Thanks in part to Alan Moulder's always-nuanced mix, Hitch balances the band's bombast with restraint. [Apr 2016, p.102]

Though some tracks lull more than thrill, that seems to be the goal. [May 2009, p.114]

On offers tight musicianship, intimate lyrics and a wider sonic berth in comparison to indie pop's lyrically trite mistake celebrations. [May 2002, p.90]

There’s something un-Pixielike about that tentativeness, yes, but surely this group, and these fine if uncharacteristic songs, should have the chance to re-enter pop life on their own older, wiser terms.

This should be among Perry's higher-profile efforts in some time, with production by Andrew WK, and guest appearances by everyone from Moby to Brian Chippendale of Lightning Bolt. [Oct 2008, p.150]

An emotive, evocative, electrifying mystery. [July 2002, p.88]

Although their fifth album has plenty to satisfy orchestral-rock geeks and hook-heads--especially the ecstatic, merry-g-round-dizzy "up In The Dark"--the collection shines when it goes for nuance and subtlety. [Jun 2010, p.108]

The Cross of My Calking is far more spirited [than their last album], creating a univese somewhere between Primal Scream's Rolling Stones phase and the Mars Volta's brand of jam science, with an occasional Bo Diddley beat thrown in. [Jan 2008, p.129]

Skaters work best when they're not being too aggressive, letting the songs breathe while pushing the melodies out. [Mar 2014, p.94]

Another genre-bending album full of scavenged sounds. [July 2003, p.113]

M83's latest flight into the synthesized stratosphere is so steeped in '80s influence, it;s as if teen filmmaker John Hughes was lurking behind the keyboards. [June 2008, p.137]

Lysandre proves the chameleonic Owen can say the same thing over and over and never run out of inspiration. [Feb 2013, p.92]

'Bells of Creation (Machete Mix)' confirms they're not budging from their patented brans of symphonic rock....It's a sizzling cauldron of rock magic, grand in sound and scope. The other songs aren't quite as compelling. [Dec 2008, p.146]

At times, it lacks focus, but this is still a perfect soundtrack for lonely nights at home with your demons. [Jun 2015, p.98]

Feels a bit like Bob Dylan's Bringing It All Back Home--a record where bravery is found with volume. [Apr 2003, p.85]

Even if it's probably not a classic, it's still pretty damn solid. [Jun 2012, p.81]

If you're a fan of the British installment of the Nuggets collection, this album was made for you. [Oct 2005, p.166]

You & Me is a consolidation of strengths, intensity and pathos with enough '60s echo-chamber reverb to singe synapses. [Oct 2008, p.153]

Unfortunately, the visceral energy of their early days is lost in their newfound maturity. [Aug 2002, p.71]

Your best bet is to just let go and enjoy this long, schizophrenic ride through his candy-colored, drug-addled musical subconscious. [Dec 2014, p.107]

The classic Mould you've sought is (mostly) back. [Mar 2008, p.145]

Fire From The Sky is another compelling addition to their catalog. [Jun 2012, p.84]

These Brighton lads are smart and clever, as evidenced by the creative leaps they exhibit on Visions. [Jun 2007, p.148]

Dangerkids mix modern elements of electronica and metalcore into rap-rock, which at first seems a bit disjointed and weird, but soon settles into a comfortable roar that hits all the sweet spots in the metal/hardcore/emo realm.

Lynn Teeter Flower finds Taylor shaving away some of the layers from her solo debut 11:11 for more subtle ornamentation and experimentation. [Apr 2007, p.182]

The In Crowd haven't reinvented the wheel, but they've certainly made getting hit by it a little harder to dismiss. [Feb 2014, p.91]

This five-track EP has the steamy, summery sound of a Jamaican club in full riot mode.

A new Social D album is always welcome, even if Ness' advance age is showing now more than ever. [Feb 2011, p.90]

Taken individually, Ritual's songs can meander too much; as a whole, however, the album is a success. [Feb 2011, p.90]

Creative Adult live up to their name well enough on this full-length debut, but they sound truly realized and focused by Psychic Mess' finale, with the band sorting out confused emotions per the title but landing musically right on point.

Gemini, Her Majesty is by and large a step back towards the fertile brilliance that rightfully gained Rx Bandits exposure in the early 2000s, recapturing the jubilant mix of styles they deployed with so much fresh aggression and poise.

Consistent--and consistently funny. [Apr 2005, p.124]

Transgender Dysphoria Blues definitely isn’t perfect, but its high points are high enough that even a fuckface like yours truly can’t ignore its flashes of brilliance.

This is Iron & Wine's most resolute statement, and what a wake-up call. [Feb 2011, p.87]

Although there;s wnough kicky keyboard-pop to satisfy long-time fans, the darker nuances are a welcome evolution. [Mar 2010, p.98]

Red Light is a sturdier, more rocking affair (relatively speaking) [than their debut]. [Jul 2012, p.94]

Another Language is a step back in the right direction, engulfing the listener with effortless subtlety. [Oct 2014, p.101]

Warpaint were more consistent before this, but as a comparative misstep, Warpaint still yields an enjoyable, haunting outpouring of whispered emotional damage and spatial exploration. [Feb 2014, p.94]

Goths is one of Darnielle and co.'s most daring and well-conceived feats. [Jun 2017, p.82]

Kaputt expresses equal slyness via gratiutious saxophone and trumpet solos. [Feb 2011, p.87]

Sole's willingness to bust lyrical caps in the asses of the left as well as the right make him a fairly revolutionary revolutionary--one whose musical journal keeping, for all its excesses, is worth deciphering. [Apr 2003, p.85]

You can feel that relaxed swagger throughout Moms thanks to some of Seim's slinkiest funk rhythms, and the giddy arena-rock guitar antics the pair allow to pop up throughout the proceedings. [Oct 2012, p.90]

The [absence of original bassist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham] is felt; at times, the album lacks the urgency and energy of the band's best work. Still, Content is an uncompromising experience. [Feb 2011, p.87]

There will always be casualties when musicians want to change but fans want them to stay the same. That doesn’t stop the Color Morale from adding plenty of pop choruses to their post-hardcore palate on Hold On Pain Ends, while keeping their metalcore tendencies, too.

Adams often finds himself revisiting his past glories on Easy Tiger. [Jul 2007, p.178]

I'm Having Fun Now is a good time for your ears, and hopefully the start of more collaborations between the two lovebirds.

Though highly polished, nothing comes across as cynical or contrived, and Mikey Chapman’s delivery has never been more heartfelt.

Things get a little dicier when they dip into the ’60s, as Deschanel doesn’t have the pipes to match up with the likes of Maxine Brown and Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers.... Throughout the rest of Classics, though, Deschanel is a delight, at times coy and romantic, and in other moments, moody and pensive.

Though fans may expect these collaborations to be less structured than a MURS solo record, there's a few songs that just leave you feeling unsatisfied. That being said, Fornever is still a solid disc, and will please the average indie-rap fan.

The music is fresh and compelling, sure, but there's nothing in the lyrics or the instrumentation that leads one to assume these musicians haven't been acquiring experience on the road for a dozen years. [Feb 2011, p.90]

You’re unlikely to hear a more earnest album than Bleachers' Strange Desire this year, nor are you apt to find a release more faithful to the spirit and sound of Top 40 radio in the late, great ’80s.

The Wolf You Feed is an admirable addition to the Gamblers' discography.

Velociraptor! is an energetic, upbeat, gleeful pastiche of almost every form of English pop devised over the past four decades. If you're gonna be a dinosaur, might as well be a fast one.

Dear Youth is a one-size-fits-all hardcore album, one that will lead many fresh faces through the door but leave returners looking for more.

TDS' debut full-length captures punk's careless mischief and re-keys it for the new millennium.

The sound is a little too consistent, as every spastic outburst starts to sound like the last midway through the album. [Apr 2003, p.86]

It ain't pretty, but the intensity is undeniable. [Mar 2013, p.92]

A pair of seemingly dated numbers aside, Disconnection Notice makes for a solid and surprisingly cohesive listen. [Mar 2005, p.118]

Not straying too far from the party vibe, Jacuzzi Boys slow things down, but still sound like fun in the sun. [Oct 2013, p.86]

Am I The enemy is their second-best album and a reason to believe in a brighter future. [Sep 2011, p.120]

Hot Shots II recalls the repetitive excellence of 1998's The Three E.P.'s, with still more chant-like repetition and scarcely a change... [Aug 2001, p.76]

Stripped-down and understated. [Sep 2004, p.136]

M. Ward's creations have the fragility of drawings made in the dust that's settled on a china cabinet. [Apr 2003, p.87]

Packed with timeless rock songs. [May 2005, p.174]

Recorrupted's five tracks make for a solid stopgap release.

While most of the songs boast their own distinct personalities, the whole record feels touched by a melancholy tone that recalls the end of summers past.

It's an arc of moods and musicianship, ranging from dynamic tension, inspired cinematic tension and moments of textured finesse. [Apr 2014, p.94]

Oddly, they sound more now in 2002 than they ever have. [Dec 2002, p.96]

America is an even blend of the oddball Deacon you know and the more refined, mature artist he's growing into. [Sep 2012, p.88]

While they're not all winners, tracks like the lonesome, devastating "Shiver and Shake" prove Adams remains as powerfully evocative a songwriter as ever. [Mar 2017, p.80]

Yorn continues to embrace a simplistic sensibility, allowing his voice and some rollicking rock riffs to carry most of the tracks on Pete Yorn. [Oct 2010, p.120]

He's created the "good, good pop record" he threatened with "Arm's Way," wisely getting out of his own way and letting the simple but undeniable pleasures of the Motownish title track, the synth-happy '80s pastiche 'Tender Torture' and his latest Brian Wilson homage, 'On Foreigner,' with its massed Beach Boys harmonies, shine through.

The Human Romance shows an experienced band trying new things and succeeding. [Mar 2011, p.92]

This is a band in complete control of ts creative vision, and the result is a sharp, confident album. [Oct 2013, p.88]

The Big Deep is a very good album that is hard to pigeonhole. In a time when far too many bands are playing by the rules of one sub-sub-genre or another, true uniqueness is encouraging.

It's like BVB's other output in that it's not perfect, but the high points are still pretty damn high.

The relatively hushed tone of Several Shades Of Why is unnerving at first spin, strictly when considering the auditory atom bomb of Mascis' well-documented projects; but the second go 'round clears the clouds, revealing a vast lo-fi victory. [Apr 2011, p.115]

Your ears may start to ache a little, but it also makes the album's eventual deliverance all the more divine.

The album's missteps appear when the band slows things down; but for the most part, First World Manifesto is Pop-Punk 101, which is to be expected from a bunch of veterans. [Apr 2011, p.122]

This is unapologetic alternative rock with a rainy day, late-night drive twist. [Mar 2017, p.80]

It's a sharp effort taken in pieces, but as a whole, it's a little lacking.

Includes everything from Brighten The Corners-sounding pop blasts to comforting acoustic gems to dark rockers. [Nov 2001, p.91]

Answers an interesting question: What if, after The Bends, Radiohead had discovered pedal steel instead of Pro Tools? [Oct 2003, p.138]

One of the better nuanced and layered compositions we're likely to see before 2007 ends. [May 2007, p.152]

They've beefed up their bombastic prog-rock guitars and grandiose, Teutonic synth motifs to new levels of virtuoso excess. [Feb 2004, p.93]

White it's Oye's endearing melancholy that holds Unrest together, the Human League synth sounds are what give the disc its quietly indulgent charm. [Feb 2003, p.72]

It's an engaging listen. [Mar 2009, p.107]

Molina & Johnson's treasures are there, as long as you listen closely. [Jan 2010, p.95]

Other old rockers sound old. Iggy sounds brutal, harsher than last time, louder than ever, a pummeling self-production pocked with magnificent metal dumbness... [Sep 2001, p.88]

Thr!!!er is a party for sure, but you';; never really feel it unless you and 200 of your best friends are listening to it in an airplane hanger at 110 db. [May 2013, p.84]

Light We Made reveals a new sense of agency via Jon Simmons’ confident new vocal technique and experimentation with stronger electronic elements.

It's an LP that finds the band in complete comfort with in their place in the musical universe and willing to stretch out here and there into slightly uncomfortable postures.

Everblack won't disappoint anyone looking to hear TBDM do what they've always done. [Jul 2013, p.96]

Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper arrives as less of a sonic surprise, but his knack for buoyant hooks remains on electronic psychedelia's forefront. [Feb 2015, p.92]

Cult at times feels cut from the same cloth as 2007's Walking Wounded. [Mar 2014, p.87]

Alphaville's best moments tend to be its most deliberate and glammy. [Sep 2014, p.108]

As great as At War With Reality really is, it is nothing but expectations, and for a band that shattered preconceptions and spawned an absolutely unbearable number of copycat bands with their last album, that's actually a bit disappointing.

The rest of the album is similarly focused on animated, inventive electronica which cherry-picks from minimal techno, early synth-pop, moody new wave and Animal Collective-like rhythmic collages. [Dec 2012, p.94]