By no means is this debut original, but the hooks are sharp enough and the no-Frills, overdub-free presentation shreds hard enough that it doesn't really need to be. [No. 108, p.59]

The new/old Psychedelic Swamp LP of today fuses the best of both worlds. [No. 128, p.51]

Musically, the quartet is borderline worthless. [#48, p.84]

Their first album in five years captures the comfortable joy of falling back into sync with old pals. [No. 112, p.61]

Nothing ever explodes on The Evens, which eschews Fugazi-style noise in favor of subtle dynamics and unsettling clarity. [#68, p.92]

Familiar moves all, by two musicians with whom familiarity breeds contentment.[No. 93, p.57]

Ultimately, this is really only of interest to random member of Teenage Fanclub and die-hard obsessives alike. [No. 103, p.52]

Visitations doesn't produce the novel shock that greeted Clinic's debut single, but it does find new rewards within predictable parameters. [#74, p.94]

The album features covers of songs they love, with folky, stripped-down arrangements that feature Amanda's smoky alto and Jack's rich, bass voice. [No. 134, p.59]

Negativity is well worth a shot, but there may be times you'll end up sleeping it off. [No. 102, p.55]

There's melody and rhythm, but mostly the overtones float through the ether, seldom resolving into anything approaching a song, although the overall effect is soothing and dreamy. [No. 135, p.54]

Full of life and sunshine. [No.87, p.53]

These tunes feel huge, enhanced by a newfound confidence, choirs literal and adhoc, and the snap-bracelet rhyme schemes of pal Aesop Rock. [No. 82, p.54]

A few songs flop... but the overall is a fitting celebration of the Chieftain's 50 years of music. [No. 85, p. 53]

Balances restraint and abandon in a near-perfect ritual tease. [#71, p.99]

While RZA has never sounded so alive, Banks has never sounded so, well, dead. This hot/cold, menace-and-moody pattern--it's what most of Anything But Words' song structures are all about. [No. 135, p.51]

Rigorously minimalist like a rock in the road is--a lump, emotionalessly excavated from nature's chaos. [No 134, p.55]

Dreamless might not be as thunderous as Endless Summer or as hooky as Crimes Of Passion, but it vastly improves on the scattershot Boys. [No. 138, p.55]

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

[The songs] are luminous and affecting enough to outlast much of the bullshit shock therapy that silences that same fickle chattering class. [No. 132, p.59]

Occasionally, Tremain struggles to find a home amid the Collis' calm chaos, though his restrained and sustained bass lines are a non-cluttering foil demonstrating the importance of song dynamics, which isn't always a priority with math rockers. [No. 134, p.61]

The album's numerous ballads meander at times, but Stories Don't End is an overall solid effort. [No. 97, p.54]

Once a means to subvert pop/rock formula, the band's abruptly shifting dynamics have themselves become formulaic. [#67, p.97]

Pollard's most efficient and exploratory album in years. [#73, p.99]

Marshall’s second album of covers, mostly continues the cleaned-up, virtually lobotomized aesthetic of 2006’s unfortunately heralded "The Greatest."

Gonzalez is a romantic at heart, given to an array of lyrical possibilities even as his music ripples with the taut simplicity of someone strumming alone in his bedroom. [Fall 2007, p.96]

Save for the grooving, frizzy "Dreams," the ambient alterna-pop/R&B of Colors is sleek, clean and clear. [No. 148, p.53]

Cho's gorgeous, ghostly piano playing takes center stage on pensive slow-burner "Open Air," and finale "Gypsum" starts as a playful piano/bass groove, pit-stops at a carnival and transforms into what is arguably the most gonzo saloon tune ever. [No.88, p.53]