There's always been a heavier influence in the band's music, but on Arrows & Anchors, their ambitious desires to step outside the genre box often get bogged down in a sea of down-tuned guitar and maudlin lyrics.

A tastefully echo-bathed, psychocandy-flavored production job by the Raveonetts' Sune Rose Wagner, and you've got a soaring and psychedelic dream-pop stunner that will leave you wondering how being bummed can feel so inanely good. [Sep 2013, p.88]

Penny feels both sculpted and spontaneous. [Oct 2010, p.112]

Their songs are categorically contagious and surprisingly smart. [Sep 2005, p.164]

Instead of rehashing rap and rock, he smashes up pop melodies, metal riffs and industrial beats with a hammer, creating something that teeters on parody yet heralds an enthusiastic return to the days when hair metal knew how to get the crowds loaded. [Apr 2002, p.65]

Feels like a jam session--bluesy keyboard lines and guitar riffs busk with soul-inflected harmonies, world-music percussion and complex, exotic rhythms. [Apr 2002, p.68]

While their weird is very often wonderful, these 10 tracks are somewhat inconsistent. [Oct 2014, p.98]

A renewed sense of purpose exudes from every song, with an abundance of electronics playing nicely with their roiling guitar rock. [Apr 2017, p.80]

It's by far the most readily accessible release in the A&C catalog and heightened the Stills anxieties to pathological levels, like setting bullet points from "An Inconvenuient Truth" to upbeat tunes. [Sep 2008, p.150]

Abounds with ADULT.'s trademark terse tension you can dance to--albeit as if in a straitjacket. [Apr 2005, p.128]

While all the riffs and parts are brillantly performed, they rarely if ever repeat one, and none stick in your head after the band is gone. [Dec 2009, p.108]

The group still employ the boy-loves-girl lyrical motif--but the way they've expanded their sonic palette to include more than typical Warped Tour fluff is both admirable and a bit risky. [Aug 2011, p.122]

[Often the album] leads to pleasant but forgettable songs, leaning toward Britpop.

Red Light is a sturdier, more rocking affair (relatively speaking) [than their debut]. [Jul 2012, p.94]

It's like BVB's other output in that it's not perfect, but the high points are still pretty damn high.

Fly By Wire is more nuanced, mature take on the group's comfort-food keyboard-pop. [Oct 2013, p.92]

There are hints of something fresh on There's Nothing Wrong With Me. [Dec 2014, p.106]

¡Tré! feels scattershot and slapped together, making it difficult to enjoy on its own merits.

On 2008's Brain Thrust Mastery, the trio attempted to inject a bit more seriousness and Brit-pop influence into their best-when-kept-simple sound, to varying results, but Barbara finds them back in their comfort zone--fun, danceable pop-rock.

There's a fine line between vintage rock revision and progressive insight--Hammond Jr. has mastered the balance. [Aug 2008, p.170]

The Bronx III shouldn't be perceived as a misstep, because this band's growing pains have more character than the parade of desperate losers saddled with pay-to-play blues lined up in front of L.A.'s Roxy Theatre. [Dec 2008, p.129]

The songs sound more like a collection of B-sides than a new album. [Dec 2006, p.206]

Portamento is a dramatic, bitchy and playful collection that can channel the aforementioned grief through the Drums' lively fingers, and come out effervescent on the other side.

Succeeds only as an inessential novelty. [Jan 2004, p.98]

While they are accomplished musicians and combine their growling, death-metal-influenced moments with a wealth of shiny hooks, they fail to do so in a way that counts. [Feb 2012, p.84]

While such eclecticism usually plays better across the pond, it's hard to resist the nimble melodies and kinetic enthusiasm the Scientists put on display, even if the authenticity is somewhat suspect. [July 2008, p.158]

The singer continues to exude a sophistication that raises the bar for aggressive rockers who can mature with both grace and continued relevance. [Nov 2011, p.93]

The sound of an artist losing the qualities that made him unique to begin with. [Apr 2006, p.216]