Some will call this regression, but longtime fans will likely call it focused and celebrate the return to form represented on The Lucky Ones.

While Gibson is often humane, she's not always gentle. [No. 130, p.57]

A headphone-friendly, Latin-flavored, hypnotic concoction of deep grooves, tropical textures and warped blips and bleeps compressed into fractured layers. [No. 96, p.55]

The guitar-free I Guess Sometimes offers evidence that some of the most compelling "rock" music today doesn't come from conventional rock musicians at all. [#48, p.100]

Apocrypha feels of a piece with Eggs, though without as many layers or as heightened a sense of playfulness. [#75, p.91]

The more writerly approach hasn't dulled the duo's riffage one iota, even if this is their most musically expansive and easily their most musically expansive and easily their cleanest-sounding outing yet. [No. 139, p.56]

This record feels pretty special. [No. 115, p.55]

With Hitch, the Joy Formidable has expanded its sonic palette and subsequently zeroed in on its ultimate sound. [No. 130, p.57]

As comebacks go, it's perfect. [No. 124, p.61]

Elegantly crafted and darkly mischievous.

It finds Wareham in rare form. [#54, p.95]

Hold is the most fun Melvins record in a minute, somehow combining two of the weirdest bands in the history of American rock to come up with an almost-straightforward rock record that shreds hard. [No. 115, p.59]

There's a noisy undercurrent on Breaks in the Armor, which may become even more prevalent with the return of and cross-pollination with Archers Of Loaf, but the album's stripped-back, still powerful songs might be indicating Crooked Finger's path from here.[#82, p. 54]

Has enough regret, sadness and self-loathing to power a Trent Reznor comeback. [#61, p.96]

They turn out to be pretty good influences on one another. Jay sounds generally reinvigorated: good-humored, full of nimble, intricate wit and atypically emotionally revealing, and if Kanye's rhymes occasionally remain as clumsy and crass as his personal life choices, he drops far fewer boners than usual. [#81, p. 56]

Brave stuff. [No. 117, p.54]

This is a record packed to the rafters. [No. 130, p.58]

Songs so immediately enthralling you won't even notice the faint Dungeons & Dragons scent of [Rieger's] lyrics. [#54, p.88]

They've tempered the cheerleader quality of their vocals, and the breakneck pace has slowed down just enough for you to discover that, somewhere along the line, they learned to play and sing. [#48, p.85]

With little overlap between his back-to-back acoustic performances recorded last November, we're provided a sterling overview of Adams' impressive catalogue. [No.121, p.53]

This one's a keeper. [No.99, p.52]

It's yet another excellent Oldham album. [No. 115, p.54]

The Kings of Leon sound like Molly Hatchet locking horns with the Gun Club. [#60, p.105]

The group has managed to retain a sense of innocence, freshness and pure joy in the act of creation. [No. 100, p.59]

In its ornately layered, keyboard-heavy sonics, ALbatross is more latter-day Talk Talk than early Gang Of Four. [#70, p.110]

The Western Lands offers more bang for your buck. [Fall 2007, p.96]

Pollie's sulky tenor is perfectly suited to these tales of heartache and lost affection, with muted backing tracks that intensify the tear-soaked scenarios that bring him solace. [No. 142, p.57]

Some of the most progressive tracks of its 20-year career. [#71, p.93]