A lounge lizard's idea of heaven.

As with the band's previous albums, Souljacker bristles with pop euphoria and cracking production... but just like those previous albums, Souljacker ultimately falls a bit flat over the course of its extended running time.

Another very good collection of tight playing and propulsive instrumentals.

Thankfully, Kevin Shields puts together some great guitarscapes in Evil Heat -- maybe the best work he's done post Loveless. It's what saves this record, since Bobby Gillespie (as usual) tries to ruin some of these tracks with some pretty silly lyrics.

Like label mates Aphex and Autechre, this all amounts to something of a tough listen, though it is tracks like "Sixnot6" and "Distracted2" which really reward the listener willing to wade through the bleak atmospherics.

The result throughout Velocity of Sound is an impression of the Apples in Stereo as introductory ironists, non-threatening to kids and parents, accessible and enjoyable to all.

There's not a clunker in the bunch, as at least six of album's 11 songs are among the band's finest creations.

A free-flowing, just cohesive enough forty-five minute listen that, in keeping with the booklet contents, has an air of strange melancholy throughout, perhaps most evident on the album's haunting heart, "Cherry."

Resembles what a new Rush album would've sounded like.

The songs, while as elegant and naturally paced as they've ever been, tend to merely drift along.

The fifth album doesn't deviate far from the band's tried and true sound, but it's solid nonetheless.

Though The Little Red Songbook and Stars Forever would be better introductions to the wonderful world of baroque pop, Folktronic is a must-have for Momus fanatics.

Apart from the wonderfully elastic, surprising “Us," it doesn't offer anything striking or resonant.

An uneven and incoherent set of "Kid A Sessions" material that is sometimes strong but sometimes uninspired.

In the end though, Ladd's too good at producing a realistic commercial rap record; Beauty Party falls prey to the same faults, and the occasionally bland material never rises above its satirical value.

Essentially, this is the same album as On the Six, only a little longer with a little less focus and not as many memorable songs. This lack of winning singles becomes a drag, since at over an hour, the record meanders much longer than it should.

Televise is an impressive and adventurous -- if occasionally mopey -- collection of songs.

Though Giraffe is definitely Echoboy's most immediate and cohesive work, it's not perfect: the album takes a misguided turn toward the dark and overwrought on songs like "Lately Lonely" and "Wasted Spaces," both of which recall the harsher moments of Primal Scream's Evil Heat.

Sleepwalk an essential body of work for those who enjoy their electronic music with a little human interference.

Beats and percussive effects are far more present and grounded in hip-hop as much as they are rooted in dub, which lend the tracks an organic touch never before present.

Ultimately, Day I Forgot lacks the emotional poignancy and experimental sonic character present on every track of Musicforthemorningafter.

Not a hint of pretense makes even the most formulaic tunes and lyrics ("Little Baby," "Party," "Come On!") seem inspired if not quite inspirational.

A pleasant sound, to be sure, but not exactly what Young followers were expecting.

The real problem is that Lupine Howl doesn't really do enough here to distinguish itself from other bands, drawing from such obvious influences as the Rolling Stones and the Doors, and in a lot of ways the album sounds like a tour of '90s retro-influenced bands like the Charlatans, Oasis, or even the Black Crowes.

If this record came out in 1965 they'd be superstars; however, in 2002 they would have to settle for cult favorites.

Macy Gray lets her freak flag fly, almost to the detriment of everything else.

Perhaps appropriately, Up sounds like an album that was ten years in the making, revealing not just its pleasures but its intent very, very slowly.

Oskar Tennis Champion would surely please most Momus fans, though it does not match up to his best albums.