Speaking if cheese...well, yeah, there's a lot of it on Dream date, with a healthy topping of enthralling production and slick, meaningless rhymes. [Winter, p.102]

But unlike Not Too Late, Jones' latest decision to ditch her keys for strings is a poor one. In a way, she had indeed found a different beat to groove to, and if anyone can play in a piano bar without a piano, it would certainly be Norah Jones. [Holiday 2009, p. 91]

All of these bittersweet tracks are gloriously faint approximations of everyone's favorite seasonal affective disorder. [Holiday 2009, p. 93]

The Fountain is replete with shimmering, flaw-repellant pop, all glorious melodies and gorgeous atmospherics; and while Will Sargent's feral guitar hounds are kept tightly leashed, Ian McCulloch rattle off couplets and takes us to dizzying heights of piercing sadness and grown-up romantic longing. [Holiday 2009, p. 93]

Amos said she wanted to reclaim the songs from religious appropriations, but in the end, she just barely save us all from complete shame. [Holiday 2009, p. 98]

By its very nature, the sonic range is reduced and the vocals sit tightly in the piano and acoustic guitar lines, as in "Blind Little Rain," where the vocal movement is as playful as it is devastating with Yuki's ghostly calling. [Holiday 2009, p. 92]

Githead cohesively blends the sounds of each of the foursome's past experiences. [Holiday 2009, p.95]

The new album is much more subdued yet at the same time, more adventurous in what it accomplishes. [Holiday 2009, p.100]

It doesn’t hurt that Bill Reynolds of Band of Horses produced the five-song EP, and though it clocks in at a brief 20 minutes, it’s worth repeated listenings.

It's obvious that great pains were taken with the sequencing--starting with the exuberant "Good Looking Man About Town," winding down with Morrissey's twist on Bowie's nostalgic "Drive-In Saturday, " and trailing off with the resigned ode "Because of My Poor Education." The artistry alone is worth the purchase. [Holiday 2009, p.91]

Songs like these are why Nirvana was king and this show proves why the band was peerless. Suddenly Nirvana is everything to me all over again. [[Holiday 2009, p. 92]

The spacious production leaves room for the sounds (cackling laughter, radio fuzz, the ever-present vibes) to be themselves, resulting in dream-like suites that are at once familiar and confusing. [Holiday 2009, p. 99]

Gift Of Gab is assured and even-keeled on Escape 2 Mars--never reaching the intensity of Blackalicious' best work, or descending into the mellow lounge -scapes of "4th Dimensional Rocketships."

This is not one to be missed, kissed with the promise that beauty and depth in songs still matters. [Holiday 2009, p.102]

A basement-made bundle of hypnotic unpredictability, this one looks to be a grower.

Despite the classic rock pastiche, Cosmic Egg somehow manages to strike a balance between being a carbon copy of a legendary rock album and a tribute to an era--call them the Quentin Tarantino of hard rock.

When the album reaches its climax at about mid-point, the record changes pace and you’re left wondering, “What was that?” Ultimately, you don’t totally care to know the answer.

Though Maps is ona simple level known for James Chapman's spacey and cinematic sound, the new direction--or variety of directions--are all equally as wonderful, even if they are unrelated. [Fall 2009, p.106]

Tarot Sport's tunes don't really explode so much as they unfurl into synthetic washes of digital soundtracking that undulate with electricity before elvolving into narcotic beat castles. [Holiday 2009, p.99]

Though he occasionally buries his vocals under distortion, Cox is undeniably the star of the show. [Fall 2009, p.106]

It's just a series of strangely gorgeous, breezy tunes from two awkward Norwegians who continue to remind us that love can be confusing, joy dark and pain very beautiful. [Fall 2009, p.98]

The audio-visual experience, fondly known as The BQE, centers on the history of New York’s Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, and its conceit works because of its composer’s breadth of influence.

Supported by a new cast of musicians and soaking up the atmosphere, Ounsworth has crafted an album that transitions seemlessly from ballads to more frentic tracks with a straightforward sound that lets the songwriting and hooks resonate without being over-produced. [Fall 2009, p.100]

Surprise and relief are the words that best describe an initial reaction to Embryonic. [Fall 2009, p.90]

The First Days of Spring falls in the gentle, folky space between Belle & Sebastian and It’s Jo and Danny, but manages to carve out a singular place for itself with thoughtful lyricism and artful songwriting.

Air is as essential as ever, and has succeeded in writing another album of inspiration, tantalizing music. [Fall 2009, p.91]

Exploding Head is another raucous ode to My Bloody Valentine meets The Jesus and Mary Chain shoegaze. But that’s what’s indicative about this band--although its references are often cited; Exploding Head has that passion needed in reinvigorating a sub-genre.

The music’s sharp focus, peppered with gallantly chirping "Forever Changes" brass and sometimes slipping into a Floyd-like coast of silvery slide guitar, is the solid ground on which ghosts tread.