["Are We Arc" is] a mid-album highlight to an otherwise mostly forgettable sophomore effort. [No. 107, p.59]

Plaid's sweet spot is halfway between cross-eared sonic doodling and IDM convention, the midpoint where you can hear both ends. [No. 133, p.59]

The incense hangs thick and hazy, dancing wispily through guitar pickups, keyboards keys and effects processor motherboards. [No. 118, p.55]

Offers both considerable beauty and ugliness. [#82, p. 62]

Sadly, the first full album of new Swervedriver music since 1997's 99th Dream is 10 loud and thick attempts to recapture the catchiness, energy and all-important mood of timeless classics and exactly that same number fall short of the magic. [No. 118, p.55]

What stands out most on the Americana-saturated Miracle Temple is the way the band shuffles and tweaks country music and gospel/folk elements, yet still sounds very traditional, for better or worse. [No. 96, p.53]

Jimmy Eat World has become a purveyor of modern rock that just so happens to have a noisier background that jerks like me won't let it live down. This permits recognition of well-penned, upbeat numbers like Appreciation" and "How'd You Have Me." [No. 100, p.55]

Sounding awfully familiar much of the time, Silver Age may not be Mould's best work - and it's certainly not his most original. But it's got a weathered shine. [No.91 p.57]

His new sound is interesting and may find its own fans, but it's such a strong departure from his last album that it will likely leave his current admirers scratching their heads. [No. 96, p.59]

It's pretty weird. Not necessarily any weirder than your average Lambchop record, although it is, for the most part, considerably less gorgeous. [No. 124, p.57]

The Wilderness maintains the group's signature sound but imbues its widescreen soundscapes with a newfound patience. [No. 130, p.57]

Even when the beat's bopping and the synths are grooving, we're still singing along to songs about jerks throwing themselves a pity party. But hey, it's still a party. [No. 124, p.61]

While there's plenty to like here, and more to admire, he's never made a record quite so challenging to love. [No. 146, p.54]

Golden Age mines that elusive ground between the way things were and the way they're remembered, set to hypnotic acoustic and electronic instrumentation. [No.99, p.55]

Moderat's pop ambitions are clear. And mostly fulfilled. [No. 130, p.59]

So well-versed are Jacuzzi Boys in hooky guitar pop that their boisterous personalities occasionally get lost in the mix. [No. 137, p.55]

This fourth full-length goes somewhere stranger: the 1980s. [No. 115, p.61]

Trullie sings in a lovely alto; it's a shame to see her voice wasted on something so overwrought [opening song, "Rules we Obey]... and boring ["Madeline"]. By the time the enchanting harmonized refrain kicks in, you're probably long gone. [No. 85, p.60]

The flouncing, bouncy "Winner" is just the most hateful of the bunch, with insipid lyrics, overly bright production and a vocal line so pale it's opaque. "Hold On" and "Give It A Go" come damn near close to that level of dread. Luckily, though, those are the album's sole missteps. [No.91 p.58]

As ever, SSLYBY thrives most on its unyielding pleasantness. [No. 102, p.60]

These eight songs get their Thurston Moore on, with all the razor guitar noise his real band forbids and no east e of ideas. [No. 97, p.55]

Babel is the more subtle and accomplished album. [No. 92, p.56]

A pleasant bedroom-style record that sometimes sounds more like rough sketches than fully formed ideas. [No.99, p.58]

It would be nice if they [her lyrics] cut through the music a bit more clearly; its richly textured blend of strings and electronica is attractive, but would stick better if it balanced its drift with a bit more assertion. [No.91 p.59]

Many cover choices are deft... though others like the Best Coast's bouncy take on Nicks' "Rhiannon" and Karen Elson's on-the-nose "Gold Dust Woman" are less revelatory. [No.91 p.61]

The music is as icy and snow-covered as from whence it came. [No. 95, p.53]

The energy is different [from previous releases], more mature and refined. [No.87 p.56]

A super-catchy mix of stadium-rock bombast and punk simplicity. [No.90, p.57]