At first it all sounds slightly undercooked, but soon its crunched funk and sinuous synthwork, nicely judged on "Another State Of Consciousness," suggest a master grasping a new technique. [Sep 2019, p.37]

Bratty autobiography still peaks though the clean and healthy Californian veneer. [Aug 2019, p.26]

A little more zip wouldn't go amiss. [Aug 2019, p.36]

It would be unfair to expect a "Whipping Post" from Devon Allman, Duane Betts and Berry Duane Oakley on their first outing, cut live to tape in Muscle Shoals, as they seek a comparable energy, but they manage to capably shoulder the responsibility rather than sinking under it weight. [Aug 2019, p.25]

Though Return To center has its campy moments, he's removed his tongue from his cheek. [Jul 2019, p.24]

It's hard to take it quite as seriously as it seems to take itself, although there are certainly stirring moments. [Aug 2019, p.32]

Borrowing from the past for Bowie's "Heroes" doesnt't result in anything interesting, but Perry's deep, reverb-heavy vocal on Johnny Thunders' "You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory" is a perhaps surprising highlight. [Aug 2019, p.31]

Brodsky shows himself to be a sensitive oil, shadowing Nadler's mournful keening with desolate country licks on "Dead West," or wreathing a straight-faced cover of Guns N Roses' "Estranged" in banks of dreamy fuzz. [Jun 2019, p.32]

His return is an oddly subdued affair. [Aug 2019, p.35]

For all its excursions into dancehall and fado, it's no advance on 2014's Rebel Heart: there's a sense of chasing trends. [Aug 2019, p.32]

Overall there's little evolution from previous albums here. [Jul 2019, p.30]

Sadly, he doesn't have the material to match his delivery. [Jul 2019, p.27]

Opening cut "I Got You" promises faith and solidarity "even if they start to build that wall," and both the strident funk of "Above The Law" and the testifying "Pressure" lament the rise of inner-city crime. [May 2019, p.30]

He dips toes in the blues, country, R&B and rockabilly without ever really grabbing your attention. [Jun 2019, p.27]

In less successful moments, the album idles in a mid-tempo gaze. [Jun 2019, p.30]

Despite the glistening production and seamless craft of it all, his wired intensity is often missed. [Jun 2019, p.32]

Hansard's whispery growl is something of an acquired taste, and the first half of this LP sees him aiming towards Nick Cave-style slow burning epics. ... More successful is the second half of the album. [Jun 2019, p.29]

Taken together, the songs constitute a potent set of surging alt.rock euphoria and more sombre ambience. [Jun 2019, p.24]

Never quite persuades you if it's sincerely bitter or a knowing facsimile of an early '80s break-up album. [May 2019, p.29]

Parts of the album are perfectly serviceable but largely the songs become indistinguishable. [May 2019, p.26]

Finn remains an astute and supremely compassionate songwriter, but musically, New War is often mellow to the point of lethargic. It's best when it showcases his deep eccentricities. [May 2019, p.27]

Musically, it's not exactly mould-shattering, a blend of surf and chirpy indie rock. They're at their most effective when they deliberately fray the edges. [May 2019, p.29]

Idlewild throw together plenty of ideas--without much cohesion. [May 2019, p.29]

There are more fine moments--"powder Man" is softly somnambulant, and the cinematic soundscape of "Kubrick" is an intoxicating affair--but self-editing is notably absent. [Apr 2019, p.39]

The sweetness of her voice often masks tough sentiments. [Apr 2019, p.34]

The premise may sound gimmicky and cerebral but the results are mostly playful, poppy and accessible. [Apr 2019, p.32]

The album is most fun when it plays up to the contours of Karen O's idiosyncratic voice. [Apr 2019, p.32]

There's a touch of mum-at-the-disco about the dancier numbers, but the sweet acoustica of "Some Kind Of love" and the wispy electronica of the title track still underpin earwormy hooks that won't be denied. [Apr 2019, p.28]