A stronger, more distinctive album than its predecessor in nearly every respect.

A wonderfully ambient collection of 10 songs

"Wonder" isn't as immediately accessible as any New Pornographers album, which may turn off some fans looking for another set of sugar-coated rock. Nevertheless, these compositions also demonstrate Newman's immense talent, which ensures any monotonous patches on the album are quickly redeemed by far more interesting sonic departures.

While the self-imposed constraints limit the emotional power of songs like "Mary of the Wild Moor" and the hushed, fingerpicked "Manson Twins," it's a happy addition to Pajo's solid lo-fi repertoire.

Imagine the B-52's playing a wedding in Siberia and you'll have a loose idea of what's in store on these 14 tracks.

Raw and emotional.

Right off the bat, you realize this is serious music for serious listeners.

The Con a welcome addition to summer playlists and to Tegan & Sara's promising catalog.

It's only a matter of time before [this album] replaces Ray Lamontagne's "Trouble" as the best album Van Morrison never made.

"Solitary Man" may lack the immediate impact of its predecessors but is no less a masterpiece.

As each quiet-loud-quiet song cycles through its emotional peaks and valleys, the band considerately adds, subtracts and multiplies conflicting elements and melodies to complete the picture. [24 Feb 2007]

Sweet and pretty. [25 Nov 2006]

I'll Be Lightning is a low-key charmer.

Beautifully spacey and searingly brash all at once.

Elevates their brand of art-house hip-hop to another level.

Talk about bleak. [24 Mar 2007]

The air of uncertainty and doubt he creates is what continually makes his music so intriguing.

Party Intellectuals contains enough noise and/or dead space to ruin the flow of many an iPod shuffle, but experimental jazz or avant-garde fans should find enough here to sink their teeth into.

"Okonokos" delivers as powerful a wake-up call to the ears as seeing MMJ in the flesh.

Elsewhere, 'Criminal' and 'I Will Not Apologize' find the group making its most acute, nail-driven points in years.

Swirling, throbbing and altogether great. [19 Nov 2005]

Furr is a more consistent body of work, a perfect fall soundtrack rife with woodsy imagery.

Put [the covers] all together and you get an idea of Low's surprising range and versatility.

"Antics" is even better [than Bright Lights], possibly because the band isn't trying so hard to be weird.

Despite her co-conspirators, LaVette proves again that she's the star of the show.

The lyrics hold their own as comedy poetry, and the album as a whole is stuffed with feel-good laughs.

It's an intriguing, somewhat surprising collection of tunes. Oftentimes dub projects can be anchored in a recurrent groove, but Page has created a group of tracks that are quite distinctive.

The overall tone of the album isn't entirely dark and hopeless, although Lightburn fails to leave us with any specific resolve, instead content for some questions to remain unanswered.