Musically, Sky Full Of Holes is simply gorgeous. [Sep 2011, p.112]

At 17 songs, Manipulator is a psychedelic handful of kaleidoscopic visions for the post-Kurt Cobain world. [Sep 2014, p.110]

Slaves pull no punches with social and political commentary. But Take Control is also diverse and boasts sly British humor. [Nov 2016, p.90]

Gira spins riveting yarns like a charismatic neighborhood storyteller. [Jun 2005, p.164]

The band sound bigger and and more self-assured than ever. [Jun 2006, p.190]

LP3 hits life-affirming pinnacles upon its insistent yowls. [Nov 2014, p.98]

During the course of 10 catchy, snappy, lo-fi pop-punk songs, an incredibly personal, heartfelt narrative unfolds, full of ups and downs. [Oct 2010, p.120]

The band focuses on their strengths while proving they're still evolving and moving forward. [Oct 2010, p.114]

The Australian five-piece dismiss any notion of a sophomore slump. [Jul 2012, p.100]

It's still hard to believe that a punk band formed more than 20 years ago are capable of releasing a new album that's both vital and worthy of the promise of their early material.... With Dizzy Spells, the quintet may have topped it all. [#155, p.83]

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

Epic-sounding and true to that signature AFI sound, AFI (The Blood Album) will be a record that stands out for hardcore fans, while picking up some new ones along the way. [Feb 2017, p.78]

Their last release, Meanderthal, was one of the finest records of 2008, and the eight-track Songs For Singles makes a glorious follow-up. [Oct 2010, p.116]

Where a lot of new bands drop the ball is not quite capturing the state of bliss that made so many of those hippue classics what they were. But that's not a problem on The Ruminant Band. [Sep 2009, p.104]

With a decided mature edge over the Canadian twins [Tegan And Sara], vocalist/guitarist Kate Cooper and drummer/vocalist Damon Cox have reached their first pinnacle on their second album. [June 2011, p.106]

The isolation that came from recording in a remote cabin in the woods of upstate New York is palpable, and the sly inclusion of cello and viola upstage the requisite tambourines, handclapss and acoustic guitar. [May 2010, p.108]

A pop pin cushion that's incurably catchy, and as prickly as it is pretty. [Jun 2003, p.97]

This disc is actually a better recap of the Yo team's past than last year's triple-disc best-of collection. [Nov 2006, p.190]

His band match his pain note-for-note for a brutal but rewarding listen. [Dec 2011, p.119]

Dianogah's hypnotic grooves and continuous dynamic shifts make Millions of Brazilians ideal background music for hipster housecleaning. [July 2002, p.78]

This album's fucking great, like a sharp stick in the eye. [Sep 2002, p.81]

Even though the delineation among colors at times seems a bit arbitrary and difficult to differentiate, The Color Spectrum stands up surprisingly well as a companion disc. [Jul 2011, p.111]

A scattershot bagful of wild rides and demented ditties and an album of maniacal depth and vision. [#146, p.86]

Damon Atkinson's drumming is phenomenal as always, and Broach's new, crooning vocal style is an exciting first for the band. If this s what aging gracefully sounds like we back it. [Sep 2011, p.110]

It's a shame it's a one-off, because Dark Night's trippy, psychedelic tunes are a true treat for your ears. [Aug 2010, p.146]

Psychedelic experimentalists Yeasayer add more beats than last time, but nothing that overpowers Khan's out-there mindset, stunning vocals and obvious talents. [May 2009, p.114]

How about just plain old "unbelievably goddamn gorgeous?"

The Century of Self finds the pride of Austin, Texas, continuing to push baroque prog-rock to orchestral new heights. [Mar 2008, p.112]

The man's always had his tender side: What makes this album different is the lack of input from his other sides. [May 2009, p.121]

Threads is compelling. [Apr 2012, p.98]

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]

When it comes to ferocious riffs and monstrous melodies, few in the punk world can touch Heartsounds right now. [Aug 2011, p.114]

Like Stay What You Are on steroids, it's a half-hour of instant gratification with paeans to overcoming romantic and introspective obstacles. [Oct 2014, p.101]

While the tracks are theoretically similar to the atmospheric vistas of other instrumental units, Jesu's melancholy--accidental or implied--offers a truly unique experience that deserves much more than background-listening status. [Dec 2010, p.114]

There's no denying the quartet know how to work a mighty groove as well as set up atmospheres similar to bands remanded to the faded pages of old record-collecting magazines. [July 2009, p.126]

If Ian Curtis had stuck around for Zoloft and Hot Hot Heat, Joy Division's Closer might've sounded a lot like this album. [Dec 2004, p.158]

When they're on, they're really fucking on. [Dec 2002, p.94]

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

Harakiri easily contains the best music released under the vocalist's name. [Aug 2012, p.92]

They do possess the skills to enhance everything they tweak. [May 2006, p.178]

The album as a whole sweeps across a broad range of stylistic tones, maintaining levity while dabbling in comparably serious musical pursuits. [Aug 200, p.146]

When the music these guys create individually is already so great, why would anyone mind having it mixed together? [Oct 2009, p.106]

Gen-Y stoners who'd trade their favorite bong to inhale a hip-hop Pink Floyd, the exchange line starts here. [May 2004, p.108]

Cover albums are usually a contractual cop-out, but the diverse scope and amount of thought put into each track on If I Had A Hi-Fi prevents it from sounding superfluous or self-indulgent. [Jun 2010, p.107]

MOB have managed to preserve their legacy without tarnishing their origins. [Jun 2004, p.92]

The whole thing is over before you know it packing a punch as sweet and warm as a shot of whiskey. [Jan 2005, p.108]

A brave and defiant effort. [May 2017, p.80]

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

Amazing. [Mar 2003, p.92]

The Icarus Line’s sixth album is scarred, clandestine and alluring, much like meeting a stranger who has the capabilities to turn you on--or turn you off, dead.

Hesitant Alien has enough requisite cool and clamor to insure he stays both relevant and remarkably vibrant.

It's full of the old-fashioned care and craft hip-hop has largely forgotten. [May 2007, p.160]

Hurley isn't perfect, but it's the best thing Weezer have done in quite some time, and that's all we can hope for-until the next Nirvana comes along, of course.

A lovely example of how acoustic-based music doesn't need to be limited by its sparse nature. [Oct 2008, p.153]

The album is a kaleidoscopic montage of stitiched-together riffs and motorik propulsion, sometimes sprawling in execution but exhilarating in its reach and reckless abandon. [Jun 2009, p.109]

Crafted with peaks at the beginning, middle and end, Watch Me Fall is the album Jay Reatard made so we can watch him do the opposite. [Sep 2009, p.108]

There is so much more offered in this collection of 11 songs than we’ve seen of Whitechapel previously, making Mark Of The Blade an exciting milestone.

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.

It's hardly the pop album the liner notes indicate, but it's sweetly spellbinding, slouching toward another corner of the underground. [Mar 2003, p.92]

He's never sounded more confident. [Mar 2005, p.134]

They continue to exercise more craft i their work than newbies a third of their age. [Apr 2013, p.94]

The Home Inside My Head cements Real Friends' place as new-school pop punk's lead dogs. [Jun 2016, p.102]

When she and bandmates Sara Lund and Seth Lorinczi kick into distorted overdrive on searing tracks like "Pulling Pieces" and "Doubt," it only makes Tucker's return more welcome. [Nov 2010, p.116]

The reason Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down works here other "buzz band" albums don't is because theirs just feels natural--NATW aren't trying to buy into any trend. They're just writing great music. [Sep 2008, p.151]

Confident, unselfconsciously weird and always engaging, Welcome Oblivion is a strange world that will draw you back again and again. [Mar 2013, p.88]

Jamie Stewart lyrically references previous Xiu Xiu material, masterfully turning over the stories to find more nuances within. [Apr 2012, p.99]

The band seem determined to be the molten missing link between Black Sabbath and Black Mountain, making Himalayan a towering triumph. [May 2014, p.88]

With This Is Happening, Murphy remains far ahead of pretenders trying to steal his thunder. [Jun 2010, p.107]

The Humbucking Coil's captivating soundscapes evoke more emotion via machines than most bands can with "real" instruments. [Mar 2006, p.138]

As dark as Floral Green may be, the album is dazzling achievement, and a total game-changer for an entire genre. [Oct 2012, p.94]

While too many co-writers are often detrimental to an album, Red is pleasingly diverse-and more often stays true to the homespun, creative vibe of Frampton's previous releases.

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

They occupy an ethereal wonderland of their own design on Teen Dream, a place where '80s soft rock mingles with slow-pop soliloquies, producing an oscillating, supernal bliss both sparkling and somber. [Feb 2010, p.92]

Geller's keyboard-fueled squiggles and quirky effects are effervescent but never cloying, thanks to the seriousness in Dykes' aloof, melancholy voice. [Oct 2001, p.84]

The disc Ryan Adams keeps threatening to make but never quite delivers. [Mar 2006, p.126]

Animals is a raucous and hugely entertaining effort that doubles as a virtual "Name That Tune" game. [Nov 2008, p.164]

Solid, creative, urgent albums like Coaster cement the fact that whenever someone gets around to opening a Punk Rock Hall Of Fame, NOFX should be in its inaugural clas. [Jun 2009, p97]

Represents the best of British pop music.... A lilting, suave and grandiose near-masterpiece. [Dec 2001, p.80]

Filled with the sort of unprofessional, unpretty noodling this genre has been begging for. [Feb 2003, p.68]

The Heart Is A Monster is not only a stark reminder of why the band have been so influential, but it also underscores their status as modern trailblazers. [Jul 2015, p.97]

His best release ever. [Apr 2007, p.190]

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]

Lovely and heartfelt, Wheel is an introspective delight. [May 2013m, p.90]

With stunning soloing by guitarists Mike Spreitzer and Jeff Kendrick further enlivening the proceedings, this is really is state-of-the-art metal designed to destroy everything unfortunate enough to be in its path. [March 2011, p.93]

Intimacy is arguably Bloc Party's finest moment thus far, offering sweat and circuitry, savagery and submission, and a captivating energy that's severely lacking in many music scenes on the planet. [Dec 2008, p.144]

It's rare for a band to channel the Velvet Underground, Nirvana, Dandy Warhols and the Beatles within the span of 45 minutes and sound unique, but the Vines have crept into that select category with Highly Evolved. [Aug 2002, p.86]

Open Season takes debonair glam flourishes--screaming strings, slow-building lounge-act dramatics--and contrasts them with edgy riffs and subtle hooks. [May 2005, p.172]

Farrar backs up his good intentions with an album's worth of strong material. [Apr 2013, p.90]

With Wreck, established fans have great reason to maintain their faith, while newbies may well have just found their new favorite band.

The upscale bars and clubs of the world will undoubtedly toast these two for The Mirror Conspiracy, and you should, too. [#147, p.110]

You appreciate his delightful little melodies and quirky rhythmic tics more because you have to strain to hear 'em. [Aug 2003, p.110]

An intriguing debut. [Nov 2003, p.108]

Quite an impressive start. [Aug 2006, p.206]

Hill's first solo outing is a 450 bpm bonanza with 13 tracks of slasher-jazz that are surprisingly catchy and cohesive. [Sep 2008, p.162]

Although the music and lyrical content are more mature, what hasn’t changed is the familiar empathetic thrill of Carabba’s songwriting.

Rarely can sheer, brute force from a pair like Miller and Krauss make everything that comes afterward seem so irrelevant.

The results are understated, heartbreaking and quietly intoxicating. [Oct 2003, p.124]

Rot Gut, Domestic's melodies are still strong, but Edward's world-weary tenor to the bedeviled characters and prickly distortion, anxiety rules. [Apr 2012, p.96]