It doesn't push the envelope. [Jan 2012, p.97]

El Bronx simply didn't go far enough, as only a handful of the album's 10 tracks mesh that inspired modernism with the traditional Mexican soulfulness they obviously hold dear. [Dec 2014, p.107]

With an occasional chest-bursting "yeeeeeeah", Vile avoids letting his most straightforward, circular songs fall into a stupor. [Apr 2011, p.115]

So the Furnances are up to their usual tricks, making unexpected mash-ups of their own ideas. [Nov. 2007, p.160]

Awash with sweet bass grooves, tasteful psychedelic guitar action and the occasional Indian tone, the album nonetheless maintains a mostly melancholy quality. [Nov 2008, p.162]

In spite of the repetitiveness, Fucked Up Friends comes out gold and crispy and ready, for you to get your hands on it. [Nov 2008, p.164]

RJD2 has taken a lot of different paths in the past, but here he's found a way to make his diverse tastes blend into one cohesive effort. [Feb 2010, p.97]

Call it two EPs of material from two gifted frontmen combined into one LP--nothing more, nothing less.

Devil [is] a nusanced album that only slowly reveals its gifts. [July 2008, p.160]

SMM proves that Jourgensen still breathes fire. But this time, he's incinerating you with a grin on his face. [May 2016, p.82]

This long-awaited unveiling isn’t the easiest of listens, with consistently busy-sounding fare ranging from the manic, laser show hyperactive (“We’d Kill Each Other,” “I Need A Parasite”) all the way to slower and sultry new romantic nods (“Springtime Of Our New Love,” which could actually pass for the ’80s uncle to Glassjaw’s “Ape Dos Mil”). But it is definitely fun, and absolutely well-done.

American Music Club are as morose as ever. [Dec 2004, p.150]

La Di Da Di urges you to dance and then challenges you to keep up with every bob, weave and time signature shift. [Oct 2015, p.98]

Embraced by the masses or resigned to cult status, Sebadoh's reunion is a welcome one, and this strong album is a fine return to peak period form.

No surprises really to be found here, but that's not what you're here for: You stick with the band for their assured songwriting and richly rendered freakouts. [May 2015, p.96]

As was true in those bygone days, the hippieish uplift can get a little fuzzy, but the bass-rattling jolt of "Buffalo" will clear your head--and fill the floor--fast. [Sep 2014, p.104]

The "ordinary" stories about a new marriage after the shine wears off aren't as dramatic as a broken heart or life-threatening illness, but they're no less real and gradually embed themselves in the listener's mind. [Nov 2011, p.93]

The group take a far lighter approach with the haunting “Madrid,” the airy, guitar-free “MSK” and sparkling closer “California,” a piano ballad straight from the Jason Lancaster playbook. It’s a risk, and it doesn’t always work, but you end up glad Yellowcard found the courage to hoist their sails at all this year and still plot a course, as uncharted as it may be.

As a whole, they don't quite match the melancholy majesty of his debut O, but moments do rival his best work. [Dec 2014, p.108]

Some Kind Of hate maintains the anthemic death-pop/metal trajectory Aiden started wit their previous release, Disguises. [Dec 2011, p.118]

The tracks are teeming with intelligence, melody and some tempered anger thrown in for good measure, saving the band from being labeled as mere copycat. [Mar 2014, p.93]

Comparatively [from debut Celebrasion], About Last Night is significantly polished; the sound is brighter, and Kandel’s vocals have become smoother and more refined

A substantial improvement over the gentle snoozefest that was 2000's Early Days. [Apr 2002, p.76]

An uplifting, hope-giving affirmation of resurgence from a band who might have been down at one point but were definitely never out. [Dec 2009, p.117]

In the Pit of the Stomach is a fine achievement, but one that feels counter to the usual trajectory of your average rock group. [Nov 2011, p.98]

This is not the greatest music Trivium have ever recorded, but no one could accuse them of sullying their name with substandard chunder.

It showcases a wise and occasionally raw Hause sharpening his veteran punk chops into rousing and often smoothly melodic fare. [Mar 2017, p.82]

While much of contemporary music fixates on flash and bang, it's refreshing to hear emphasis on what the singer is saying. With a lyricist this gifted, that more than suffices.