Once you're name-checking Supertramp and ELO as major influences, it's pretty much over. [Aug 2002, p.114]

All good, but not quite great. [Apr 2004, p.85]

Wolf’s elastic compositions straddle the line between a multitude of genres without making it sound forced. Widely respected as one of the best drummers on the indie scene for years, Josiah Wolf has deftly proven he has the chops to stand on his own.

This timeless band may have taken some nods from M.I.A., Bloc Party, Hot Chip and even Bonde Do Role to keep up with 2008--or not--but they continue to soar high on some genius sonic whimsy, making The Dream a truly commendable offering.

Stripped down, home cooked goodness. [Jul/Aug 2005, p.109]

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Whether this is in fact always true is quite debatable, but with Miss Kittin teaming up with The Hacker once more for Two, it seems as though they’re as strong as ever.

Another befuddling album that offers what seems to be a gigantic middle finger bookended by disrupted toe-tappy pop numbers. [Oct 2002, p.96]

Beside their standalone sharp sensationalism, 'Heavy Heart' and 'The Band Marches On' breast a melodic acuity that begs to be ripped and shredded into anthemic dancefloor permutations.

If The Bran Flakes managed to cleverly juxtapose their weird samples against each other in order to make a satirical point, maybe they'd get a pass. However, most of the tracks come off like two kids selfishly goofing off in the studio with long lost gems of nostalgia from their childhood.

Espoir is a strong start to a promising international musician’s career.

Quicken The Heart has allowed Maximo Park to showcase all their strengths, some harder, more distorted anthems, and some gentler, livelier ballads.

It all adds up to the effect of watching American Graffiti while plugged into a morphine drip. [Jul/Aug 2005, p.105]

Walk It Off does offer a few highlights, but it fails to yield a comprehensive sense of T&T's sound, and blatantly lacks any cohesive progression.

Despite the fresh reworking, tracks like "For An Angel" and "Another Way" retain the heartfelt with synthetic, catchy cores that made them such beloved trance anthems in the first place. [Mar 2003, p.99]

At seventy-eight minutes, Emotional Technology gets a bit long in the tooth, but you get the feeling that the myriad streams of sound that pass between (and through) his ears have finally nestled together in a grandiose manner he envisioned. [Sep 2003, p.99]

The music is supposed to feel representative of the big apple, but, aside from the song titles, this is a feeling I failed to really grasp onto. Thankfully this is probably the least important part, because after listening to this record a few minutes I realized how special it really was.

A sprawling, ambitious 18-track effort that's hardly the cash-in it could've been. [May 2002, p.115]

Has more in common with Oasis than anything else. [Mar 2005, p.110]

On Yours Truly, Angry Mob, Kaiser Chiefs grow up, dig in and get utterly serious, albeit in a pogo-hopping, decadent British way. [Apr 2007, p.105]

The occasional slow track turned power ballad and the single quirky pop tune are not nearly enough to rescue this record from the depths of the depressing ditch it dug itself into.

Despite the fact that the album is largely a deconstruction of masculinity vs. feminity, Yo Majesty isn’t afraid to tone the sex down to hop on the progressive tip. 'Never Be Afraid' displays the cosmic gospel of Jwl B. However, this retreat into tamer territory isn’t indicative of weakness; chalk it up to what is actually a significantly well-rounded and versitile rap duo.

This is what Nelly's Brass Knuckles is best summarized as...a club jam.

Thankfully this album is only 10 tracks long, otherwise I don't think I could have sat all the way through it. I had trouble enough as it is.

This balls-out, hard stoner rock will get you to pump your fist in glory. [Apr 2006, p.97]

Alternately gritty and bouncy beats by Organized Noize and DJ Sleepy can't quell the sensation of attending a school reunion minus the quarterback. [Jun 2004, p.85]

With a handful of good moments, and one standout track, this sophomore effort by one Sally Shapiro and her producer Johan Agebjörn, is mediocre.

Jay Kay sounds more vital and energized than he has in a few albums. [Sep 2005, p.108]

It's clear that we have a gifted songwriter on our hands. [Jul/Aug 2006, p.117]

The Return shifts from the dusty, foreboding ambience created by Dan the Automator on Dr. Octagonecologyst into a contemporary world ripe with analog melodies and crisp, programmed beats. [Jul/Aug 2006, p.125]

Galore sounds like the stock "empowering dance pop" library compilations that music publishers bombard film music supervisors with.

These ornate, post-folk musings are bittersweet and beautiful. [Sep 2005, p.118]

T.I. vs. T.I.P. does continue T.I.'s pattern of finding great production and then sounding really cool on top of it.

Having waited four years for this new record, Faint fans anticipating a return to the throbbing mechanical heart of darkwave and disco will not be disappointed.

11 tracks of classic ambient house and melodic decks and EFX exercises. [Sep 2004, p.116]

At 40-plus minutes, Dumb Luck gets out just when the getting is good. [May 2007, p.93]

The album bristles with a new urgency. [Sep 2003, p.100]

Entertainment resurrects the group. Their music disconnects, only to connect again.

The perfect record to spice up your closet. If you're not coming out, you might as well have some sexy fun while you're in there. [Mar 2006, p.116]

This is the sound of five British lads wanking about, unsuccessfully attempting to write ballsy yet progressive sounding rock/punk anthems when their musical calculations are painfully transparent.

Dead Drunk will leave you feeling as if you sucked on an exhaust pipe and chased it with crystal meth. [Apr 2006, p.97]

Sometimes the '70s feel gets feeling hella silly. [Mar 2007, p.96]

If you’re interested in Keating’s deck work or Lord’s acid rock breakbeat, their Black Ghosts mixtape will set you straight, but this partnership has manifested considerably deeper songwriting skills for both of these guys.

As emo-tastic as Threes is, it merely sizzles in ways their debut singed. [Oct 2006, p.128]

Beans and Subtitle are especially fitting on vocals, since both are as loopy as the beats. [Sep 2004, p.115]

The developed avant-jazz compositions stand out just fine, but with all their consequential underpinnings, Herbert and the band are swinging on all levels.

CocoRosie has this fantastic ability to infuse humanity into their drum machines, and the warming result carries The Adventures to marvelous heights. [Apr 2007, p.102]

Marks a new high for Bianchi as a studio guru. [Oct 2005, p.78]

We Can't Fly is over the top, trying to embrace everything Vito De luca ever loved about radio, or all the music he ever loved, period. It's a cosmic mess of styles and guests. People who are fans of his DJ sets will not feel at home in this setting, with no crowd pleasers except for the title track.

The sisters Sierra and Bianca Casady plus a few guests (jazz pianist Gael Rakotondrabe, Argentine drummer Bolsa) improvise another trek through their active imaginations, doing whatever makes sense (or not) to them that day.

Though sometimes bordering on earnest kitsch... the bulk of material plays out as inventive reconstruction. [Mar 2006, p.114]

It's that very punk rock-gone-underground-dance spirit that separates Swayzak's latest from the more rudimentary electro-art pack. [Oct 2002, p.98]

Love, Hate, and Then There’s You may not be a sign of the band’s growth, but it succeeds in capturing what the Von Bondies are and have been best at.

He delivers for fans of every persuasion without losing grip on his ghetto past in the least--no easy feat. [Dec 2004, p.112]

A welcome back. [Mar 2006, p.123]

This UK duo's second album has lost some of the poppy jangle found on their debut. But it is replaced with grander harmonies and gauzier production, making this smooth as John Oat's bare upper lip these days.

Treasure's aggressive style deftly balances Cad Petree's more melodic side, and sees the band straddling the line between insistent, hard-hitting rock and Coldplay-esque balladry. [Nov/Dec 2008, p.87]

An album that hardcore fans will appreciate but isn't likely to help garner any new followers.

The lyrics are largely uncomplicated musings about disastrous love and lust but the band manages to broaden its musical style without compromising its core identity. A solid next step in the band's evolution and not a bad listen either.

Techno-oriented tracks like “Fire” and “Divebomb, while serviceable forays into the genre, sound out of place and disrupt the lilting momentum of the record. However, these slight missteps are are not enough to ruin a solid first effort from a band that is an undoubtedly promising addition to the dance-rock canon.

Hecksher may not have Yorke’s falsetto or vast vocal range, but his delivery is sincere, almost as if each word is a plea to understand his expression. Hecksher’s melancholic state on The Mirror Explodes forces one to sympathize, and ultimately connect with each instrument as its own entity.

We know everything about Marshall Mathers...and on Relapse, he leaves Marshall behind. Instead, he embodies characters that we know aren't him, but allow him to re-channel the shock-and-awe rebellion (and skill) that made him great in the first place.

While they have been slowly inching in the direction of a purer pop record post-"Simple Things," Binns and Hardaker seem to have finally found their stride.

It's the challenge of hearing Amanda claw her way through relentless electro barrages in an effort to deliver her heartfelt lyrics, that makes tracks like 'DJ' or the melancholy 'Leaving You Behind' (which is assisted by Lykke Li's haunting vocals) some of the most unexpectedly personable material to come out of Diplo's party-centric clique.

Great Northern may not have learned the art of being musically economical, but perhaps their greatest strength lies in their maximalist tendencies.

Throw in some straight, viscerally melodic vocals and a few cool, smart, electro-pop and digi-funk sing-alongs and you have a classic four-song EP--if not an entire album. [Sep/Oct 2007, p.129]

[A] rather perplexing, albeit tame ride. [Mar 2006, p.118]

TCM has become utterly irrelevant. [Feb 2004, p.78]

Fist of God is surprisingly decent if you can manage to divorce it from its lame context.

Even though incredibly complex and insanely technical, this is a very quiet, intimate release. There is a vulnerability in this album that hasn't been seen in previous works.

The addition of elegiac, slower songs ensure that this post-punk quarter is only moving forward. [Oct 2005, p.85]

Bunkka has the savvy and brass tacks to challenge even the Jedi master of music/marketing synergy, Moby. [Jul 2002, p.97]

Roni really hits home near the end, the last seven tracks making the album purchase (and the wait) more than worth it. [Dec 2004, p.110]

It's unfortunate that "Interscope Jackson" spends so much time here trying to ply believable tough talk--highlights arrive when Fiddy embraces his current, lavish lifestyle.

In the clubs, Baby Monkey will find a welcome family. [May 2004, p.87]

The color palette Fatboy has assembled for this project—Justin Robertson, Martha Wainwright, Dizzee Rascal, Iggy Pop, and David Byrne, to name but a few--doesn’t trump the fact that musically, the BPA is mired in beats that smack of early 2000, if not the late ‘90s.

Again and Again is an atmospheric album, but it suffers under often nonsense lyrics, uninspired vocals and borrowed production. It doesn't leave a lasting impression.

We can't blame it all on the puzzling guest appearances because back in the day, J5 would've saved those slip-ups. [Jul/Aug 2006, p.124]

A lot of these tracks sound like either near-misses or music made to play when your roomate's pissing you off. [Jan/Feb 2005, p.102]

It’s enjoyable as easy-listening, but there’s nothing about Climb Up that truly grips you. For that, APSE will have to exist in electro-rock mediocrity for the time being.

From the shirtless thunder of the title track to the shrill electroclash cover of Siouxzee and the Banshee’s 'Cities of Dust' and 'Mad Pursuit,' a moody attempt at sextronica, the real question is, what is the intended audience for this admittedly diverse yet inexplicably dated collection of electronic tunes?

This is a well-rounded album that is as artistically rich as it is sonically pleasing. The Sounds are going to be around for awhile.

It's hard to explain the mindless metal riffing that weighs down this completely disappointing album. [May 2005, p.84]

An odd album... this might well have been called Badly Drawn Boy: The Musical. [Oct 2006, p.117]

Nothing lyrically spectacular or hip-hopfluential happens, but this release shows the sometimes troubled Sov finally putting the pieces together.

Har Mar wraps glorious, melodic R&B styled hooks around lyrics that sound dangerously inappropriate coming out of the mouths of matrons in minivans. [Sep 2004, p.114]

Sure, the album title is about as random as their name and the way they originated, and yes, their sound is a crazy jumble of gritty, primal punk rebellion, but not for one moment does it not work. Openly stated, they have their shit together--no pun intended.

Trash, Rats and Microphones is tailor-made for the contemporary electro-crazed (dance like tomorrow ain’t promised) landscape.

Snow Blindness... is an indecipherable mess of spastic glitches and fuzz.

The true brilliance here is what is not done rather than what is. Instead of getting repetitive, drawn out, and maybe even boring, the album concludes itself at a measly yet perfect 11 tracks, clocking in at just under 40 minutes.

Throughout the album, there are moments of brilliance that standout, but are quickly overshadowed by guest who seem to have been chosen against the groups’ better instincts. If you go in deep, and ignore the co-stars, Divided By Night itself is more than enough to shine on its own.

Although their name might seem like a stretch when requesting at your local record store, this album is worth a purchase.

While almost as good as that first Dooom album, only time will tell if this sequel can become another timeless classic in the Kool Keith catalog.

For the most part, Dirty Vegas play up the notoriety by not straying too far from the template set by "Days Gone By." [Jul 2002, p.98]

This album, as seemingly different as each song is, runs pretty smoothly.

The result is a sound of un-epic mopeyness, more surface than interior and arguably more truthful because of it. [Apr 2006, p.84]

Radio 4 borrow, like everyone else, but they had the idea to borrow before most on the map. [Jun 2006, p.114]

While it’s commendable, if unnecessary, that Whitney and Votolato are exploring new musical areas, there’s no denying the fact that if Take Me to the Sea ever ran into Hologram Jams in a dark alley, Hologram would be down for the count.

Suffers slightly from pasteurized cheese. [Oct 2006, p.120]