On Rehearsing My Choir, the Furnaces are just defiant because they can be, indulging every impulse but neglecting to make any of them even remotely compelling. [#70, p.96]

Feels is layered as no other Collective album before it. [#70, p.87]

What's missing most will probably not be missed at all: Berman's tendency to sound slack, sluggish and a bit lackluster. [#69, p.109]

The crisp production of Strange Geometry does give the group's more sedate inclinations a mild kick in the pants. [#70, p.89]

On record, the Constantines' contemplative songs have always fared best, and Tournament is an album almost full of them. [#69, p.92]

Finds both beatmaker and rapper at the peak of their powers. [#70, p.89]

Four becomes truly trying during its tangent-prone second half. [#70, p.93]

Gimmie Trouble: cyber funk or cyborg punk? [#70, p.86]

Its successes just about match its failures. [#70, p.100]

Diehards may crab about these more experimental sounds, but it's hard to find fault with the James gang for not only climbing out of its rut, but also leaving it far behind. [#69, p.104]

Equitable with the Fall's bossiest, most brazen moments. [#70, p.94]

The finest moments here are all Feist-like. [#70, p.102]

In its ornately layered, keyboard-heavy sonics, ALbatross is more latter-day Talk Talk than early Gang Of Four. [#70, p.110]

Rouen is all long jams and breezy acoustics, the telltale signs of a band that feels it's time to sober up. [#70, p.110]

By stepping around traditional rock instrumentation, the group is able to cover a lot of ground. [#69, p.112]

When this band surprises... it provides moments indie rock could use more of. [#70, p.102]

Set Free is no rehash, simply an album whose parameters are clearly defined in order that its interiors can be brought to life. [#69, p.86]

Tangiers' sound has... evolved from its early, Stones-heavy incarnation into something approximating Interpol as backed by the E Street Band. [#70, p.110]

Enthralling music that embraces you like your mama never did. [#69, p.87]

La Maison offers a glimpse into the Casadys' strange, spooky world; Noah's Ark shows them taking tentative, often intriguing steps outside of it. [#69, p.91]

Recalls the blow-out blues of Beggars Banquet, a record not so much made for reveling as it is for the next-day hangover. [#69, p.95]

Takes a baby step toward the mainstream. [#69, p.108]

Picks up where [their debut] left off. [#69, p.108]

It's not so much airily psychedelic as totally stoned. [#69, p.99]

Casts Yoshimi as a manic priestess espousing the various virtues of the universal religion of rhythm. [#69, p.105]

Even in its most somber moments, Birds is all catchy, all the time. [#69, p.108]

Traversing this much musical terrain without a hitch is reason to believe it's showtime for the Apollo. [#69, p.86]

This Invasion manages to be not only a perversely unique look at the Doors' cabaret rock but also makes for a catchier Coral. [#69, p.91]