Ultimately, Neighborhoods is a slightly awkward entry in the band's catalog that shows as much potential as it does flaws.

The album runs a tad long--and it's difficult to suss out the band's individual voice from underneath the weight of their influences. [Mar 2011, p.92]

Momento Mori is a good album, with the awesome 'Set Apart This Dream' and 'Again' shining with their anthemic choruses and deft use of pop melody. The tragedy is that it could have been great. [Dec 2009, p.108]

Crisis Works has a hard time maintaining the momentum it jumps out of the gate with, but while it is going full throttle, all you can do is cling on for dear life and enjoy the hell out of the ride. [Jun 2011, p.111]

It boasts some of Avary's most concise songwriting to date and a self-confident, unfettered vibe that's invigorating. [Jul 2012, p.89]

The band's skill with their classic source material remains intact: the chord progressions, melodies and arrangements are familiar, but rarely boring or overtly derivative. [May 2013, p.90]

Nada Surf's blend of melancholy, anxiety and child-like optimism is fully intact on their first collection of original material in four years. [Feb 2012, p.84]

Of course, like any soundtrack, there are a number of pieces that end as quickly as they begin (“Fires,” “The Adventures Of Alvin and Lance”), their existence only making sense in the context of the film itself. Overall, however, Prince Avalanche contains songs that make this an album you can spin even if you have no interest in the film itself while illustrating the versatility of both EITS and Wingo.

We Are Wolves', third album, Invisible Violence, features a bevy of captivating numbers and is a triumphant display of the Montreal trio's versatility. [Mar 2010, p.98]

At its best, Arms is a pleasant album, one that sounds good on the surface or as background music. For most bands, that's perfectly acceptable. But for a group like Band Of Horses--whose ambitions have always intersected with being meaningful and transcendent, too--somehow just being acceptable makes Arms fall short.

Sing When You're Winning is as powerful as you want, as lovely as your dreams and as subtle as the best practical joke. [12/2000, p.121]

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

About as riveting as a glass of water. [Jun 2004, p.97]

While the band's by-the-book emo and fondness for '90s Radiohead may not break new ground, they've still made a hell of a record whose familiarity makes it feel like an old favorite upon first listen. [Oct 2002, p.95]

Frankly, we think this is better than One Bedroom. [Jun 2003, p.98]

With Safeways Here We Come, Chixdiggit! have released a record akin to Superchunk's Majesty Shredding; a band who never quite broke up seemingly come back from the dead with not only some of their strongest material to date, but also some of the strongest that the genre has seen.

It may not pack as firm as a punch as previous Viva Voce albums, but when they get their shots in you'll feel the sting. [Jul 011, p.112]

Pyramids can sound like several songs playing at once, a psychedelic instrumental played backward, or the muffled recording of a session two rooms away. [July 2008, p.155]

The second half of the album loses momentum due to the overly long, soggy pop of "Crescendo" and "Strangers," although Nocturnes recovers nicely on the flawless synth-pop jam "All For You," where Hesketh shows off her dramatic, emotive vocals. [Jun 2013, p.98

The fun carries all the way until the album's lengthy psychedelic jam, "Captain Ace," which bursts with wild saxophone and shows how to capture a brilliant act of Tape. [Oct 2012, p.92]

Here, vocalist Yuki Chikudate's stacked, reverberating vocals sparkle like the glint of light off of fresh morning dew. [Apr 2009, p.134]

Re-examining a broken heart is tough business, but Turner and producer Butch Walker do the work on this dozen-song effort. [Sep 2015, p.97]

Del wisely keeps things simple on the audio front, lubricating many of his basic, old-school beats with the good old P-Funk bottom of his early years. [Mar 2008, p.147]

Decidedly mature and unapologetically soulful, Float is one of the most important records of this young year. [Apr 2008, p.148]

Blood & Lemonade is a good old-fashioned power-pop record bursting with rock-god guitar riffs, stacked harmonies and chugging tempos. [Oct 2014, p.96]

For fans of hook-laden music, the album's a must. [Mar 2011, p.99]

While storytellers has a decent amount of vocals, it's still the gorgeous, lush melodies and layered soundscapes that speak the loudest. [Mar 2010, p.90]

They really hit their offbeat stride on Fortress with "Japanese Woman," the tale of a woman who "lives in my closet" and "eats up all my food when she thinks I'm at the office." [Aug 2010, p.150]

It's the sound of three musicians playing to their strengths while challenging their songwriting style, resulting in a cohesive listen that holds your attention to the end. [Sep 2008, p.156]

Childish Gambino is more than just a rapper, and Camp is more than just an album: It's a stone-cold classic.

This is the future of metalcore. [Mar 2014, p.88]

Even if the energy level flags toward Hysterical's end, it's safe to say welcome back, fellows--all is forgiven. [Oct 2011, p.106]

It's not bad, but it's no zobie romance, that's for sure. [Mar 2009, p.113]

While some songs could benefit from a slight edit, Woods still feels complete--and essential. [Jun 2012, p.80]

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

Somewhere Else is only rewarding if you can stay awake. [Feb 2013, p.90]

It's not as abrasive or confrontational as previous efforts, but Worship nevertheless shimmers with a defiantly bleak edge. [Jul 2012, p.90]

The Sneak Attack proves this pioneer and innovator's run is far from over. [Aug 2001, p.90]

Teenager music for people who were teenagers in the '70s. [Apr 2007, p.190]

Speakers and Tweeters is an admirably varied effort from a band whose Two-Tone jones is just the starting point. [June 2008, p.137]

He abetteed by vibrant backdrops full of guitar-driven samples, which push the disc closer to rock than hip-hop and keep the energy high. [Aug 2009, p.106]

It sounds like all those summers hanging at the cottage with Lemmy Kilmister and Lars Frederiksen finally made him realize there's more than one way to blow out your vocal cords. That makes Old Crows/Young Cardinals a welcome reinvention. [Aug 2009, p.106]

The most impressive aspect of Rogers' Thomas Giles persona is his ability to surpass the metalcore/mathcore trappings of BTBAM--it's probably the most versatile album to ever be released on Metal Blade Records. {Mar 2011, p.99]

Too Young To Be In Love captures the primal pulse of vintage late-'50s/early -'60s radio bubblegum with a loving touch. [Apr 2011, p.115]

Suicide Silence's third full-length maintains the visceral brutality that has characterized their output, even as it builds upon their unsettling strengths. [Aug 2011, p.120]

They might be unusually eclectic, but these songs, full of Kasher's trademark incisive insight, are a compelling addition to his ever-increasing catalog. [Nov 2013, 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.

Overtly confessional and cathartic, it's no wonder the pair have been held up as one of the main participants in the emo revival. [Sep 2014, p.106]

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

Dizzying psychedelic bong-fodder that requires neither psychedelics nor bongs. [Aug 2005, p.176]

If they don't make you get down, they'll certainly get your attention. [May 2005, p.124]

Though some of the songs are more sultry than dark, this overall effect of Lanegan up front and Campbell in the middle distance--angelic, etheral, almost intangible--is the magic that makes their collaboration so memorable. [Jan 2008, p.124]

Sleep Forever is a fine album, but you get the sense that if the band focused on their pop sensibilities as much as they do their more seemingly aesthetic inclinations, it would have been a great album.

All too often it feels like the band are ignoring the part of their name that gives them carte blanche to experiment and toy with expectations.

The result is an album that's equally pissed and poised. [Apr 2012, p.92]

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

Despite the obvious problems with continuity and flow (not to mention the general concept of time, as in the amount of actual time it takes to comb through 99 tracks), there's still a lot of good music on Occupy This Album.

The duo have crafted a disc that grafts underground rawness (garage rock, no wave, electro, classic '80s goth) to their taut dance grooves. [Sep 2004, p.140]

Contributions from Chuck D... and Dan The Automator... elicit[s] enough blips on the heart monitor to keep the album from flatlining. [Dec 2004, p.158]

Successfully blends the Detroit and California states of mind, with energetic indie-rock tunes that coo as much as they crow. [Sep 2002, p.96]

This doesn't say the labum doesn't have its moments, but when you consider the amount of time and patience it takes to get to tthat point, it's hardly worth the payoff. [Apr 2008, p.153]

It feels safe and too familiar.

It's a great album to have on hand for a wild party, but piping it through your headphones will have you skipping tracks. [Feb 2011, p.89]

Despite the oddball showpieces, the Furnaces have refocused the lens on their homemade-pop kaleidoscope, and the result is a unversally resonant album that's not just more joyful than it's companion; it's also more essential. [Jul 2006, p.192]

By smoothing out the rough edges, the guys found new ways to bleed. [Jul 2013, p.104]

Unpatterns is actually more engaging and accessible than Simian Mobile Disco's past work, perhaps because no gimmicks or distractions cloud the band's analog alchemy. [Jun 2012, p.84]

Tellingly, 'Angelika' and 'Maria Leonza' only get comfortably loose and silly when halfway finished. With a Strokes-y guitar part and a driving backbeat, the innovative '16th & Valencia, Roxy Music' is hopefully what Banhart will be in the future. [Dec 2009, p.108]

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]

Electrified certainly isn't the most original album you'll hear this year, but crunchy pop like this doesn't have to work very hard to impress the indie set. [Jul 2005, p.176]

The album's best moment is "You've Got So Far To Go," which is straightforward without sacrificing nuance or energy. If only the rest of Damnesia could have been on that same wavelength. [Aug 2011, p.112]

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 Rezillos might be your parents' age, but they rock. [Apr 2014, p.93]

Plays out like a sequel to BF5's last album... with one key element missing: humor. [May 2005, p.172]

There's something for everyone on Photographing Snowflakes, and Gough's on the right path for a terrific trilogy. [Nov 2010, p.109]

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]

With Lovebox, they do another about-face, dirtying up and slowing down their song-structured house tracks into a grimy soul/funk/house/hip-hop amalgam. [March 2003, p.94]

The irony police already have an APB out on these dudes... but in reality, the old guard are just jealous because they didn't think of it first. [Dec 2005, p.206]

A little more focus in that department [including everyone's vocals in each song] would have gone a long way toward giving some ballast to this soupy, stormy effort. [Feb 2016, p.102]

The fifth disc in this succession proves Clinic never skip a beat or miss a step. [June 2008, p.134]

Spin stacks up with just about anything in the Tigers Jaw canon, with melodic and memorable highlights with detailed flow and cohesion that invitingly solicits frequents listens. [Jun 2017, p.82]

Lex Hives redeems them for their previous missteps and their truancy. No skits, no instrumental in-jokes: just rock. [Jul 2012, p.90]

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]

The result is an album that's dream-like and ephemeral, but still surprisingly grounded and catchy--no doubt the result of strong songwriting and a firm sense of time and place. [Aug 2010, p.152]

The band sounds best when going for the mainstream-pop jugular. [Nov 2011, p.98]

Tori Amos fans will be thrilled, but those hoping to continue on a hard-rock bender will be left puzzled. [May 2015, p.100]

Love & Desperation may not be perfect, but it sure is fun. [Apr 2010, p.130]

Amon Tobin and Joe "Doubleclick" Chapman have created some truly interesting sounds, but the end result is sadly just another trip-hop excursion with lame rapping over the top. [May 2009, p.123]

A record of bittersweet delights that resonates with the brain and the heart. [Nov 2004, p.149]

After blowing out of the gate with the blondie-tinted delight 'Ecstatic Appeal,' Pearl ends up coasting on fumes. [Nov 2009, p.114]

While often only feeling like baby steps forward from Cokefloat!, YCF's determined traces of progress makes it a very worthy successor. [Jun 2014, p.110]

The Messenger delivers. [Mar 2013, p.92]

Force Field makes good on being more than just a referential record. [Apr 2014, p.93]

The sprawl of such tracks will take some listens to process, but the incentive is the band's melodic sense, undiminished from their early days, and sometimes immediately sublime. [Mar 2014, p.88]

The ladies aren't ready to carry an album by themselves. [Oct 2004, p.146]

They've never sounded so confident and comfortable, if maybe a bit tired. [Jun 2002, p.80]

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

When Bayside's Anthony Raneri pops up on "Texas Mickey," it's just the cherry on top of yet another consistently great Silverstein record. [May 2011, p.96]

For now, it just comes off like an unnecessary retreat.