These crusty old salts still know how to deliver solid, penetrating, life-affirming rock'n'roll. [Oct 2018, p.86]

One for those who like some songwriting substance with their hellbound gargling. [Jun 2015, p.95]

Their world-weary shtick has more passion than depth. But. as ever, they do it with conviction, their uncomplicated love for heritage rock informing every warm, wonky, soulful note. [Sep 2020, p.88]

Though Weirdo's pop smarts err on the glossy, there remain enough hooks and swagger here to convince. [May 2023, p.80]

With stoner rock's monotonous thrum as a template you're always going to have to work a little harder to break through with something genuinely interesting, and Pigsx7 don't always manage it here. [Oct 2018, p.84]

The most interesting bits of Engines Of Destruction are the moments when the beardy berserker mask drops. [May 2026, p.74]

A heartfelt hymn to a national treasure, this is the acceptable face of patriotism, the evergreen sound of England's dreaming. [Oct 2023, p.85]

A way more fun prospect than it seems. [Nov 2022, p.75]

The speedometer doesn't quite reach the heights of Wreckless Abandon but a consistent buzz keeps the Heartbreakers spirit alive and kicking. [May 2022, p.82]

Even as they slip effortlessly into middle-age, their perennial prog tendencies are still evident on the demonic squall of I Told You I Was Crazy and the sprawling, trippy Dogs And Cattle Prods. [Dec 2013, p.99]

While the album still has the overall feel of being in a flotation tank while listening to Gerry Rafferty, James experiments beyond his tendency to jaw off occasionally into psych jazz interludes, tackling dark future fink on Magic Bullet and Godspell gospel blues on Wasted. [Sep 2020, p.89]

The pace of Duets Special is slow and steady, so inevitably there are moments where it drags a little, but to hear one of the great rock voices of her era in her element, sharing the music she loves with musicians she respects and complements, is a quiet, low-key joy to behold. [Nov 2025, p.80]

This is perhaps a musician's album, in that peers will admire his skill and originality, while it could be rather challenging for the untrained. [May 2018, p.89]

As ever, this band find their joie de vivre in jadedness. [May 2026, p.78]

The new tracks – the first since 2022’s comeback album The Tipping Point – embellish their spacey pop melodies with skittering ambient beats (The Girl That I Call Home) and contemporary psych disco (Say Goodbye To Mum and Dad). Recent songs included in the live portion from Tennessee’s FirstBank Amphitheater also transplant their 80s elegance into today’s airy electropop and synthrock. [Dec 2024, p.74]

Only diluted by a couple of thin tracks, Spirit is an impressively robust late-career album. Emotionally naked yet clad in thick, metallic armour, Depeche Mode are growing old angrily, and it suits them.

Six inessential demos added to the original album hardly warrant the ‘deluxe edition’ tag. But as a document of a musical sea change, Ultramega OK is indispensable.

Dr. John sounds in tip-top form here. [Oct 2022, p.73]

In playing predominantly with familiar sounds, From Zero feels less like a step forward for Linkin Park than a rallying point to bring the band back from the brink. But in that, the album is nothing short of a triumph; measuring their angst and leaning on the communal heart that's always existed in their songs, Linkin Park have saved themselves to fight another day. [Jan 2025, p.78]

A relentless stream of strong, sinewy riffs and blistering solos. ... It's just a shame he doesn't trust his own voice more. [Jul 2019, p.85]

It may not have the immediacy of Crowded House at their peak, but there are nonetheless defiant pop sensibilities seeping through the cracks of more experimental left-field soundscapes that form the spine of the likes Of Ghosts and We Know What It Means. [Sep 2018, p.86]

Harder, heavier and more cohesive than their Manifest Decimation debut, Nightmare Logic is precise and snappy enough to win over hardcore fans too.

They find the sweet spot between Dinosaur Jr's nagging noise and The Posies' woozy power-pop charm. [Apr 2015, p.101]

Exposes his long-standing flaws: lyrics with the depth and insight of an astrology column, and songwriting that flashes on brilliance. .... Tracks are redeemed, though, by some spectacularly muscular riffing from guitarist Liam Tyson. [Apr 2023, p.83]

It may all be a little too polished and tasteful for some palates, but for others this is 15 togs of pure aural comfort to wrap yourself in.

A handful of solo piano interludes also summon inescapable echoes of Spinal Tap’s Lick My Love Pump. Overall, though, Synthesis feels like a successful experiment.

Revisits Gotham-based hits and Lou's timeless Wild Side. [Jun 2020, p.89]

Frontman Stu Mackenzie nails a Hetfield-esque gurgle from the galloping, squiddle-spattered opener Planet B, and it’s hard to resist the rat-a-tat riff and stuttering vocal of Self-immolate or the insistent turbo-Sabbath churn of Mars For The Rich.