Besides a few corny riffs and dated moments, this is far and away the album Saosin's cheesy imitators have been attempting for the last 13 years. [Jun 2016, p.102]

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.

Hearing him cut loose on this new project is a welcome change, and his obvious affection for Gordon shines through every note of this charming effort. [Oct 2016, p.88]

What they did do was stick to their guns. And as the old guard of arena-filling hard rockers begin to diminish (physically, artistically), it’s good to know there’s someone dedicated to keeping the bar high.

The tightly wound dance numbers are dancier ("Knights"); the slow sex jams are sexier ("White Mystery"); and new keyboardist Alex Rose gives the synths a much stronger role than ever before, both with brilliant countermelodies and sublime textures. [Sept 2007]

This disc contains some intriguing moments. [Apr 2002, p.74]

The CD's air of politeness pushes this pleasant pop music into the background. [Oct 2002, p.92]

The duo's strength is their songwriting skills, which are being honed to a razor's edge here. [#153, p.84]

There's enough patented 'Pusher weirdness here to tingle your noggin. [Apr 2004, p.100]

A great party record, pop-metal to a splendid degree. [Jan 2003, p.84]

The Beta Band have added muscle to their rickety rock chassis without losing their past work's wood-fairy charm. [Aug 2004, p.106]

Just what the doctor ordered for those underwhelmed by last year's Built To Spill album. [Jul 2002, p.94]

Anyone who saw his performances last summer will immediately recognize the invigorated sound here, somewhere between Merzbow and metal, between liquid and solid. [Aug 2001, p.95]

The haze is fairly one-dimensional, but it's an engrossing path of melancholia. [Oct 2014, p.102]

There will always be casualties when musicians want to change but fans want them to stay the same. That doesn’t stop the Color Morale from adding plenty of pop choruses to their post-hardcore palate on Hold On Pain Ends, while keeping their metalcore tendencies, too.

Not only does the album overflow with stick-in-your-head hooks, but it also boasts contemporary production, from sleek digital programming to airy synthesizers, to go along with more traditional band-based instrumentation.

Fantastic. This is the best new band Sub Pop has worked with in years. [June 2008, p.131]

The Brutalist Bricks is an experimental and enjoyable pop-punk record. [Apr 2010, p.128]

This is no-frills, passionate hardcore with a purpose. [May 2014, p.93]

Parallax II may be the strongest 72 consecutive minutes they have put together so far. [Nov 2012, p.86]

This is the 25-year-old singer-songwriter at his most personal. [Oct 2006, p.208]

Infectiously noisy. [May 2006, p.166]

The results is a rollicking continuation of their previous two albums' unhinged metallic-punk steamroller. [Nov 2012, p.90]

The entire album's honeycombed with intriguing tones and gauzy grace, but the songs' elliptical shapes demand patience. The reward comes in installments, but is high yield. [Jul 2013, p.106]

Where the band struggle is writing memorable tunes. [May 2014, p.91]

Face Tat demands remarkable attention from its listeners; if only Hill would have challenged himself as much during its creation. [Nov 2010, p.112]

Madness successfully articulates where the band’s headspace is right now; SWS put the time in and came out poised for greater things.

Shine is simultaneously gentle and forceful, letting its dusky melodies and subtle surface tension shape its relatively less inventive subject matter. [June 2003, p.104]