The record sounds big, but not too fussed-over. [No. 110, p.56]

El Camino Real will tickle most--if not all--longtime Camper Van Beethoven fans, and might even attract a few new ones. [No. 110, p.53]

Like many arch songwriters, the band tends to drop images and melodies from its favorite tunes into its work, phrases that add little sparks of frission to the Brothers' already strong melodic structure. [No. 110, p.54]

Her fourth and most accomplished album to date maps a course to know-not-where in the most emotionally direct, imaginative way possible. [No. 110, p.60]

It gets waylaid by a few meandering ballads and overly repetitive choruses, but Hynde's still one of rock'n'roll's great singers. [No. 110, p.57]

It's a serious-minded, dramatic record, dressed up with strings, marimba and reverb-soaked guitars. [No. 109, p.60]

This remains the Gallagher brothers' finest hour, and one of the great debuts of the last 20 years. [No. 109, p.57]

Buffalo Killers have conceived an evocative soundtrack comprising equal parts of rush, peak, contemplation and glow. [No. 109, p.52]

Modern Creation is big, buzzy guitar pop that is as timeless as it is timely. [No. 108, p.60]

In Conflict is his masterpiece--if not the best album of 2014, certainly the most profound. [No. 109, p.59]

The group maintains the signature controlled-chaos staples of its sound--big, dirty riffs underpinned by John Dwyer's trademark ghoulish vocal melodies--while broadening its already hyper-musical palate. [No. 109, p.55]

With Rented World, the Menzingers aren't doing anything new; they're simply coasting from where Impossible Past left them. [No. 109, p.57]

A comeback triumph that exchanges the desiccated roboticism of its predecessor for the vital, maniac, seductively imperfect epic exuberance. [No. 109, p.55]

Diploid probably has some ace songs, but you'll need an industrial belt sander to uncover them. [No. 109, p.55]

Watt's voice may not be quite as preternaturally stunning as that of his partner, Tracey Thorn, but it's eloquent and expressive, and fits beautifully with these 10 unflinching, autumnal ruminations, character sketches, pastoral travelogues and reflections on loss. [No. 109, p.61]

It's his best work to date. [No. 109, p.61]

That's Harakiri never loses its human touch. [No. 109, p.61]

If it isn't the most interesting Pink Mountaintops album on its own merits, it's still leagues more engaging than most of those. [No. 109, p.59]

Albarn aficionados will, of course, lap it up, but for the rest of us, think of it more along the lines of a faintly beguiling curio in an otherwise fascinating career. [No. 109, p.52]

Wye Oak just turned in one of the year's most satisfying and seductive records. [No. 109, p.51]

'War Cry," the album's longest track at more than 11 minutes, sums up the band's problem with its blend of barely audible vocals and meandering guitar solos that go from metallic shredding to simple repeated clusters of notes without building much tension or release. [No. 109, p.59]

Days Of Abandon stands up as both a continuation and a reintroduction for this ambitious band. [No. 109, p.59]

It's freeing and inspiring and a wondrous odyssey of class-consciousness. [No. 109, p.58]

It's awesome we can hear Merchant's truly lovely vocals and deft songwriting once again. I just wish there were more banjos. [No. 109, p.57]

There is something effortlessly contagious and opulent about her melodies and cozy rhythmic kink. [No. 109, p.57]

The Horrors seem to have found themselves yet another niche writing the sorts of delectable psychedelic pop jams that are destined to see them crowd festival stages for decades to come. [No. 109, p.57]

For possibly the first time ever, it's hard to tell if he's trying too hard or not trying hard enough. [No. 109, p.56]

The record is full of texture, and while it maybe isn't essential listening, it's a nice addition to both catalogs. [No. 109, p.55]