This newly minted prissiness... gives the twinkly keyboard and tangled guitar of "Oh Fine" and the mock-pomp circumstance of "Was It A Crime" a starry-eyed sensuality. [#64, p.92]

Every song here is perfect, glimmering pop gem--and the lyrics are often brilliant--but they're played with a measured precision and lack of dynamic range that makes it hard to differentiate one from the other as the LP unfolds. [No. 112, p.52]

Hot Cakes isn't really trying to be funny so much as just plain fun. And it is. [No.90, p.55]

Taut, catchy songs ripe with beginner's pluck. [#71, p.105]

The most impressive thing about the band's second record is how relentless it is. [No. 126, p.59]

[Mike Polizze's] an understated master of the rock 'n' roll hook.... With big and booming Superfuzz Bigmuff-style production cleaning up the band's Drag City debut, that distinction becoming clearer. [No. 96, p.58]

As is the risk with such serious-minded albums, a few songs err on the side of heavy-handedness... but Arcade Fire's raw passion and heartfelt ambition remain intact. [#75, p.90]

Debbie Downer, perhaps, but Austra sure knows how to make misery sound like a good time. [No.99, p.52]

Offering finds the band retooling its sound, and a few songs meander. But at its best--on the vibrant. assertive title track, on the buzzy, fizzy "Recovery," on the swaying, bittersweet "Good Religion"--it rivals Cults' revivalist previous offerings. [No. 147, p.51]

That Different Days is so listenable despite its flawed nature is testament to Costa and Anderson's wonderful songwriting and shrewd decisions. [Jan/Feb 2005]

Pushing his backing band (featuring Willie Nelson’s kids Lukas and Micah Nelson on guitars and vocals) into a stomping Crazy Horse vibe, Young provides the album’s frills with his keening voice and bracing guitar. [No. 133, p.60]

The tight, buzzing guitars and chugging rhythm section have been deconstructed--subdued, even. [#54, p.78]

Eventually, Walk It Off reveals Tapes ‘N Tapes’ debut, 2006’s The Loon, to be both leaner and meaner.

Listening to this breakup-on-tape is captivating. [#64, p.98]

Throughout, minimally invasive production from Vladislav Delay creates a fuller sense of emptiness, resulting in one big, glorious downer. [No. 112, p.61]

While Moms never reaches the earwormy heights that it leads off with, there's still a bunch of choice moments [throughout the album]. [No.91 p. 56]

If you aren't smitten with this band yet, you will be soon. [#73, p.94]

What the album lacks in diversity and lyrical depth it more than makes up for with Technicolor-daydream choruses. [#75, p.98]

The group's self-titled debut smoothly splits the difference between the glassy, grime-inflected production that Nguzunguzu typically trades in and a whole host of contemporary club sounds from around the world. [No. 118, p.57]

Arnalds' voice is the centerpiece, as each of the 12 tracks lives or dies by her pipes. [No. 96, p.52]

Axes comes off as a spikier, more experimental Stereolab or a more adept Raincoats. [#68, p.91]

The more significant development is one of subtle, writerly progression. [No. 142, p.53]

This may be more apple peel than you care to chomp on for a sloppy experimental pop act making its debut. [#53, p.92]

Predictable pleasures abound. [#74, p.95]

To Survive is both sparser and more polished than last year's "Real Life." [Summer 2008, p.107]

Heartworms is a slow-burning grower that rewards repeat listens but requires some commitment to love. [No. 142, p.58]

Album number two pulls back from that musical and writerly intimacy [found on the debut] - if only slightly - trading a degree of specificity for a degree of universality, and adding just the faintest touch of gloss. [No. 85, p.57]

Velocifero is a mere knob's turn toward the excellence the band still seems to be working toward. [Summer 2008, p.107]