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]

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]

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

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]

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]

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

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]

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.

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.

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

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

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]

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.

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

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.

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]

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.

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]

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.

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.

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.

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]

The Prodigy was never about subtlety, but Howlett is stepping more carefully this time. [Oct 2004, p.104]

The now-three-piece group proves they haven't lost their ability to blend superb pop hooks with dance beats. [Sep 2007, p.131]

For the completists. [Apr 2002, p.120]