The blend of organization--even the oddest, most precarious combinations of instruments sync up--and derangement is Animal Collective's version 2.0 of hippie whimsy, and it's quite a buzz [Oct 2007, p.105]

Rather than homogenizing his sources, Parton rubs them against each other. [Oct 2007, p.108]

Now, on only their third major-label release, they sound almost middle-aged. [Oct 2007, p.110]

Their hard-bitten Calvinist worry and storm-a-brewing' guitar tangle feel earthier than most back-to-the-land hipster escapism, especially when threshed out by roundhouse drummer Greg Anderson. [Sep 2007,p.129]

It feels like a record assembled by a focus group. [Oct 2007, p.107]

Almost every one of these twangy, homespun gems finds him in the heat of romantic battle--taunting, eviscerating or pleading with a lover or an ex.

Borrowing liberally and transparently from Bright Eyes, the Cure and mid-1960s chamber pop, the band sublimates familiar expressions of indie gloom with string flourishes and twink­ling piano lines, giving Olenius both a shoulder to cry on and, in soaring songs like 'Tonight I Have to Leave It,' a source of joy.

Chao’s jovial, chatty, Spanish-English-French crooning helps the ADD sensibility flow into something that feels like a happy incantation rather than a protester’s harangue against George Bush.

This is an indie rocker introducing great disco to a bunch of beer drinkers. [Nov 2007, p.150]

Sultry suits her fine, but when she reaches for the sadness in these self-written songs, she can’t summon the sense of conflict that was embedded in ’50s pop.

It's a shockingly entertaining record riddled with moody hooks. [Sep 2007, p.128]

Bitter, cold and insular, None Shall Pass is also profoundly (if proudly) out of step. [Sep 2007, p.124]

Their third albums smells less of revivalist chic than tribute-band nostalgia. New wave knockoffs have rarely sounded so old.

The gimmick runs out of novelty long before this third album is done. Even 31 minutes of show-off kiddie theater is too much.

The impact of M.I.A.'s music isn't in what she says, but how it arrives: in tracks so irritating they're irresistible. Anything but naive, M.I.A. brings a connoisseur's ear to her beats.

Where melodies once surged with hand-clapping giddiness, they're now august and restrained, balladic, not bubbly--fitting songs strung between hope, resignation and regret.

Creamy and precise, every coo and arpeggio blows through your ear buds like the ruffle of crisp bills.

Kweli’s rigid delivery and obsession with self-empowerment remain liabilities.

When the Teens youthfully chime in behind sheepish disclosures, it's like they’re arguing that a baby seat in the tour van doesn’t have to slow down the ride. And quite often, they prove it too.

The songs have as much personality as ever, reviving bygone styles, from falsetto lite-funk to electro proto-rap, with goofball energy and a music geek’s careful ear.

The tracks are catchy, meaty and modern. [Sep 2007, p.131]

The gruff, authoritative Chuck and irrepressible second-banana-turned-VH1-ladykilla Flavor Flav know that uplifting kids corroded by gangsta rap means offering something emotionally fierce and reasonably current.

Kayne West once again saves his friend from the NAACP lecture circuit with soul-snapping beats that effectively turn the headliner into a guest star on his own album. [Aug 2007, p. 110]

While his band's skeletal, rattling rhythms, swollen with synthesizer and studio ornamentation, feel more multidimensional than ever, Davis is most compelling when he retreats into the third person to describe an unnamed, uninspired singer with a "dumb-ass song" ('Ever Be').

A turgid modern, progressive rock with superficial hip-hop sheen. [August 2007, p.119]

If America was a self-respecting nation, there'd be a street named after him in every city. Alas, if they're based on this record, we'll find ourselves striding Vague Call to Goodness Street.

The bonus disc of dance remixes merely piles another layer of fastidiousness atop the already epically fussed-over tracks. [2007 Aug, p.120]

They might sound like Girl Scouts, but these are tough cookies. [Aug 2007, p.117]