Philadelphia sideshow punks Man Man have reached a newfound crispness with the production guidance of Bright Eyes' Mike Mogis on their fourth album, Life Fantastic.

While the pair should have more fully explored such detours from the norm, Revolutions Per Minute is arguably the finest hour for both Kweli and Hi-Tek.

Frustrated longtime followers will love that the XX-chromosome half of the brother-sister duo plays it mostly straightforward on her totally charming, engagingly breezy solo debut. [Aug 2011, p.114]

The Fall rock with scalding fury, as if it were 1981 again. [Aug 2004, p.116]

The Stills succeed where other time-travelers fail by emphasizing substance over style. [Jan 2004, p.108]

The raw sound of Stomachaches is just further proof that it all arrived from someplace honest and deeply personal. [Sep 2014, p.103]

His earnest vocals and easygoing spirit evoke both nostalgia and excitement for what may lay around the next bend in the road--a difficult feat he makes sound effortless. [Mar 2012, p.98]

Longwave aren't so much groundbreakers as they are purveyors of haunting, earnest pop. [Apr 2003, p.80]

What We All Come To Need finds Pelican mastering their post-metal craft while indulging the ambitious curiousities that hinted at on 2007's "City Of Echoes."

While Everything You Ever Loved feels a shade top-heavy, there's little denying how much Make Do And Men have improved their craft over the years. [Jul 2012, p.96]

It's apparent it takes deft skill to sound this simple. [Jun 2007, p.159]

Invicta is a real treat. [Feb 2012, p.84]

It's an album that's easy to overlook, but careful listeners will be rewarded with a world of sound. [Apr 2011, p.122]

Free All Angels is punchy guitar pop in extremis, sliding so breathlessly from anthemic chorus to soaring hook that it's hard to believe any band could actually want to have this much fun and sound this important. [Aug 2002, p.69]

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]

Cat finds the band still evoking the Flaming Lips and Neil Young during a journey filled with dashed hopes and the desire to get away. [Jun 2006, p.188]

While Hyperview has less interesting moments, it's an overall push toward the total renewal that adds another chapter to the band's fascinating evolution. [Mar 2015, p.92]

in•ter a•li•a isn’t about capturing a zeitgeist as much as it is about jumpstarting some urgency in a rock scene that desperately needs more wild abandon and psychic plasma.

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]

The contrasts of light/dark, father/son and sinners/saints never sounded so danceable. [Mar 2011, p.92]

The album maintains a brilliant balance between uplifting and confessional, playful and serious. It's the most real, honest and self-aware record FIR have released to date. [May 2017, p.80]

All in all, Levalle's got a solid effort on his hands with Night. [Jun 2010, p.108]

After the Party stacks up with the Menzingers' best material. [Mar 2017, p.82]

There's just incredible depth to The King Of Limbs, and if you're impatient, you'll miss it.

Closely approximates what Tears For Fears' The Hurting would have sounded like if Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith had grown up in Georgia. [Apr 2004, p.84]

Although the lovable weirdness seems absent this time around, fans will be in for a solid and consistent rock album from start to finish.

While modern metalcore acts are a dime a dozen now, the fourth full-length from the Devil Wears Prada should lay waste to any usurpers attempting to seize their rightful crown. [Oct 2011, p.107]

Chamberlain and Bowman know where they are going, and it’s a trip music fans should climb aboard to take.