When the band are a little more concrete and less spooky, the results are especially compelling, but Screamworks is ultimately successful in its blending of melody and muscle. [Mar 2010, p.90]

Somehow, this record sounds like it's skipping or running at the wrong speed, yet completely natural all the while. [Jul 2014, p.100]

Xerxes debut LP is a solid take on the burgeoning Pg.99/Modern Life Is War hybrid. [Apr 2012, p.99]

Hot Mess has everything you hate to admit you love about Cobra Starship. [Sep 2009, p.104]

They've made a graceful exit here. [Oct 2016, p.86]

This EP might be a surprise to some, but it is in keeping with the puckish spirit that has underpinned the quintet's nearly 35 years together.

This fifth full-length has everything fans expect from an Eisley record. [Mar 2017, p.82]

Refreshingly retro without being anachronistic, Free Energy burst with unironic sun-flecked highs--it's classic rock from 8-track heaven. [Feb 2010, p.93]

While Get Your Heart On! might not be the true return to form the band envisioned, it's ultimately worth the wait. [Jul 2011, p.105]

Sure, their label debut feels slightly more hooky and accessible in places. But Darker Handcraft is mostly the same humble, misanthropic band, playing relentlessly, vicious, rapid metallic hardcore with their requisite flashes of D-beat, grind and thrash influence. [Apr 2011, p.122]

It may not be a challenging album, but it's close to pop perfection. [Oct 2011, p.107]

The second half of the album loses momentum due to the overly long, soggy pop of "Crescendo" and "Strangers," although Nocturnes recovers nicely on the flawless synth-pop jam "All For You," where Hesketh shows off her dramatic, emotive vocals. [Jun 2013, p.98

An exercise in simplicity, Free Will’s one critique is at times feeling too simple. Given enough time, though, and a quiet enough room, the beauty in the music comes through strong, and second listens let the lyrics ring truer.

Their continued filtering of '50s girl-group melodies through swelling pop songs that crib equally from the noise/indie/dream spheres captivates in newly charming ways. [Oct 2012, p.88]

Compared to hearing 2001's instantly gratifying I Get Wet, listening to The Wolf is like getting mindblowing sex on a first date, only to have that person get a job at the Vatican the next day. [Oct 2003, p.136]

If one can digest [Thompson's singing], though, Hairball makes for a pretty fun listen. [May 2015, p.100]

There's no question Biersack and the boys are making an active decision to go after the Rock On The Range crowd with lunkheaded hard rock and painfully bland ballads that are just dull enough to strike a chord with middle America. [Jul 2011, p.106]

I'm From Barcelona have already moved on from the instantly infectious sense of fun that made the better cuts of "Let Me Introduce My Friends" so endearing. But it's not as though they've turned their backs completely on the quirks that brought them this far. [Nov 2008, p.154]

What Happens in Hell Stays in Hell finds the trio beefing up their sound without betraying the genre. [Sep 2011, p.116]

A crooning Busdriver is frequently more intelligible, revealing his sense of humor and beauty. [Mar 2012, p.94]

Dear John rewards the attentive listener with complexities crafted by a Swedish pop masermind; just don't mediate on the lyrics for comfort after an emotional breakup. [Mar 2009, p.106]

It’s a good record, to be sure, but that’s to be expected by TBS at this point: These guys are professional musicians who have sold a few million records and toured the world countless times over. Unfortunately, a “good” record just isn’t good enough anymore.

Though it has a couple great cuts that are in the running for Britpop song of the year, With The Tides lacks definition, making South more a group in the midst of a movement than one defining it. [Oct 2003, p.138]

Nuanced, sophisticated pop somewhere between Ben Folds and Spain. [Oct 2005, p.168]

Blixa Bargeld's singing voice lacks distinction, but Mobile's emotional intensity, cinematic grandeur and eerie beauty render that a moot point. [Mar 2004, p.110]

A patchwork quilt of wispy Britpop ballads soaring majestically in an effort to overcome their own blandness. [Oct 2002, p.78]

Venus Doom is such a refreshing return to an organic, guitar driven sound unheard since 2003's "Love Metal." [Nov 2007, p.170]

The first six songs include plodding modern rock that sounds like the Offspring's "Gone Away," an attempt at dark disco with clumsy lyrics and cheeseball pop. But if you stick it out, you'll be rewarded: Invented's second half features gorgeous "Littlething," Adkins' top-notch duet with Rachel Haden and Linton's punchy "Action Needs An Ambulance." [Oct 2010, p.112]