Her... most streamlined effort yet. [Sep 2006, p.104]

A melodic world of deliciously messy guitars, synthesizers, and piano. [Sep 2006, p.102]

Dreary production from hometown benefactor Eminem does little to liven things up. [Aug 2006, p.82]

Milky keyboard washes and found-sound accents... give the music a darker, dreamier depth. [Sep 2006, p.100]

He, like the Beta Band, deftly creates a patchwork of Britain's mushiest styles, from Rubber Soul-era Beatles to Badly Drawn Boy's acoustic wanderings. [Sep 2006, p.108]

Blends the furious muscle of 2001's God Hates Us All with the more melodic experimentation of their post-Reign work. [Sep 2006, p.112]

Moodier moments respectably imitate Dylan and Neil Young, but often fall asleep at the wheel. [Sep 2006, p.110]

Wordy but somnambulant. [Sep 2006, p.112]

Ultimately these would-be activists end up with more nervous bark than bite. [Aug 2006, p.77]

It's uniformly catchy. [Sep 2006, p.102]

Does its best to earn a few Daft Punk comparisons. [Aug 2006, p.82]

These flat-voiced, fleetingly funky gangsta rips are too detached to be adorable. [Aug 2006, p.76]

Muse used to sound like a Radiohead tribute band; now they sound like a Muse knockoff. [Aug 2006, p.81]

Never transcends the level of a cheeky bumper sticker. [Aug 2006, p.82]

The feel-good vibe... mak[es] you feel crappy for not being as upbeat as India. [Aug 2006, p.80]

Flavorsome but oddly ordinary. [Aug 2006, p.77]

The playing is impeccable, Black's subtly warped songs uneven. [Jul 2006, p.82]

There's virtually no tension or drama in Keane's surpassingly pretty pop. [Jul 2006, p.90]

When things are going right, she reverentially nods to the sumptuous aesthetic that defined Marvin Gaye's What's Going On; when her form slips, it's like Dido gone "groovy." [Jul 2006, p.82]

They've ditched velocity but neglected to replace it with anything worthwhile. [Jul 2006, p.88]

Ripped is about three- or four-minute songcraft--never the highlight of their resume. [Jul 2006, p.88]

While Decemberunderground sounds terrific, at times Havok's dear-diary lyrics are so awkward they're almost laughable. [Jul 2006, p.81]

Bear[s] the mark of Big Star. [Jul 2006, p.85]

These thumping, Ibiza-inflected excursions into pop and R&B aren't quite as catchy [as "Starry Eyed Surprise"]. [Jun 2006, p.83]

The tracks that are anchored by [Sia and Jose Gonzalez] have a soulful edge, but elsewhere the instrumentals drift aimlessly toward the hotel jazz bar. [Jul 2006, p.90]

A better-than-decent, ultimately pointless live set. [Jun 2006, p.82]

Here, his three sidemen elevate [DeLonge's] emo tendencies to something grander and more timelessly romantic--though somewhat less exciting. [Jul 2006, p.82]

Nice, sure, but whatever happened to naughty. [Jun 2006, p.82]