These 12 songs... cleave to the theme of hope-is-all-we-have, while stopping short of an unnecessary, pat moral. [Jun 2005, p.116]

These surging, wordy confessionals are sometimes redemptive but never maudlin. [May 2005, p.121]

Amerie's heat is irresistible, in large part because it's subtle. [Jun 2005, p.108]

It's protest music gone gleefully psycho. [Jul 2005, p.122]

The momentum collapses with ballads that would suit not only his band but even the Backstreet Boys. [May 2005, 124]

A band of arty studio veterans give him a new set of choppers, and he knows what to do with them. [Jun 2005, p.116]

Sets the gold standard for diva records in 2005. [May 2005, p.118]

They sound like just another rock band. The thing is, they're a fine rock band. [May 2005, p.119]

When it works, his songs are intoxicating pop nuggets... But meandering instrumental interludes and clunky song titles are low on wink, high on wank. [May 2005, p.122]

She's just as acute as [Rufus] is, as centered on the poetry within the profane, as able to write songs whose meanings stay kept behind doors within doors. [May 2005, p.125]

Swells with grace and intrigue. [May 2005, p.116]

Jettisons their saving grace--a big, glitter-streaked wink--for limp stabs at profundity. [Apr 2005, p.117]

Elevator has the zing of classic pop--and its sureness too. [May 2005, p.115]

Intermittently great. [May 2005, p.117]

The big '80s-style production highlights her breathy-sexy vulnerability, but Presley's better when she rocks. [May 2005, p.123]

Bubbles with kooky sounds and melodic invention. [Apr 2005, p.112]

It's ultimately unconvincing. [Jun 2005, p.115]

This is dramatic, radio-loving rock primed to outlive the current I Love The '80s infatuation. [Apr 2005, p.113]

About as insular and pensive a rap record as anyone's ever made. [May 2005, p.120]

It doesn't feel like soapboxing; it feels like life. [Mar 2005, p.142]

He switches styles and moods nearly every song, but his caramel harmonies and swirling guitars are reliable constants. [Apr 2005, p.113]

Occasional flashes of brilliance transcend the deja-vu pastiche. [Apr 2005, p.113]

[An] entertaining album. [Apr 2005, p.119]

Gleams with emotion. [Apr 2005, p.113]

Singing on nearly every song, the techno star gets more up-close-and-personal here--a ballsy move for someone the Lord didn't heap with vocal gifts, but one that pays off. [Apr 2005, p.124]

Out Hud don't write songs, they whip up grooves: streamlined throbs and pulses, transmitted live from Saturday night at the coolest club in town. [May 2005, p.123]

Sounds routine, obscure without much mystery. [Apr 2005, p.124]

They exult in a catchy send-up of swaggering retro-rock sleaze. [May 2005, p.121]