It's about as close a facsimile of the fractured and foreboding scattershot thoughts that haunt most of us at night as one can capture on record. [Feb 2008, p.115]

It's nice Walla's doing his own thing, but it's also clear from Field Manual that in terms of his main band, credit has always been given where credit was due. [Mar 2008, p.141]

It's the most solid album in the group's discography, haunting with moments of near perfection. [Mar 2008, p.140]

What makes Fortress much more than just a chain mail-clad sweep-picking clinic is the band's ability to weave bold melodies into the album's thudering riffage. [Feb 2008, p.116]

Another Sound Is Dying, despite the title connotation, is indeed giving birth to a stirring new noise. [Apr 2008, p.156]

What really impresses on the quintet's sophomore stunner is the way Black Mountain effortlessly shift from devastating to devastatingly beautiful. [Feb 2008, p.117]

Frustratingly, Jukebox takes a more soft-focus tack. [Feb 2008, p.114]

The problem with this kind of timeless rock 'n' roll is that every city in the U.S. has a band who have mnore or less mastered it. [Feb 2008, p.119]

The songs feature countless tired hip-pop cliches: gratuitous scratching, tinny programmed beats, burbling keyboards and faux-sexy lyrics. [Mar 2008, p.147]

Oracular may be a complex effort, but the verdict is simple--it's brilliant. [Feb 2008, p.115]

There are faint notes of Bossa Nova and Kate Bush in Bejar's sunny yet skewed arrangements--femme flights of fancy that brush past '70s and '80s folk-pop without sounding less than organic and original.

The Dillinger Escape Plan are far from dead and te sound they pioneered is only getting stronger. [Dec 2007, p.171]

Between the bloated song lengths and repetitive arrangements, What Angels & Airwaves really need for LP3 is an editor. [Dec 2007, p.184]

Smoke is a pleasant pastiche of David Bowie's "Berlin" period--with a lab-coated synth freakout at disc's end for all those Morton Subotnick fans out there. [Dec 2007, p.188]

The minimalist musical compositions on Situation force the listener to focus on Buck 65's idiosyncratic ingenuity. [Dec 2007, p.187]

Avenged Sevenfold is so all over the map musically and lyrically, it's difficult to decipher whether it's pure genius or the most convoluted mess of music you'll hear all year. [Dec 2007, p.178]

In the end, this dark, penetrating album is a transitional record and should be viewed as such. [Dec 2007, p.172]

The second album from the glorified solo project Babyshambles is a half-baked abortion. [Dec 2007, p.184]

You either listen without prejudice or deem it the most pretentious, boring swill on the planet. [Dec 2007, p.176]

Coheed's fourth album simply doesn't deliver on the suspense that's been loaded into it. [Nov 2007, p.155]

Bemis successfully came out of the other side on In Defense Of The Genre, producing an opus that musicians more than twice his age could only hope to create. [Dec 2007, p.185]

Herren manages to deliver another dense, cinematic electronic record without repeating himself or--worse--the competition. [Dec 2007, p.187]

The band takes a few sucessful detours on Chase This Light, but by and large, it's more of the same. [Nov 2007, p.172]

Their eighth album, Oblivion With Bells, showcases a more refined approach. [Nov 2007, p.176]

Together Fire and Water form one of the most breathtaking albums of the year. [Nov 2007, p.166]

So the Furnances are up to their usual tricks, making unexpected mash-ups of their own ideas. [Nov. 2007, p.160]

Krug tests the patience of even the most tolerant listener via a convoluted and self-indulgent mess of music that occasionally--and seemingly accidently--stumbles across moments of brilliance. [Nov 2007, p.163]

Sam Beam has returned with a third full-length that rivals just about anything in his small but illustrious catalog. [Nov 2007, p.162]

You may need subtitles to truly grasp the psychedelic splendor of Devendra Banhart's Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon. [Nov 2007, p.174]

The band have finally created songs as big as their love-and-death themes. [Nov 2007, p.163]

Their take on Delta blues and twisted folk is continually spot-on, going down equally well with a bad breakup or a cold beer with pals. [Nov 2007, p.172]

Reunion Tour further cements the Weakerthans' status as legitmate rock 'n' roll tastemakers. [Nov 2007, p.172]

There's very little here to grab the listener. [Nov 2007, p.162]

The Dropkick Murphys don't fuck with a good thing on The Meanest Of Times. [Oct 2007, p.156]

Venus Doom is such a refreshing return to an organic, guitar driven sound unheard since 2003's "Love Metal." [Nov 2007, p.170]

What keeps Bitchin' from being more fun than Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson's sex tape is Jay Ruston's production job. [Nov 2007, p.170]

They've retained some of the tighty wound post-punk angularity they've always favored and even bust a bit of old school punk, but the real advances are melodic. [Nov 2007, p.160]

Much of the disc is business as usual. [Oct 2007, p.169]

The freakiest freak-folk is rarely as freakish as the more disorienting triumphs of Strawberry Jam, a neo-psychedelic mind-fuck from Animal Collective. [Oct 2007, p.160]

The Go! Team's folluow-up is densely packed enough to make Phil Spector's Wall feel like a screen door. [Oct 2007, p.160]

It's still a blast to listen to Hot Hot Heat when they sound like they're having fun, even if they have to fake it. [Sep/Oct 2007, p.169]

While Release has all the hallmarks of a great DJ mix album, it's a record meant for pop consumption. [Nov 2007, p.176]

While the album has occasional moments of brillance, most of these songs sound like underwhelming sketches instead of finished products. [Oct 2007, p.160]

Stuffed from nose to toes with nine noise-rock delights. [Oct 2007, p.168]

Autumn represents Pinback's strongest album to date. [Oct 2007, p.162]

Longtime Black Lips fans will notice a more polished production compared to past albums, but it also seems apparent that these boys have barely begun to scratch the surface when it comes to showing us what they've made of. [Nov 2007, p.170]

The group's self-titled fourth album may be the maverick trio's most straightforward yet. [Oct 2007, p.160]

It peaks on 'Coffee,' a wonderfully weird, ska-tinged duet with the Mountain Goats' John Darnielle that flat out rocks. [Oct 2007, p.170]

It's quite a bit slicker and sonically feels as if it could fill an arena--but lacks personality. [Oct 2007, p.172]

Wires is the type of disc that takes you on a journey--an example of how brilliant instrumental music can be when done right. [Oct 2007, p.172]

Like "Paul's Boutique," the results are as unexpected as they are lethal. [Nov 2007, p.176]

Hip-hop is only a fragment of Jmaie T's DIY grenade, and the messy hybrid of punk, rap, and reggae on Panic prevention makes Skinner's grime gleam. [Oct 2007, p.172]

What Challengers lack in immediacy, it makes up for brain-teasing melodies and majestic orchestrations. [Oct 2007, p.162]

Fans will love it, but if you're not already on board, this album won't change your mind. [Oct 2007, p.169]

There are gems and duds, but overall this is a fine and successful experiment that'll kick-start any social gathering. [Oct 2007, p.172]

The tightly wound dance numbers are dancier ("Knights"); the slow sex jams are sexier ("White Mystery"); and new keyboardist Alex Rose gives the synths a much stronger role than ever before, both with brilliant countermelodies and sublime textures. [Sept 2007]

The band of brothers and sisters (plus one cousin) have made the gauzy shooegazing of 2005's "Room Noises" a lot noisier.... What hasn't changed, wisely, are the soaring sibling harmonies and sense of wonder, which are still best heard in delicate moments. [Oct 2007, p.168]

Although the album occasionally slogs through Broder's intentionally weird melodies, it boasts enough oddball genre fusing to keep you engaged. [Oct 2007, p.172]

This album truely is a collection of gems. [Oct 2007, p.162]

Public Enemy remain fiercely independent and definately revitalized. [Nov 2007, p.176]

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

It's surprisingly decent. [Jul 2007, p.174]

It's the type of record you rock before bedtime, and that by no means is an insult. [Jul 2007, p.184]

On the whole, the songs are more tuneful and airy and less spastic than previous riot-on-the-stage efforts. [Mar 2007, p.143]

The Brag And Cuss gently pulses with tasteful power. [Jul 2007, p.168]

Homme's modern macabre lyricism and experimental, melodic prowess... make this a more complete album that Lullabies. [Jul 2007, p.176]

It's not brilliant, and some tracks are just dumb. [Jun 2007, p.156]

Sometimes, the hype is right. [Jul 2007, p.170]

At times, the effect is akin to hearing Tortoise and Animal Collective covering the Steve Reich and Devo catalogs in tandem; but such reference points barely do justice to an album that just halfway through 2007, is already topping the year's best-of list in multiple genres. [Jun 2007, p.151]

Voxtrot's biggest fault is that at times its understated strings, burbling keyboards and retro-fitted guitars sound almost too pretty and distant. [Jul 2007, p.170]

Because their energy matches their vision, they've managed to make the best record of their career thus far. [Jun 2007, p.148]

A strong new contender in the side project derby. [Jul 2007, p.168]

What the Horrors do, they do well. [Jun 2007, p.148]

It's apparent it takes deft skill to sound this simple. [Jun 2007, p.159]

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

Pleasant but edgeless. [Jun 2007, p.149]

Everybody has something for, well, everybody. [Jun 2007, p.151]

Overall, The Boy With No Name has just enough personality to remind imitators like Coldplay and Keane from whence they came. [Jun 2007, p.151]

He rhymes like a champ. [Jun 2007, p.160]

One needs to spin [the album] multiple times to appreciate the complex but heart-tugging prog-folk dream-pop contained within. [Jul 2007, p.168]

The bulk of Baby 81 draws from the dark underbelly of the Woodstock generation. [Jun 2007, p.156]

The sound of an artist refreshed and renewed. [May 2007, p.150]

While Twelve's not an unlistenable record by any stretch of the imagination, it just begs the question: What's the point? [Jun 2007, p.158]

The whole thing possesses the air of a woozy reverie, a gentle disengagement from reality. [Jun 2007, p.162]

Dumb Luck is likely to appeal more to the indie-rock crowd than electronica purists. [Jun 2007, p.161]

Yeah, they've been putting out pretty much the same album for the last 10 years. [Jun 2007, p.158]

Mando Diao's balance of updated pop smarts, slick production and stylish vitriol is a winning one. [May 2007, p.159]

At times, the album gets a little precious, but the more inspired moments are truly undeniable. [Jun 2007, p.156]

These six songs offer moments as heavy as P-Tree have ever been, but are wistfully, sprawlingly melodic as well-sometimes in the same tune.

A diverse collection that often has a life force all its own. [Jun 2007, p.150]

Reznor sets his machinery on "kill" and points it toward authority and herd mentality. [Jun 2007, p.158]

11 tracks that scorch the earth lesser bands traipse on. [May 2007, p.150]

[Cassadaga] finds Oberst cultivating a sophistication usually found in records made by people old enough to be his grandparents. [May 2007, p.150]

A ripe thriller, the work of a facile talent with a newfound fecund baritone that goes places where Pulp could not tread. [Jun 2007, p.150]

It's something they've done better before. [May 2007, p.158]

They've honed their sound perfectly, hitting every mark they set and making Because Of The Times kick so much ass that it demands you respect them as new rock royalty. [May 2007, p.152]

It all works... simultaneously calling to mind Fall Out Boy and Franz Ferdinand. [May 2007, p.158]

A dispirited, half-baked record. [Jun 2007, p.156]