Best consumed in small doses. [Aug 2018, p.91]

This isn't Air, but something quirkier. [Jan 2007, p.106]

This one's got a whiff of the Stones' Black And Blue about it. [May 2006, p.98]

Periodically dormant they may be, but it's clearly a tactic that works for Jane's. [Nov 2011, p.93]

The influences here are smart, the music smarter. [Feb 2007, p.100]

Music For The People is a record that brims with weighty ambition. [April 2009]

This is very much sitting-in-the-pub-moaning music. [Dec 2014, p.98]

Editors' fourth retains their customary grandeur and gloom, but with a new immediacy and surety, as Tom Smith matures into a truly commanding frontman. [Aug 2013, p.86]

There's got to be something better, man. [July 2002, p.94]

Textured electronica and crafted melodies make for a dense and absorbing effort. [Aug 2014, p.96]

She seems to have a sound that needs more sophisticated compositions. [Nov 2004, p.95]

An album that plays too safe in its thirst for hits. [Jul 2015, p.110]

This lot, however, aim for anthems, armed with zero melody. [Apr 2011, p.100]

The actual tunes may not be particularly strong, but crucially, at the centre of it all Natalie croons and sighs with all the clear-eyed moonfaced sweetness of Juliette Binoche baking cakes. [Dec 2001, p.116]

P.O.D. have evolved into one of the more inventive bands among metal's dimwitted hierarchy. [Dec 2003, p.112]

While retaining the melodic approach of his debut, the singer-guitarist has shaped some additional, more diverse sounds. [Dec 2012, p.88]

Those who liked the first two albums will be pleased to hear the Deep Purple-esque, brazenly '60s organ-rock sounds and indian religious refernces still firmly in place. [Sep 2007, p.104]

All serious stuff--but it never quite sounds that way because the Levs provide rugged anthems for crowd consumption. [Sep 2008, p.111]

A poisoned chalice, indeed. [Apr 2012, p.89]

A wry, gently nostalgic affair recalling lives lived. [Jun 2013, p.95]

An homage to Memphis soul and R&B that initially seems a pleasant lark but grows blander and more characterless the more it is heard. [Apr 2002, p.106]

The band remains shackled to that wearying off-beat pulse that cauise trhe likes of 'Fire,' 'Vision' and the title track to tire. [July 2008, p.112]

Far from electrifying. [Jun 2015, p.86]

Precision tooled to keep Green chart and arena-bound for the foreseeable.[Dec. 2011 pg. 94]

Though this debut might lack any real moments of surprise, guitarist Tom Morello still manages to squeeze unholy sounds out of his instrument while Chuck D's apoplectic anchorman baritone reminds us of his lyrical power and unique timbre. [Oct 2017, p.96]

Blue Eyed Hexe makes occultish overtures; Magdalena is a great, aberrant love song. [Mar 2014, p.96]

A sprawling, instrumentally dazzling work which all but spurns pop songwriting. [Jan 2002, p.99]

When Todd sings his own I Saw The Light he sounds more comfortable than when negotiating The Cars' blustering powerpop. [Jun 2006, p.111]

Demanding, certainly, but a formidable and ambitious endeavour achieved with wit and passion. [Feb 2003, p.86]

Luke Pritchard and co attack each of their songs with crisp, clean confidence, brisk guitar lines and open vowels. [Oct 2011, p.97]

CSS's party-forever commitment is faltering. [Aug 2013, p.91]

Everyday Demons ticks all the hard rock boxes. That there isn't a single orginal idea on display here doesn't actually matter. [Mar 2009, p.105]

While some of this uneven material has been reheated from past writing sessions, Aerosmith are genuinely fighting to reclaim their soul.

All told, it's a slight listen, which fails to stand alone from its parent project. [Jun 2016, p.93]

Mashup of overused modern dancefloor styles and rote bragging, with odd moment of classic purple peculiarity. [Dec 2015, p.94]

The LA quintet still sound like 16-year-old boys.... Musically, though, their slick soulful pop-R&B is far more refined. [Dec 2015, p.94]

Production-wise it's the compressed, tidy sound du jour that flattens out dynamics; it would be interesting to hear them recorded on some funky old analogue gear, to add a bit more grit. [Dec 2018, p.92]

Lacking the wit and lyrical dexterity of a Jill Scott or the raw power of Angie Stone, the songs can feel airless and unengaged. [Sep 2006, p.98]

More stirring are te rougher dancehall textures of Smash Lies and Darkness Into Light's crunching guitars and soaring rock chorus. The latter produces the unsettling, but not unwelcome, result of resembling Soundgarden after a course of toasting lessons. [Jul 200, p.103]

Another like this and they should consider naming themselves after a different Tim Buckley album--Look At The Fool, for instance. [Oct 2003, p.107]

Reincarnated is not the usual Dogg's dinner, nor is it a roaring revelation. [Jul 2013, p.85]

Lyrically, the pair stitch together vaguely gothic turns of phrase, yet devoid of any emotional insight or narrative point. [Dec 2010, p.95]

This is undeniably a better album than they've delivered in some while, but... there still seems to be a lack of conviction in their execution. [Feb 2005, p.100]

An intriguing, funny and inventive listen. [Nov 2006, p.101]

Much of All The Lost Souls is far more icky-yucky than its predecessor. [Oct 2007, p.90]

In the end, caution and Horn's glossy production smother the early Yes's spirit of oddball experiment. [Sept. 2011, p. 98]

Partly dependent on the oft-derided production tics of '80s pop and soul, and partly a lagging stab at a (fairly) contemporary dance album, it may even disquiet the Toddheads. [May 2013, p.84]

While there's some inspired moments, much should've been discarded on son Woody's bedroom floor. [Oct 2004, p.104]

For this album she as worked with a breathtaking array of collaborators, with varied results. [Jul 2011, p.115]

Trouble is they're embalmed within a high-gloss, synth-heavy production that sounds like '80s LA soft rock. [Sep 2014, p.98]

Ther are moments of greatness, opening track 'Spit at the Stars' for one, though mostly it's pained adolescent observations about missing you already which doesn't cut it in the big adult world. [Oct 2007, p.92]

Lacks the hooks and memorable vocals... that formerly made this band so effective at marrying the pop and the underground. [Sep 2004, p.92]

All the ingredients for another hit album are here. The only thing missing is soul. [Dec 2007, p.110]

These carefully manicured, self-serving triffles nearly all fall flat, despite the nonstop roll-out of A-listers. [Feb 2011, p.108]

Good news for shoegaze-curious neophytes too afraid to dive headfirst into MBV's loveless, but very backward looking, too. [Jan 2012, p.98]

The first side's carnal workouts are muscular of beat, but let down by Common's awkward dirty-talk....The more 'conscious' ssecond half plays better. [Feb 2009, p.106]

As a record of one man's love affair with his guitar, it's a solid testament. As the work of one of British music's unshakeable geniuses, however, it's not really worth the name. [Mar 2003, p.98]

[It] lacks conceptual cohesion. [Nov 2006, p.112]

Amy Winehouse it ain't, but we can take a certain pleasure in a man who at least possesses the sort of grainy Sam Cooke mellifluousness that, down the ages, has redeemed blue-eyed-soul boys the world over. [Oct 2011, p.94]

Another patchily edifying addition to the Cuomo enigma. [Jul 2005, p.106]

Very focused and quietly anthemic. [Feb 2006, p.92]

On 'North London Trash,' 'Burberry Blue Eyes,' 'Hostage Of Love' and the histrionic 'Blood For Wild Blood,' Razorlight have matured beyond bubblegum rock and may yet answer Borrell's prayers for immortality. [Dec 2008, p.100]

Clapton's playing is still fluid. [Oct 2005, p.98]

They sound more and more as if they've found a sound that they can all their own. [Apr 2012, p.94]

The perkiness and quirkiness are paper-thin. [Dec 2004, p.112]

Fringe entertainment, for sure, but top fun. [Dec 2017, p.87]

Shave Devil's Playground of nine tracks and repackage it as an EP and it could conceivably be the comeback of the year. [Apr 2005, p.98]

[Songs swerve] between undistinguished reggae, so-so pop and indistinct blues-rock. [Nov 2011, p.92]

Incredible Machine, however, is mostly just Nettles having a bawl. [Mar 2011, p.108]

The song titles alone tell the story: The Long Con; Stop Bitching, Do Something; Big Lie; What Are You On Facebook? Plus 24 (24!) more tracks that take a swipe at a modern world controlled by conspiratorial forces. ... Even the music is largely route-one. [Jun 2021, p.87]

The root of the malaise most surely [lies] in the protracted production, which appears to have sucked the life out of whatever good material there was. [Nov 2004, p.110]

The lyrics veer towards simplistic, but Destiny pull it off, mainly through muscular production and stunning vocal interplay. [Jan 2005, p.97]

If you think The Rutles' Double Back Alley is better than Penny Lane, then this just-over-35-minute's worth of semi-reverential fun is for you. [Aug 2003, p.95]

Alas, it's largely diminishing returns. [Jun 2017, p.87]

There's promise here if they can stay out of jail or the loony bin. [Feb 2005, p.94]

There's an absence of audible heat, no palpable anguish or tantrums. [Oct 2009. p.108]

Adheres to the simple formula that worked so successfully on her debut, combining fluid, mid-tempo grooves with infectious vocal hooks. [Sep 2003, p.110]

Tired, frightened-sounding and hopelessly misjudged.... Hugely disappointing. [Dec 2001, p.116]

There is little truly distinctive here. [Jun 2003, p.113]

Mills' slightest work by some distance, The Fifth is evolution in reverse. [Oct 2013, p.88]

His lyrics don't always match his ambition. [Apr 2007, p.108]

They're a bit like '80s vintage Judas Priest but not quite as good. Or indeed as gay. [Sep 2004, p.99]

Surely the key to echoing some of rock's key ancestral voices is having songs strong enough to stand on their own. Shaka Rock simply doesn't have them. [Oct 2009, p.106]

These gentle, melodic, acoustic guitar-driven songs are outweighed by electronica of the retro-modern variety. [Nov 2005, p.110]

It's just a shame his parochial worldview is often at odds with his music's overreaching grandstanding. [Mar 2013, p.94]

Another sprawling, somewhat overwrought Ashcroft solo record. [Jun 2016, p.88]

The results career from interesting to neglibile. [Aug 2003, p.95]

At the risk of sounding trite, I couldn't wait to Turn It Off. [Oct 2009, p.97]

Her voice is a capable blend of vibrato and latterday R&B melisma, but also suggests a diffusion-range Amy Winehouse - something exacerbated as processed show-tune verses often leap into artless pop choruses. [Dec 2009, p. 96]

Still winging it, still wearing it well. [Dec 2010, p.99]

Where the remainder deviates, though, is in its lyricism, a good thing, because the beer-boys-in-the-band stance is replaced by only-to-be-encouraged attempts at social comment and a more enlightened approach to gender politics. [May 2011, p.110]

Man On the Rocks is better when he dials down the mawkish choruses and over-emoting vocals. [Apr 2014, p.97]

This bloody enormous rock demeanour means Stone Roses fans may not be amused. [Oct 2002, p.96]

The Vines are mostly surface and scratch, a vessel of strangely useless beauty. [Apr 2004, p.114]

A backstory so real you'll swear you've seen the flick. [Dec 2012, p.96]

Ultimately, The Runaway suffers from an excess of emotional drizzle and not enough musical firestorms. [Jul 2010, p.102]

Their songs aren't as good as their playing. [Apr 2003, p.98]

If Kate Bush backed by MGMT appeals, Maguire's your woman. [Apr 2011, p.105]