After a few tracks, you may find yourself seeking relief with your favorite method of self-obliteration. [No. 105, p.56]

Predictable. [#57, p.105]

Overall, Electric is another consistent yet unsurprising recent Thompson album. [No. 95, p.59]

His [James Alex's] lyrics aren't particularly strong. [No. 126, p.53]

Sadly, Beams doesn't show Dear changing up his game in any meaningful way. [No.90 p.55]

Their stinging, smart wordplay is dependably knotted and sneered, and even though it's difficult to separate their cadences, the collective passion present is undeniable. [No. 108, p.59]

Its successes just about match its failures. [#70, p.100]

Uneven. [#73, p.112]

Okkervil River can deliver terrific songs when ambitions are kept in balance, but this uneven record is in dire need of an editor.

Lyrics ... come off as exceedingly everyday - as well as vital.

There's a strange, practiced quality to the pop numbers that robs them of their buoyancy. [#71, p.87]

On "Kingfisher," the album's centerpiece, they prove when it's perfectly balanced with a subtle instrumental approach. [No. 138, p.61]

It's an overstuffed, uneven album, one that's not disappointing as much as it is disorienting. [#67, p.111]

The relationship songs are distressingly generic; she backpedals on her "edgy" (for country) envelope-pushing; and she sings about what's she's not. [No. 122, p.57]

The single-minded pursuit of a sound that was fresh about the time that Melkbelly's members started kindergarten makes for an album that's competently executed but easy to forget. [No. 147, p.55]

At its best, Bewilderbeast promises pastoral beauty.... At its worst, the album's faux-jazz workouts, painful disco homage, sappy ballads and pointless instrumentals stretch a decent EP into a bloated, hour-plus opus. [#47, p.84]

Loads of echo and reverb rescue the album from this potentially fatal flaw, but overall, You & Me is a mixed bag.

Gangster Star features a much stronger single (the idyllic "Shine A Light"), while Jealous Machines waders a bit further into the narrative forest. [No. 144, p.59]

Love From London could use more of those surprising or insightfully startling juxtapositions that define his best labors. [No. 96, p.58]

The Private World Of Paradise does have a somewhat rustic, indie-rock feel, though augmented with a greater wealth of instrumentation. [No. 107, p.61]

Much of the material is mid-tempo and occasionally bland, but in its best moments... Kill Them With Kindness soars. [#60, p.105]

At points, Life Is Full Of Possibilities certainly sounds as if Tamborello realizes what distinguishes the good from the great. [#53, p.72]

On first listen, For The Season is pleasantly trippy. Listen closely, however, and it seems rather patchy. [#70, p.100]

A better-than-average Sonic Youth album. [#64, p.106]

There's something undeniably mechanical about Room On Fire. [#61, p.107]

Love This Giant fitfully achieves its aim of unlikely, unearthly pop. [No.91 p.56]

[Neko] Case misses Carrier, and it her. [No. 102, p.55]

It boasts riveting tempos, gripping atmospheres, imaginative chopped 'n' screwed vocal tracks and a vague sense of currency via a bass drop or two. But it also feels incredibly rote and through-the-motions. [No. 103, p.58]