[Lee delivers] some of the most impassioned performances he's ever recorded. [No. 104, p.58]

With a snarl on their lisp, drums set to bash and guitars red-lining all the way, snotty new Cribs anthems such as "Year Of Hate" and "Partisan" shine within Albini's typical sonic verite approach to recording. [No. 145, p.53]

There's so much good music here, performed affectionately but not reverently, that it's a keeper. [No. 132, p.60]

The songs are tightly constructed, the recordings clean and largely devoid of production effects, allowing the melodies, all quite lovely to take center stage. [No. 147, p.61]

[A] return to the simpler production style of 2001 debut The Optimist LP. [#68, p.112]

A thrumming, tribal first half gives way to a haunting, ethereal second. [No. 113, p.59]

A sinister, slinky catwalk with sharper melodic angles and a propulsive, post-punk groove. [#75, p.99]

It's a truism that embedded in most double albums is an even better single one, but that doesn't apply here. [No. 114, p.58]

The period specificity doesn't weigh down this buoyant album. [No. 102, p.60]

A wonderful rumination on late nights, leaving home and self-medicating. [No.92 p.54]

A delightful surprise. [#75, p.99]

While longtime fans may lament the paucity of instamatic anthems, 'All The Old Showstoppers' and 'Unguided' reveal their charms with each new verse. [Fall 2007, p.106]

It's an artful & well-crafted collection. [No. 98, p.60]

There hasn't been a set of pretenders this convincing since Interpol. [#61, p.107]

After several years of wandering in the sonic wilderness, Parker has returned to his roots with a velvet-fisted vengeance. [No. 111, p.58]

Even the most seriously depressed songs here have a lightness that's been missing in the past. [#60, p.111]

Down In Heaven is the third full-length from Twin Peaks, and it’s undoubtedly their most solid collection. [No. 132, p.61]

Instrumentally, Torino strays little from previous Cinerama releases.... But lyrically, Gedge... [has] developed a gritter, nastier edge. [#55, p.72]

Tennis dances easily into the present with an album that pines for more for modern connection than campy reinventions of someone else's love. [No. 113, p.61]

The Avett Brothers are thankfully more interested in contemporary relevance than lockstep allegiance to dusty history. [No. 104, p.52]

Their voices blend together beautifully. [No. 145, p.57]

Williams is competing with listeners' ingrained memories of these songs and thta can be a challenge. But the rock songs rock harder, the swampy blues groove more deeply, and the "He Never Got Enough Love" rewrite tells a better story. [No. 148, p.60]

Serious fans will appreciate the sessions recorded with John Peel for BBC Radio 1 and the highlights culled from a 1982 performance at Boston's Opera House. [No.89, p.56]

Researching the Blues is masterfully produced and keenly performed. [No.90, p.60]

So Pitted is constantly poking and prodding at its audience with a wicked glee and demented smile. [No. 128, p.61]

There was more to the melody of Unwound than just a few simple, catchy primitive riffs. [No. 107, p.61]

Although Beast Epic does not broadcast its complexity and depth as with some past Iron & Wine efforts, it's still lovely, dark and deep. [No. 145, p.58]

Her witty wordplay and ironic humor offers a bit of relief from heartache and confusion that colors the record, but it's those shattered emotions that are the most impressive. [No. 134, p.57]