It’s the core songwriting beneath the band’s rich sonic layering that needs the greatest sharpening.

It's a bit of an acquired taste, but at record's end, you'll be extremely satisfied.

As is to be expected in any collaboration of this type, there are a lot of good ideas to be found, and it’s worth hearing, even with a few missteps.

As much as I loved Amore Del Tropico, The Spell comes across even more striking.

What could have been a boring, belligerent, and bellicose introspective slide into the music industry dustbin has in fact turned out to be one of Grandaddy’s most listenable and likeable releases.

If there is one tiny flaw on this disc, it's the way some of the songs, after teasing us with intensifying waves of sound, tend to drift to an ending prior to attaining their destination.

The second half of the album wallows in the shadow of the first, unable to conjure the absolute majesty of the first four tracks.

Despite the extremely strong sonic points, most of the album falls short in the songwriting department.

Everything has been stripped to the core, with the focus on creating a tight album from beginning to end.

These songs are painfully uneventful.

Springsteen does more than just an adequate job; it’s difficult not to get swept along by the infectious energy of his performance.

At least two or three songs on the record are worthy of the New Pornographers for crunchy catchiness and the entire set is packaged with energy and hooks.

Whilst Songs and Other Things may still attract loyal aficionados of Verlaine’s idiosyncratic solo work, it’s certainly unlikely to win over any sceptics.

Whilst Around is hardly groundbreaking stuff – Verlaine’s retro equipment preferences automatically predicate a retro feel – it is a genuinely unforced unfurling of a reclusive talent and a worthy companion piece to Warm and Cool.

A solid yet underachieving return.

A lush, captivating, and dynamically vocalized album on the mellower end of Butler’s usual stylistic spectrum.

When not overdone, the playing and singing are excellent, and when they want to, the Dresden Dolls can pen a mighty fine tune as well.

The songs hold up well live, and the recording quality is terrific.

The Dave Grohl production is the best the band has ever had, and the disc absolutely catches fire in a few places, but there’s still a nagging doubt about Rye Coalition.

The lack of truly classic Calexico moments marks the album as a transitory step: too far for some, not enough for others.

These initial songs are noteworthy by any measure; the remainder of the album, then, is a bit of a let-down, especially on first listen.

You are There is a fine example of post-rock that outshines both Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor's latest or last affairs.

Never has Aloha sounded so tight, so completely in control of its sound, so assured of that sound.

Wasif aspires for the guts of Neil Young and the tortured soul of Ian Curtis but captures neither, instead sounding like an inappropriately self-pitying, passive-aggressive whiner.

While the tunes on Adventures may be a bit more nebulous and a bit less intricate than those found on From Here on In and With the Tides, they are by no means any less engaging, and in some cases are even more resplendent.

You will not be able to tear yourself away from this album. This is no daringly outrageous, Kid A-esque “progressive” music that nobody really enjoys listening to. This is rock 'n roll.

The chemistry between the members of Rahim is quite apparent from the beginning to the end of the album.

Ghost is at the top of his game, both in terms of flow and lyrical luminosity.