Noel Gallagher has even less to say than he used to. [Jun 2005, p.112]

This dense noise assault may not sustain the feeling of ecstasy from beginning to end, but its percolating trance rhythms... and captivating space experiments... connect on a visceral level that's rare in the cerebral world of electronic music. [Jun 2005, p.109]

Darker and colder than its predecessor but, surprisingly, more fun. [Jun 2005, p.109]

Valhalla, they are coming! [Jun 2005, p.114]

Even the fiercest moments never fully detonate. [Jul 2005, p.114]

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

Blend[s] limpid Velvet Underground textures, strolling country-rock and wry, cryptically plaintive Malkmus poetry well enough to sound like neo-classics destined for a Wes Anderson film. [Jun 2005, p.111]

Crimson features enough syrupy string swells, maudlin piano filigrees and layers of production sparkle... to choke an army of purists. But these credibility-destroying effects only enhance the pure pop kick. [Jul 2005, p.114]

Be picks up where West's The College Dropout left off. [Jun 2005, p.113]

The Secret Migration comes dangerously close to being just another Mercury Rev album, and they're too inspired for such a mundane fate. [Jun 2005, p.112]

Keith and co-writer Scotty Emerick can't resist country cliches, but at least they use them brilliantly. [Jul 2005, p.118]

DMB's five nimble instrumentalists... take Putumayo globalism to a Sigma Chi frat party. [Jun 2005, p.107]

The band sometimes flails ineffectually, but more often it stays streamlined and urgent. [Jun 2005, p.109]

Effortlessly surges into the stratosphere of his better work--when not slipping into new age-y monotony. [Jun 2005, p.113]

This return to murky obscurantism, thankfully, comes with a return to guitar noise. [Jun 2005, p.115]

In striving for Zen-like purity, the songs often end up eerily blank. [Jul 2005, p.122]

Despite a short-circuited sequence of electroclash songs, the girls are winning throughout. [Apr 2005, p.116]

Instead of sunshine-pop sugar, there's the cloying tang of saccharine. [Jun 2005, p.109]

There isn't a bad song or performance on it. Unfortunately, there isn't a new song or performance on it either. [Jun 2005, p.117]

Too bad most of his songs come to an end just as they're heating up. [Jun 2005, p.108]

The album is wonderfully cohesive. [May 2005, p.119]

Sounds like the best bar band in the world. [May 2005, p.122]

If she doesn't follow commercial formulas, she's following creative ones, and selling herself short in the process. [Jun 2005, p.111]

An hour's worth of the good stuff: churning, yearning synth-rock. [Jun 2005, p.114]

Finally, an album that bridges the gaping chasm between hipsters and Rennaisance Faires. [Jun 2005, p.112]

A surprisingly heartfelt collection, heavy on lullaby-like ballads yet still oozing with sexy noir ambiance. [Jun 2005, p.113]

What raises them above the hordes of young revivalists is their way with a cranky bon mot. [Jul 2005, p.121]