Baxter's third cracking album in a row. [Jul 2023, p.88]

If it has little earth under its nails, with any background maid or shepherd perfectly cast and choreographed, there are still plenty of lovely, curious tableaux - among them David Byrne's dreamy appearance on Moondog's High On A Rocky Ledge, or Nina Simone-inspired Cotten Eyed Joe, featuring Chaka Khan. [Jul 2023, p.89]

Margo's deep, stentorian tones have remained almost unchanged since 1986's Whites Off Earth Now!! and Hell Is Real could have graced that LP. Even so, there's real evolution. [Jul 2023, p.84]

What Matters Most is near faultless; a whole semester of song-craft in 40 minutes. [Jul 2023, p.90]

Council Skies is very much a creative success. It's the sound of Noel Gallagher pushing onwards, while once again playing to his strengths. [Jul 2023, p.85]

This is searching, quietly profound stuff. [Jun 2023, p.90]

Live At Berkeley 1971 powers through it all – relentless, often overwrought, often brilliant, too. [Jun 2023, p.99]

Trouble... is thrillingly fresh. [Jun 2023, p.86]

With its own low-key sparkle Archangel Hill stands testament to a musical third act every bit as engaging as anything that went before. [Jun 2023, p.91]

Sus Dog is the sound of Clark finding his voice in more ways than one. [Jun 2023, p.95]

Her lovers rock take of Patsy Cline's Walking After Midnight further strengthens reggae and country's fine romance, and who could have predicted that Morrissey's Everyday Is Like Sunday would sound like an out-take from the Special AKA's IN the Studio when reworked as rocksteady with woozy horns? [Jul 2023, p.82]

Something notable about Albarn's tracks is how hard they are to pick out from the others. [Jul 2023, p.83]

Their anarchic cut'n'paste confections can baffle on first exposure, but with repeat listens the inventiveness of their compositions come to the fore, savvy hooks materialising from the seeming chaos of loops and samples. [Jul 2023, p.84]

The result is a bold, career highlight that's dizzyingly inventive on the surface, with a powerful emotional undertow. [Jul 2023, p.87]

Too much of My Soft Machine is too smooth by half. [Jun 2023, p.95]

Ron Mael's lyrics are elegiac, witty and forensically detailed; Russel Mael delivers them exquisitely and they specialise in ear worms. [Jul 2023, p.82]

It's really hard not to feel the absence of David Crosby's harmonies. [Jun 2023, p.92]

Villagers lives in its own hermetic and compelling space; it's not too late to pay a visit. [Jul 2023, p.84]

By this double alum's end, it feels like a breakthrough in every way, the sound of an artist who has not only forged on, but also hit a glorious peak. [Jun 2023, p.84]

It's the small, tragic details you notice on TLROE. [Jun 2023, p.84]

There’s only one moment when the production distracts from the players, a brief yet clunky guitar overdub on Arajghiyine. Listeners who love a wide soundstage, however, with well-separated guitars coming at you from all angles, will be in heaven. Thankfully, the guests shun the spotlight, leaving Ibrahim, Alhassane Ag Touhami and Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni to concentrate on that elusive sound, the guitars cleaner and crisper than those that introduced Tinariwen to the world 20 years ago. [Jun 2023, p.82]

One of the most compelling and stone-cold beautiful albums Simon has ever made. [Jul 2023, p.80]

End Of Everything surface gloss barely conceals a raw intensity. [Jun 2023, p.90]

The interplay between their vocals is tense and compelling, suggesting early Blonde Redhead. Their lyrics, meanwhile, are mysterious knots of angst. [Jul 2023, p.87]

Never tumbles into dissonance. Rather, tracks like the Reichian round of Rytmy shimmer like heat haze on the horizon. [Jun 2023, p.95]

Lux Æterna [is] a prime example of 72 Seasons' astonishing vigour. ... Metallica are worthy again. [Jul 2023, p.82]

A tightly coiled album, covering 17 tracks in 45 minutes, Maps leaves much to unpick. [Jul 2023, p.87]

Tyler and band lean deeper into kosmische country rock. [Jul 2023, p.92]