Naturally focuses its atention on catchy, trashy rock, but this time, the seams stitching the riffs to the Automator's programming are less prominent. [Aug 2008, p.174]

The sprawl of such tracks will take some listens to process, but the incentive is the band's melodic sense, undiminished from their early days, and sometimes immediately sublime. [Mar 2014, p.88]

If there's a fault with Ikara Colt, it's that they can't rock steadily for more than a few measures without getting self-conscious about it. [Jan 2003, p.94]

This music has aged well, and nearly transcends nostalgia.

The Valley is an overall pleasant--and occasionally riveting--debut for the newly independent family. [Apr 2011, p.118]

Bubblegum electronica with enough experimentation to keep things interesting. [Oct 2001, p.86]

The songs on ANother Fine Day are almost good enough to appear on any of the records made during the band members' day jobs. [Sep 2006, p.226]

The anger is what makes The People's Key's best moments so vital. [Mar 2011, p.98]

While he's a better songwriter than a singer, Eitzel definitely knows his way around a tune. [Jun 2002, p.82]

Shape Shift With Me doesn’t offer a lot in the way of answers, but watching her fumble her way through the questions is a pleasure, regardless.

Less production allows the songs to breathe, but while the arrangements are often clever, the melodies aren't all that sticky. [Mar 2014, p.93]

While the album may not move you the way their first album does, maybe it'll just take a minute for the second one to sink in, too. [Apr 2011, p.120]

A playful retro-pop event full of shifting moods. [Nov 2001, p.77]

Despite plenty of subtle charm and wistfulness, the band's implicit pursuit of warmth occasionally veers off course to flirt with surprising sterility. [Feb 2007, p.115]

While melodic skull-kickers like "In Person" will hook fans of the band's later work. It's when Hamilton overreaches--a cover of the Beatles' "And Your Bird Can Sing" and the string-driven "LA Water"--that things take a turn for the weird, but mercifully, the schizophrenia is short-lived. [Oct 2010, p.113]

As the songs lengthen the transitions grow more subtle, their epic weight intensifies. [Mar 2015, p.92]

Close To The Glass resembles ice-skate carvings on a frozen lake: jagged, cold but filled with fractured, ambient beauty. [Mar 2014, p.93]

It's clear the band have grown up. [Apr 2009, p.135]

It's right in line with the band's natural progression; so much so that it's almost difficult to believe it didn't come out a decade ago.

If there's a downside to the rumbly growl emerging from the twisted minds of Chicago's Bloodiest, it's the sextet's unwillingness to push tempos beyond a snarling, hammer-slams-nail, mid-paced plod. However, when a gold-standard knuckle-dusting that’s part Swans churn, part Neurosis’ tribal stomp with Unsane’s propulsive groove is employed, does a lack of temporal variety matter? Probably not. [Feb 2016, p.102]

Too Much Information has just the right balance of depth, maturity and consistency to ensure success. [Mar 2014, p.93]

Just beacuse they've moved toward a more organic sound, doesn't mean no fire remains in their bellies. The melodic themes and Dave Davison's vocal phrases may draw Beatles and Country Joe McDonald comparisons, but angular guitars still skitter in the back ground of "Israeli Caves" and "Solid Ground" while fleet-fingered complexity drives "Pigeon." [Jul 2010, p.127]

What matters is The Futureheads have made significant artistic and personal inroads to make sure their fans' enthusiasm rises to match theirs. [July 2008, p.158]

Fever Ray is most reminiscent of the Knife self-titled debut--which means it's merely fantastic rather than transcendent. [May 2009, p.114]

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]

The songs don’t have the immediate impact of the band’s heavier work, but it’s nice to see The Sword break from their mold.

As elements of dark pop fuse seamlessly with dance beats, Every Open Eye will convert even the staunchest non-believers. [Oct 2015, p.98]

The fun carries all the way until the album's lengthy psychedelic jam, "Captain Ace," which bursts with wild saxophone and shows how to capture a brilliant act of Tape. [Oct 2012, p.92]