Liars are more about energy than solid songwriting, but these spastic, jagged grooves are powerful enough to inspire a sea of awkward punk-rock dances. [#9, p.150]

Much of the CD feels as though it could have been made anytime in the last 15 years.

Brainwashed suggests that Harrison's last years were largely comfortable, slow-paced and unaffected by any worries about his relevance. [#12, p.144]

[Dents] is, by Buckner's standards, gentle. [Nov 2004, p.130]

Fresh off his triumphant "Fishscale" series, the thinking-thug’s MC once again shows why he’s the alpha Wu-Tanger: palpable street authenticity, classic taste in R&B (Stax, Motown) and the breakneck rhyme virtuosity of hip-hop’s golden age.

Even when the Wire slow way down, their densely layered riffs reward wall-shaking volumes. [Oct 2008, p.83]

Recalls The Bride Stripped Bare, Ferry's 1978 art-R&B lament. [#8, p.116]

Their hard-bitten Calvinist worry and storm-a-brewing' guitar tangle feel earthier than most back-to-the-land hipster escapism, especially when threshed out by roundhouse drummer Greg Anderson. [Sep 2007,p.129]

The surprise is that the realist rage of material they had barely thought about in years feels so right in the age of Dubya. [#23, p.106]

The best songs here brace his vulnerability with expansive flourishes. [Apr 2004, p.134]

Conley could use a few more breakups to check his sentimentality. [Oct 2003, p.126]

The disconnect between their always gnarly syntax and the suede-buffed production drains the album's energy. [#4, p.116]

Rich, smooth, and speedily forgettable. [Mar 2004, p.128]

Unfortunately, most of The Eraser is half-finished sketches, dressed up with a few of Nigel Godrich's subtle production tricks. [Aug 2006, p.105]

With 81 chronologically ordered tracks... With the Lights Out can be a slog. But for Nirvana fans, it's also a necessary rite. [Jan/Feb 2005, p.119]

Oberst always projects a spiritual generosity unknown to most footloose troubadours who can’t commit.

A&E is generally more subdued, but, like Pierce’s earlier work, it’s best at its most theatrical.

Far from the usual collision of greatest hits and "Hello, Cleveland"-type bluster. [#4, p.122]

Organ-laced acoustic ballads like "Block Island" are a tad too drowsy for the disc's tough topics. [Aug 2004, p.134]

The best thing she's done since winning the Grammy. [Jun 2005, p.110]

Her ardent love songs ultimately come off not as love songs but standard ache-and-pain Mary tracks--making this album not quite the breakthrough it might have been. [Mar 2006, p.109]

Uncommonly rich and unfashionably gynocentric, Scarlet's Walk makes the personal universal, using the stories of women lost, left and unseen to chart a map of the American psyche. [#11, p.124]

Cobra Verde embrace classic-rock posturing with all of its messy emotional overreach, wanky-yet-tasteful guitar solos and bombastic songcraft.

Her effortless cool has gained range. [Sep 2004, p.144]

[Slug is] suddenly one of the best alt-rappers around. [#9, p.143]

'Up' sounded like the work of a band getting its bearings. On 'Reveal,' they're still finding their way. [Jun/Jul 2001, p.110]

There are two even matched KT Tunstalls on her debut album: One borrows from Chris Martin's bag of shopworn metaphors... The other one is more unsettling and more intriguing. [Apr 2006, p.118]

Junior Boys’ immaculate synth-pop comes with a heartsick afterburn, even such unrobotic elements as a wandering saxophone or gentle acoustic guitar.