Sonically, it’s practically Sea Change Part II. Musical choices are almost identical—bells, swelling cinematic strings, ample harmonies--but Hansen’s voice doesn’t sound quite so sad.

Researching the Blues is more like a graduate dissertation on power pop, and should be required listening. [Sep 2012, p.94

The more realized updates of [Her Majesty] that crowd out the backed of Picaresque reveal a wit so bizarre and vaudevillian beauty so ultimately endearing that by the end, Meloy's sprawling form of theatrical folk has us all. [Apr 2005, p.116]

Call it growing pains for a storied discography, but the result leaves the album feeling unbalanced around the gems and less rewarding over multiple listens. [Sep 2014, p.110]

The album’s 10 songs are over and done in under 20 minutes. The impression they leave at the end of it all is huge.

The collaboration is far from perfect... but the players take plenty of risks, ultimately emerging with a new sense of discovery and a whiff of greatness. [Feb 2006, p.120]

It's impressively well-wrought music, though no longer as instantly engaging, requiring several listens before its charms truly take shape. [Apr 2011, p.122]

Guitarist Brian Izzi is given room to throw in engaging staccato wrist flicks or caveman his way through a down-picked sequence while vocalist Ryan McKenney is able to focus on exorcising his demons without worrying about time and tempo changes. [Jul 2014, p.103]

It's the little touches that make Daydream so appealing. [Nov 2006, p.190]

Avatar is further proof that Comets On Fire are one of the most relevant bands of this decade. [Sep 2006, p.214]

It doesn't really ever quite rise above excellently pleasant, yet it's remarkably consistent, musically varied and occasionally, endearingly specific. [Aug 2013, p.90]

New Leaves benfits from Kinsells'a vibrant looping and somber monotone lyricism. [Nov 2009]

Sycamore has plenty of upbeat rockers to counterbalance its moodier moments. [Jan 2008, p.128]

It's an album that holds nothing back. [Apr 2017, p.82]

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]

What separates Cut Copy from the retro-electro-pop pack is the mixing prowess of French house maestro Philippe Zdar. [Oct 2004, p.146]

A sprawling, 17-song, 64-minute monster that is without a doubt the finest music these three artists--vocalist Hayley Williams, guitarist Taylor York and bassist Jeremy Davis--have ever made.

It was probably inevitable, but having raised the bar so high for cut-and-paste music, Shadow spends a little too long here looking up at it. [Jul 2002, p.96]

Tracks like “Balance The Odds” and “No Love Lost” dip cautiously into the metal sphere, breaking the EP out of its more rigid beatdown vibe.

Shed's a wonderfully rough and ambitious re-introduction from Title Fight that occasionally belies the band's youth. [Jun 2011, p.111]

The result is near-perfection. [Mar 2012, p.97]

A gorgeous set of spectral, ambitious and carefully crafted songs. [Jun 2006, p.188]

Envy have been around for nearly 20 years, so calling them the Japanese Sigur Ros feels like cheap shorthand--and yet, Recitation operates on that same plateau, its scale just as majestic. [Nov 2010, p.112]

Rachel's create classical music for people who listen to bands like Boards Of Canada. [Nov 2003, p.100]

Understated but never anemic, Sunny Border Blue's tales of love, family and growth succeed largely due to Hersh's masterful acoustic guitar. [#154, p.81]

The obvious touchstones here are Gary Numan, Magazine, and Kraftwerk... [March 2001, p.73]

The rare moments when Bryant shares the spotlight are Wyoming's best and hopefully hint at Water Liars' future. [Apr 2013, p.94]

Bits of experimentation still poke through, especially on the dissonant, heart-rendering "Rabbit Foot," which neatly stitches up Defeater's past while pointing toward fresh dynamics and future chapter to come. [Aug 2013, p.86]

Dave Hause is a self-proclaimed "rock guy," and he has carefully crafted Devour to remind you of such. [Nov 2013, p.86]

If Magnificent City is occasionally over-friendly-sounding... well, so what? [Mar 2006, p.138]

LOTP cram tons of stylistic inversions into 43 minutes. We had no idea attention deficit disorder could sound this majestic. [Feb 2009, p.102]

Sweet without being saccharine. [Mar 2005, p.124]

Yet another rock-solid album. [Aug 2006, p.204]

Another instrumental masterpiece. [Jun 2006, p.192]

Building on the intelligent, melodically inventive sounds showcased on 2013's Rescue & Restore, the quintet further distinguish themselves from the metalcore pack in a manner that seems effortless. [Jul 2015, p.96]

II's best moments actually come when the songs sound like nothing either singer has ever done. [Nov 2012, p.90]

The entire thing is a cathartic art project that feels like the moment of forced calm after an exhausting sob. [Feb 2014, p.92]

When these Norwegians try to make more conventional haunted soul-diva stuff, it sounds rote by comparison.... But when they follow their own muses, they come up with genius tracks like "Remind Me." [Dec 2002, p.96]

Far from essential, but... a good jazz starting point for the unitiated. [Mar 2003, p.90]

Sing The Sorrow soars with the kind of melodies hit singles are made of, yet it somehow persists with AFI's esoteric darkness. [Apr 2003, p.69]

Fortunately, the androgynous-voiced experimenter went back on threats of scrapping what is by far his most versatile collection. [Nov 2009, p.106]

Fascinating as it is, Matmos' complex creative process would be for naught if it didn't generate music you want to hear more than once. [Jul 2006, p.208]

These shifting dynamics increase the record's overall potency, and while it makes an abrasive mark on first exposure, it grows more and more absorbing with each successive listen, making Black Breath one of premier heavy bands to be watching in 2012.

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

There's a bit more quiet time on this effort. [Nov 2004, p.149]

Double Figure forms a mysterious narrative filled with enough breaks and builds to keep the most jaded beathead more than satisfied. [Aug 2001, p.96]

But while the swanky compositions on Love can fade into the background like velvet-shrouded ambience, this same passion also makes these songs mesmerizing, allowing them to remain in the gently muted spotlight just as easily. [Aug 2001, p.104]

A lovely, delicate album marred only by a curious vocal idiosyncrasy... Linkous performs several of these songs in a near whisper... [Oct 2001, p.100]

Repeat listens yield rich and profound rewards. [Mar 2009, p.104]

At least as good as their first full-length, Connector hits everything we’d want (and a little more).

As adept as the band are at alternating between metalcore and pop-punk, McKinnon’s words are similarly nuanced and multifaceted here.

Each track is different from the last, yet the album maintains a cohesive identity. [Jun 2012, p.76]

It's no Witness, sure, but it's an immensely strong return that shows how viable the band's style and songwriting still are. [Nov 2013, p.88]

The fullest sounding Silver Jews album to date. [Nov 2005, p.210]

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

While many of their contemporaries remain content with the particular style that brought them to the dance, Deftones never feared exploring new avenues to advance their sound; Gore represents their latest evolution.

Cliff has never needed to reaffirm his place in the reggae pantheon. With Rebirth, he went ahead and did it anyway--and then some.

Youngster is only temporarily satisfying. [June 2008, p.135]

Come for the rock, but stay for Falkous' sarcasm-dripping bon mots. [Jun 2012, p.881]

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

It's the beautifully austere, grown-up pop album we've been waiting years for Mac McCaughan to record. [Jun 2003, p.97]

The passion and power generated by Messrs Strummer, Jones, Simonon and Chimes make the proceedings feel like 10 minutes. [Nov 2008, p.170]

Cox projects an otherwordly allure in his atmospheres and melodies that recall My Blood Valentine's recasting of rock as sound that prioritizes erotic texture and swoon-worthy levitation. [Mar 2008, p.140]

While the influences haven't fully melted, the hooks are particularly strong, abetted by a decorator's touch for texture and tone. [Mar 2011, p.99]

Embryonic is an album full of little revolutions--a trippier, noisier, more experimental journey than the Flaming Lips have taken in forever. [Dec 2009, p.116]

Darnielle still ties this album up under a loose theme, but it is a bold, Cinemascope-like vision of social and religious outcasts. [Nov 2012, p.92]

The richly recorded songs spool out with a natural ease. [Nov 2008, p.154]

It's important that albums like Ghost exist--but unfortunately, those albums don't always make the most enjoyable listens. [Aug 2004, p.116]

He's aided in this task by Anticon genius Alias, who produced the entire record--his spastic, head-nodding beats are so good, that they occasionally overshadow the headliner. However, that's not due to any lack of talent on Dolan's part, who's on the top of his game throughout the disc.

Besides boasting some of the band's most violent music to date, what makes The Powerless Rise such a stunning metal record is the band's commitment to vigrously kicking at their boundaries while remaining true to their sound. [Jun 2010, p.104]

Having dabbled with atmospheric black-metal elements in the past, this time out Carnifex incorporates these with more confidence while never compromising their ruthless deathcore principals. [Apr 2014, p.89]

Boston's finest prove that far from having nothing left to say, they're just getting started. [Apr 2011, p.114]

Pierce's vocals and playing reach higher and push farther forward than they did on previous albums. [Apr 2012, p.98]

It's proof the evil genius remains a damned fine chef. [Feb 2005, p.94]

The tone grows shrill by album's end, but occasional bursts of accessible production help alleviate that shortcoming. [Oct 2002, p.84]

Full of the most intense guitar rock to come out of L.A. since Jane's Addiction's Nothing's Shocking. [Jun 2004, p.104]

Grooves with uptight downtown funk that's not just for beat freaks. [May 2002, p.88]

The Coral blow through genres like Top 40 radio does flavors of the week. [Apr 2003, p.74]

With vocals creeping into the closer "Happiness," not once does Cooper put a foot wrong, creating an album that borders on perfection. [Jun 2013, p.96]

Kveikur is a masterstroke effort. [Jul 2013, p.104]

With this completely progressive and mature effort, it's clear that Barnes is one of indie rock's most gifted songwriters. [Feb 2007, p.115]

It's a snarling, agile beast with some posi moments along the way. [Aug 2012, p.90]

There’s no question Common Courtesy will at least partially satisfy eager fans, because if nothing else, it’s a textbook A Day To Remember record. Whether or not that’s good or bad is entirely up to you.

Hospital Handshakes is proof that you can get close to hitting rock bottom and still rise up from the ashes with the album of your career. [May 2015, p.102]

Transit Blues marks both Prada's sixth full-length album and an impressive step forward. [Nov 2016, p.87]

None of these songs reach that lofty level [of Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson and Randy Newman], but fans of inward-looking popsmiths like Elliott Smith and Daniel Johnston (whose artwork gets a subtle nod through the graphics) will find some gentle little gems in this police department lost-and-found.

Offend Maggie continues Deerhoof's winning streak and displays a band running at peak performance. [Nov 2008, p.154]

If you're prone to enjoying the epic recall in rock, All Is Dream will be your momentary ticket outta here. [Oct 2001, p.82]

What emerges by the halfway point of the title track is the sense that you're not listening to just another piano troubadour; you're hearing the oceanic confessions of an artist who in time will be considered one of the most affecting composers of this still young century. [Apr 2009, p.134]

While it's hard to recommend Nobody Wants To Be Here And Nobody Wants To Leave outside of an environment of solitudinous nighttime drives (don't expect to hear this kickstart any parties), it's a deeply encompassing and occasionally profound experience that deserves to be felt by far more than the few lucky to already be inside the Twilight Sad's too-small circle.

Nears indie-pop perfection. [Feb 2003, p.70]

Ultimately Rev proves that a hard-driving beat and a searing six-string are timeless pleasures. [Feb 2014, p.94]

While the other material is good, these moments are great. [Sep 2014, p.104]

The big hooks are fewer and further between, but the meat in the middle is where the real magic lies.

Generally speaking, though, White Silence finds Cave In at the heaviest point of their career since 1998's Until Your Heart Stops--and easily at their noisiest and most experimental.

Conjures images of an organic commune in an alternate galaxy. [Jun 2005, p.164]

As is the case whenever [Kurt] Wagner's velvet croon wraps itself around a night that ends so late it's already morning... there really isn't a critic in the world who can touch him. [combined review of both discs; Mar 2003, p.94]

Amid the highlife guitars and percussion that give Sea a delightful Afro-pop sheen... it's impossible to ignore the creeping conventionalism of the disc's best tracks. [Jun 2006, p.178]