Comfortably their finest outing since 1982's Forever Now. [Sep 2020, p.113]

Bobby Gillespie murmurs over Minimal's slinky pop, while Silenced and Kuzurenai toy with space, R&B dynamics and even more tunes. [Sep 2020, p.107]

An incredible album. [Sep 2020, p.111]

Younge and Muhammad give Ayers a crisp edge that achieves the unlikely feat of dragging jazz-funk into the modern world. [Sep 2020, p.107]

Rather than succumb to difficult second album syndrome, Fontaines D.C. have emerged frontrunners in an already crowded field of vital, important young bands. A Hero's Death is a resounding victory. [Aug 2020, p.100]

A poignant revisiting of Whitsun Dance catches the profound power of this richly arranged album. [Aug 2020, p.105]

There are also welcome flashes of their own identity. ... At 14 songs, however, that saccharine sheen starts to grate a little. [Aug 2020, p.102]

It's with the good-foot funk of Save Me and slow-lane soul of Hold On that Williams's vision really pulls into focus. [Aug 2020, p.113]

Her observations possess a nuance that blasts away old cliches, but are also related with a pleasing simplicity. [Aug 2020, p.107]

All The Time is cool and compelling dance-pop. [Aug 2020, p.108]

An enthralling, multi-layered listen. [Aug 2020, p.109]

This is rock'n'roll at its most direct, fun and stupid-yet-deadly-serious. [Aug 2020, p.105]

Thick, claggy basslines anchor them alongside The Fall a their most pulverising. .... The debut's best moments, however, are when they push against what a post-punk band should be. [Aug 2020, p.109]

The work of a man kitted out with a full array of emotional surveillance equipment, its expansive space-rock and cosmic lyrics zooming in and out on humanity in all its rich chaos. [Jun 2020, p.92]

Ultimate Success Today is convulsed by End Times thoughts of collapse and an American dream eating itself. [Aug 2020, p.111]

With its bright shiny sonics buffed by Blur/Smiths producer Stephen Street, it ranks up there with the best of the early Pretenders albums. [Aug 2020, p.111]

There's a wobbly quality to La Havas's toplines that means they can get lost in the more densely instrumented tracks, yet the sparser finger-picked guitar numbers give her songwriting space to shine. [Aug 2020, p.108]

It's a uniformly lovely if melodically insubstantial mode. [Summer 2020, p.105]

The star of the show remains the Brummie Everygeezer and his droll, unceremoniously-delivered bars. [Summer 2020, p.100]

This is a record that opens up the time and space to think, picking up echoes, melting them down into something new. [Aug 2020, p.102]

DMA's aspirations here are elite-class: Life Is A Game Of Changing channels New Order circa Republic, while Silver evokes peak-period Verve's reassuringly expensive shuffle. [Aug 2020, p.107]

For all the finely crafted, impeccably produced numbers there are enough stripped-back torch song moments to remind us of the simple power of Wainwright's talent. [Aug 2020, p.113]

Often ludicrous, Pure Luxury is a brilliant escape. [Aug 2020, p.108]

The business can feel overwhelming at times - more straightforwardly enjoyable are the pared-back tunes that leave enough room for Moore's slightly husky and hugely characterful voice to shine. [Aug 2020, p.109]

She's still very much the real deal. [Aug 2020, p.111]

Provides a stirring reminder of how cross-cultural encounters spark new musical forms. [Aug 2020, p.107]

Dream Wife may borrow from the best, but are indefatigably joyfully their own. [Aug 2020, p.113]

It might feel too in thrall to their heroes at times. ... But Bdrmm's world of noise is so artfully constructed it's hard to not find yourself lost within it. [Aug 2020, p.102]