Doo-wop-inspired harmonies lend a barbershop charm to the Chicago quintet's earnest and energetic pop-punk sound, though the retro styling of World occasionally comes off as more tired than inspired.

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 band's anti-everything style can get annoying if you don't have the patience for heavy doses of idiosyncrasy in your rock. [Jul 2006, p.204]

Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill" loosens up into a glittery anthem, while the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" should have stayed a karaoke favorite. [March 2003, p.94]

Hotel is all vacancy. [Apr 2005, p.128]

While the band's heritage has been hanging on by a thread for decades, The Devil's Rain is but an undercharged defibrillator to its decomposing corpse.

The absence of Paul Leary's drug-fried guitar is unconscionable. [Nov 2001, p.78]

It must have been much more fun to record all of these tracks than it is to listen to them.

Good Charlotte have become caricatures of themselves. [Apr 2007, p.175]

I'm listening to "Free And Freaky"--the third track on this new, horrible Stooges album and possibly the worst song ever written by anyone anywhere--and I can't believe you actually just rhymed "Obama" with "Dalai Lama" and "baby's mama." [Apr 2007, p.191]

Occasionally get[s] a tad too close to Jamiroquai territory. [Nov 2005, p.226]

For the most part, the album rehashes an overdone genre full of blustery, unoriginal, cryptic lyrics. [Mar 2010, p.94]

Seems like a tarted-up version of 1986's Raising Hell.... This is for diehard fans only. [#154, p.87]

Lee's cutesy folk and piano pop leaves us cold. [Mar 2009, p.106]

Since when is pairing Jewel's poetry outtakes with modern-rock riffs groundbreaking? [Aug 2003, p.102]

Crazy World is as phony as they come.

[A] slickly produced holding pattern. [Jul 2003, p.122]

The result: a CD without hooks, impressive guitar pyrotechnics, or anything else, really. [Sep 2006, p.226]

Forgettable to anybody with a soul. [Jan 2004, p.103]

La Luna's overall style is ambient industrial, with a hypnotic, grinding pulse and pounding kick drum, embellished by sporadic rhythmic tappic, guitar growls and strange electronic squiqqles... and while Czukay's industrial groove is righteous, 47 minutes of it is excessive. [Jan 2001, p.87]

Hiller's sense of humor and eclectic tendencies make this recording a deep listening experience. [March 2001, p.81]

The eight tracks here defy formula, instead feeding off of one another in a cannibalistic frenzy of samples and constantly shifting beats... This is a deceptive and brilliant album. [#147, p.98]

As the follow-up to 1997's III, Effector succintly incorporates that disc's pristine sheen and futuristic atmospherics, while moving into more quirky, funk-laden territory. [12/2000, p.94]

Not a true turkey in the bunch. [#153, p. 83]

At an age when most of his peers have ceased to be relevant, [Richard H. Kirk] continues to forge highly charged music that seethes with vitality. [#147, p.89]

Anyone wishing to reminisce about the golden age that was the third wave of ska-punk will find plenty to like, though, as by its very nature, TV/EP sounds like something straight outta '97.

On this disc, which collects tracks from three limited-edition singles and adds a few bonus cuts, the group shows their range even more effectively through carefully (and wisely) chosen covers.

They're playing a style of politicized pop-punk with snotty vocals that's too similar to a vastly superior band. [Aug 2011, p.114]