The band's music is comparable to early Police material that everyone mistook for punk. [Jul 2004, p.146]

The disc is as loose, casual and rollicking as a conversation with an old friend.... across these 65 minutes, his manic energy shines through. [#154, p.87]

Dear John rewards the attentive listener with complexities crafted by a Swedish pop masermind; just don't mediate on the lyrics for comfort after an emotional breakup. [Mar 2009, p.106]

AAL not only continue to cut through genre restrictions, but do so while considering song and structure. [Dec 2016, p.100]

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

Thanks to the expert production of Brendan O'Brien, the record sounds goddamn phenomenal. [Aug 2012, p.83]

It comes was a welcome surprise that their sixth full-length contains the most visceral, overtly hostile and sinister music of their career. [May 2010, p.102]

It's a solid first salvo from a band who clearly have the chops to make a serious stir. [Sep 2014, p.105]

It’s a good record, to be sure, but that’s to be expected by TBS at this point: These guys are professional musicians who have sold a few million records and toured the world countless times over. Unfortunately, a “good” record just isn’t good enough anymore.

Weak. [Sep 2004, p.140]

It's lovely stuff. [Feb 2014, p.90]

All that really matters is that the White Album’s songs are great, and not just great for the 2016 version of Weezer. They stack up beside the band’s best work of the past 15 years.

For all of its charms, One Kiss Ends It All sounds a bit sdhaky and unfocused. [Jun 2013, p.98]

Lovely and bewitching, Cipher unfolds like an elegantly written novel. [Sep 2010, p.112]

A crank-it-up-Friday-night blowout that's pure exuberance. [Apr 2003, p.74]

Though this is limp-wristed stuff, it's also undeniably beautiful, often recalling Nick Drake and Belle & Sebastian. [#154, p.82]

Like most everything else here, it's a dancing no-brainer. [Mar 2011, p.92]

Pure bubblegum, but with an often-faded flavor. [Apr 2012, p.98]

Doom Abuse is great, if only as a reminder of how good Blank-Wave Arcade was way, way back in 1999. [May 2014, p.91]

These impressive vocal arrangements suffer when Ida leave them alone in the spotlight. [Feb 2005, p.88]

[A] sterling debut. [Mar 2006, p.122]

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]

The sixth studio album by the international power-metal squad largely makes the positive changes heard on 2012's The Power Within stick. [Sep 2014, p.106]

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]

This group's self-titled album creates a warm and fuzzy slow burn akin to the glory days of weird post-rock bands like Karate, Lungfish, and Regulator Watts. [Apr 2013, p.88]

Skeletal Laming furthers the notion that Kevin Barnes is, in fact, the Prince of our generation. [Dec 2008, p.138]

Contains all the usual suspects: a few great songs, a few throwaways, a bunch of head-scratching song titles and indie rock's best take on the Who. [Mar 2006, p.124]

[A] successful collection. [Mar 2013, p.91]

The vibe on Broken Bellls is so mellow and laid-back that the album dissolves into mere ambient wallpaper. [Apr 2010, p.122]

Melvins' 18th proper album is essentially classic rock for 2008--with the band's trademark abrasion. [Aug 2008, p.166]

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

Underworld are dancefloor outsiders humble enough to leave the 12-inch stuff to the kids, but good enough to be the Yes of dance rock without turning into Jethro Tull. [Oct 2002, p.82]

If Enon were magicians, their crowd-gasping finale would be sawing in half the expectations of what a nu-New york band should sound like. [Oct 2003, p.122]

It's virtually impossible to listen to Show Me Your Tears from start to finish; but individually, each song is a dark, delightful peek at Black in the throes of therapy. [Nov 2003, p.108]

It's anything but a lo-fi vanity project. [Mar 2006, p.138]

When Last Secrets works, it's awesome... but thanks in part to sequencing, it drags toward the end. [Jun 2006, p.180]

The band's piecemeal rock 'n' roll emerges a mish-mash of spacey barroom blues, with Kevin's voice sometimes struggling yo pair with the front-and-center obligation that rawer music demands. [Aug 2010, p.146]

Throughout, Campbell touches on one of his greatest lyrical strengths--his attention to detail--to bring scenes to life, while also being acutely aware of the underlying emotion and backstory just beyond the setting. It’s devastatingly effective.

After the doom and gloom of 2012's Gossamer, Kindred sees Angelakos walking back into the light. [May 2015, p.100]

"Bring Me Home" showcases a bit more of the band's mid-paced rock sound, very much coming across like when Face To Face try to mix punk and rock, which sometimes works and sometimes falls very short. Millencolin make it work, although when they're punking-out fast and hard (like on the awesome "Sense & Sensibility”), things work even better.

It almost doesn't matter what chanteuse Inara George--one half of the Bird And The Bee--is singing about on the duo's second full-length, Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future, mainly because it all sounds so sweet. [Feb 2008, p.103]

Manson is keeping things exciting and crucial the only way rock’s long-running antihero can. Pro Tip: Listen on headphones, where his unadorned, chilling stalker-esque asides will make your bladder flex.

The Chemical Brothers seem adrift and directionless. [Mar 2005, p.138]

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

This quietly experimental album ends up being Death Cab For Cutie's great leap forward--an achievement of pop formalism wrapped inside a beautiful cacophony. [Jun 2011, p.108]

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]

The Valley is an overall pleasant--and occasionally riveting--debut for the newly independent family. [Apr 2011, p.118]

I Blame You is where they make good on that promise, delivering a record as electrifying as their live show. [May 2009, p.122]

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

Should you find yourself craving the fleeting rush of a dark, well-crafted pop song, Cuts Across The Land does wonders for, well, the spirit. [May 2006, p.176]

The songs last twice as long as they should. [Dec 2004, p.152]

A soulful kitsch-pop pastiche reminiscent of everything from Roxy Music to the Beatles. [Jan 2003, p.100]

A way more direct, danceable and fun album. [Jan 2003, p.104]

May be Jackson's best work to date.... Playgroup is effortlessly retro, without sounding dated. [Apr 2002, p.80]

Unfortunately, the pretentious spoken-word ramblings, corny hooks and unremarkable trance put Maas, along with Paul Van Dyk and BT, in a less illustrious category: top-notch DJs with second-rate albums under their belts. [May 2002, p.90]

The unpredictable edge that's helped made the series a standout is gone. [May 2004, p.108]

The only problem is that in making way for all the MCs, Dilated's tracks seem too peripheral, keeping Expansion from sustaining the momentum its MCs command. [Jan 2002, p.80]

While Boo! is far less indulgent than JOA's most experimental records, it remains a far cry from Kinsells's earliest work in the mid-90s emo forefathers Cap'n Jazz. [June 2008, p.131]

Dark Is The Way, Light Is A Place is largely proof that what Anberlin might now lack in immediate catchiness, they more than make up for in composure. [Oct 2010, p.111]

The two sides of their musical personality aren't in balance, but it doesn't make this album any less fun or rocking. [Feb 2014, p.92]

What really makes News And Tributes impressive, despite lacking the immediacy of its predecessor, is that it captures the Futureheads comfortable in their own skin. [Aug 2006, p.218]

The Bloom and the Blight is the pair's most concise and best work to date. [Oct 2012, p.92]

"Key Entity Extraction: Domino The Destitute" contains everything that makes Ascension a great record: heavy riffage, soaring leads, shouting, undeniable hooks, and no bullshit in between. [Nov 2012, p.91]

While it may not achieve the same sort of emotional depth fellow math-rockers Foals have, it would still be wise to follow them in whatever they go. [May 2012, p.81]

Page Hamilton and Co. show more growth than they have in nearly two decades. And damn, they still have it when it comes to riffs. [Dec 2016, p.102]

All Aboard Future--for all its dystopian doom--somehow shakes out as the first truly modern punk record of 2009. [Apr 2009, p.133]

It doesn't push the envelope. [Jan 2012, p.97]

Rainbow feels every bit as massive as the world it sets up. It's not just the heaviest record in Coheed's arsenal; it's also one of the strongest.

Back with album No. 2, Beak> feel more purposeful somehow.

Plays like the soundtrack to a string of awe-striking discoveries. [Feb 2006, p.120]

Title TK isn't awful, but it's too zoned out to draw you in. [Jun 2002, p.71]

Held together nicely by Armstrong's expertly scored strings and a generally tranquil tone common to most of his work. [Jun 2002, p.71]

While it doesn't flow with the breathless ingenuity of their earlier albums, it's still a cut above 90 percent of today's electronica. [#147, p.109]

The lyrics can be heavy-handed--images of greed, violence and the apocalypse dominate, with varying levels of success--but the danceable beats and grungy atmosphere make Corpus the ideal soundtrack for debauchery in the face of economic depression. [Mar 2009, p.112]

They may not be reinventing the wheel, but when a band play with this much riotous excitement, who needs reinvention? [Mar 2010, p.98]

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

On his third solo album, Crow fully embraces his eclecticism. [Nov 2011, p.92]

Angles ends up being one of the group's more compelling efforts, rather than the casualty of experimentation it could have been.

The gently frenetic interplay between instruments works in the opener "Cut From The Cloth," but tires after nine carbon copies. [Jan 2007, p.134]

Giraffe hums with the kind of lush, emotive pop New Order were making circa Power, Corruption and Lies. [Mar 2003, p.94]

Blixa Bargeld's singing voice lacks distinction, but Mobile's emotional intensity, cinematic grandeur and eerie beauty render that a moot point. [Mar 2004, p.110]

A refreshing journey back to the plugged-in analog sound of early 'Lab albums. [Oct 2001, p.100]

Their strongest and most distinctive effort to date. [#151, p.71]

Embraced by the masses or resigned to cult status, Sebadoh's reunion is a welcome one, and this strong album is a fine return to peak period form.

Songs like "Electric Chair" show the promise of this project, but unfortunately, the rest of the disc is fan-only filler. [Apr 2005, p.130]

The London-based compulsive hair-dyer follows 2007's soulful breakout "The Magic Position" with the luxurious sounds of The Bachelor, the first half of a double album to mixed results. [Sep 2009, p.108]

It's certainly a progression for Metric, but it's an evolution whose emotional honesty--and sonic depth--are rewarding and affecting. [Jul 2012, p.94]

Our quality of life would instantly improve if this disc didn't exist. [Feb 2005, p.94]

There isn't one song on Elevator as undeniable as "Bandages"... No, there are 12 of them. [May 2005, p.172]

Naturally focuses its atention on catchy, trashy rock, but this time, the seams stitching the riffs to the Automator's programming are less prominent. [Aug 2008, p.174]

Their fourth album, Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action is just as resolute as the title. [Sep 2013, p.88]

Tokyo Police Club retain their enthusiasm with Champ; they just want to show off the new tricks in their pony show. [Jul 1010, p.130]

Being bent out of shape never sounded so good. [Mar 2007, p.142]

Though not as striking as True Devotion, it still tugs earnestly at your heartstrings. [May 2012, p.85]

End Times is easily one of Eels' finest achievements. [Feb 2010, p.93]

The album's primary footholds--those downstrokes; that kick drum; those poker-faced paeans to wizards and wenches--are as true, and as sinisterly black-and-blue, as doom metal gets. [May 2008, p.136]

While the band's last album, Amber, showed the beginnings of something great, Amber, while not perfect, has actual moments of brilliance. [Mar 2006, p.134]

For fans of Sigur Ros and Mogwai, this is a godsend, but those who feel like those bands just incessantly mine one-chord riffs would do better to stay away. [May 2004, p.96]