr 2014, p.93]

Umpteen attempts at serious lyrics topple this album right off the runway. [Apr 2014, p.91]

Nearly everything that made Fitz And The Tantrums interesting has been thrown out the window for More Than A Dream. Fitzpatrick has run out of anything interesting to say, instead relying on awful cliches. [Jun 2013, p.96]

In the end, Modern Vampires just seems to fade into a dull glow that will still be overshadowed by the band's explosive self-titled debut. [Jun 2013, p.102]

Crazy World is as phony as they come.

Heady Fwends has racked up about one song's worth of decent material-only none of it is in the same song.

In the Grace of Your Love is lethargic and shapeless. [Oct 2011, p.109]

One-man synth-pop act Ernest Greene's singing lacks firm consonants and dribbles out unintelligibly most of the time over the most compelling of his stripped-down electronic compositions. [Aug 2011, p.122]

It's a shame that there's so little of note on Free, because Gil Norton's production is fantastic as usual. But bless his heart, it's ultimately a wasted effort.

Orchestral additions are cool, but here they dominate both in terms of volume and notes-per-minute, transforming potentially aristocratic black metal like "The Cult Of Venus Aversa" and "War" into poorly layered sonic slop. [Dec 2100, p.111]

For the most part, the album rehashes an overdone genre full of blustery, unoriginal, cryptic lyrics. [Mar 2010, p.94]

Built off of two piano chords or a single guitar riff, Felix'a music is as ho-hum as their vocals, and without diversity in the songs' chord structure, the album blurs together until what's left is a coffee-table coaster. [Dec 2009, p.113]

This is electronic by numbers. [Jun 2009, p.111]

Almost too stiff to be funny, this might have been a surreal payday in the boardrooms of Berlin, but one presumes the buck stops here. [May 2008, p.142]

The songs feature countless tired hip-pop cliches: gratuitous scratching, tinny programmed beats, burbling keyboards and faux-sexy lyrics. [Mar 2008, p.147]

The second album from the glorified solo project Babyshambles is a half-baked abortion. [Dec 2007, p.184]

I'm listening to "Free And Freaky"--the third track on this new, horrible Stooges album and possibly the worst song ever written by anyone anywhere--and I can't believe you actually just rhymed "Obama" with "Dalai Lama" and "baby's mama." [Apr 2007, p.191]

It's not that Elbow's half-Travis, half-early-Radiohead Britpop shoegaze routine is patently shitty; it's just hopelessly forgettable. [Mar 2006, p.134]

Candy Ass is a mess, drifting without a rudder between half-baked folk and warmed-over electronica. [Feb 2006, p.120]

The contemporary-grunge and vintage New York-punk nods packaged here are unthreatening; singer Lillian Berlin's vocals are forgettable; and his lyrics remain more stupid than socially aware. [Dec 2005, p.214]

Basically, Odditorium sounds like a giant "fuck you" to [their] record label. [Nov 2005, p.218]

Hotel is all vacancy. [Apr 2005, p.128]

Pathetic. [Jul 2005, p.182]

Will make you thankful your stereo has an easily accessible off button. [May 2005, p.136]

12 tracks that are so feeble and lifeless, it's actually painful to put effort into reviewing them. [Jun 2005, p.160]

As singer-songwriters go, Barlow's not worthy to make a Starbucks run for Conor Oberst, Jim White, Joseph Arthur or Chris Carrabba. [Mar 2005, p.122]

Our quality of life would instantly improve if this disc didn't exist. [Feb 2005, p.94]