Linthicum's guitar adds texture and twang, as the interplay between the trio delivers their Plastic Bouquet close to country perfection. [Jan 2021, p.86]

It makes for some oddly sublime listening. [Jan 2021, p.85]

With Tek on growly vocals, Two To One feels closer to Birdman's hypermelodic chug than any Stooges explosion. [Nov 2020, p.88]

This is very much a thoughtful, interior record, with its own distinct character and an unsettling quality that gets under your skin. [Jan 2021, p.91]

The Sunday Valley songs survive the transition best, particularly All The Pretty Colours, but the psychonaut jiber-jabber from 2014's Metamodern Sounds In Country Music album comes a strong second. [Jan 2021, p.86]

Sonic hexes that feel simultaneously cursed and curative. [Oct 2020, p.91]

Poised somewhere between rootless anger and quiet revolution. [Dec 2020, p.87]

Lovely instrumental set. [Dec 2020, p.89]

Many of these 12 songs, eight of them originals, tend towards the reflective. [Jan 2021, p.90]

Campbell's lyrics might not match Petty's poetry, but the immediacy, energy and spirit are all there. [May 2020, p.95]

It occasionally drifts away but with a subtle pillowy beat or piano, Brun holds it together beautifully. [Jan 2021, p.85]

At each stop on the tube map, much yobbo-chorus fun ensues. [Jan 2021, p.86]

Just like McCartneys I and II, III is a confounding cocktail of genius and misfires. [Jan 2021, p.82]

British cellist and Radiohead collaborator has created something darker but much more impressive [than 2018's Shelley's On Zann-La]. [Dec 2020, p.87]

Corgan's floatier tunes and chocolate-box lyrics actually suit this sound palette well, but, as so often in pop - and Corgan's - history, a 10-track single LP would've nailed it better. [Jan 2021, p.86]

This is memorable music for exceptional times. [Nov 2020, p.89]

Live albums often give you the gist of the jam, inviting you to imagine studio details; The War On Drugs invert that expectation, letting the rest sparkle beneath stage lights. [Jan 2021, p.86]

Idiot Prayer is extraordinary, breathtakingly varied within its minimal format, and compelling throughout. [Dec 2020, p.84]

Universal Energy sucker-punches with an 11-minute masterclass in shapeshifting disco, and Vasto's clanking delirium clinches these industrial shadow-dwellers' influence on everyone from Derrick May to Underworld. [Dec 2020, p.83]

A feast for the committed follower. [Jan 2021, p.98]

A useful document of Crazy Horse in rare, relatively subtle trio form (no Poncho). [Jan 2021, p. 101]

The pair's debut creates an inviting somnambulant soundworld. [Jan 2021, p.85]

Tina's mesmeriing pop-psych is also a fascinating conundrum. [Jan 2021, p.91]

A rare sustained tension between sex and spirituality bristles throughout. [Jan 2021, p.88]

Their contrasting flows clip together surprisingly well. [Jan 2021, p.88]

Not a single ounce of fat on the bone, Return is a road trip well worth taking. [Jan 2021, p.88]

The result delivers delightful Dapness. [Jan 2021, p.88]

The overall effect is usually on the right side of too much, the listener lifted up by Castle's wings. [Jan 2021, p.87]

The results are an impressively cohesive testament to Lambchop's interpretative skills as much as their experimental slant. [Jan 2021, p.86]

KG is no mere retread of the earlier album, Stu Mackenzie's custom-built electric baglama leading him in unexpected directions. [Jan 2021, p.86]

Power Up is one mighty curtain call, and listening to it feels a bit like playtime. [Jan 2021, p.80]

Naturally, it's a disjointed exercise, but consumed at one sitting, 5EPs also makes perfect sense, showcasing how each part contributes to the whole. [Jan 2021, p.83]

Seamus Fogarty's songs are sparse affairs with banjo, guitars, cellos and electronics framing pithy, observational lyrics. ... There's poignancy too. [Jan 2021, p.87]

Strange Lights Over Garth Mountain, Raymond's staggering second album, leaves no doubt that she is among the most vital, dynamic voices within the still-teeming solo guitar orbit. [Dec 2020, p.82]

Beautiful and potent stuff. [Oct 2020, p.89]

His albums are populated by characters, tall tales and true stories sung in that plain-dealing half-spoken voice that can bring to mind Tom Petty. ... Here we have a paean to Johnny Thunders. ... And to John The Baptist's son. ... And three separate songs about presidents. [Sep 2020, p.88]

Three long, meditative ideals of 49-note microtonal singing. [Dec 2020, p.89]

An often terrific record with unexpected arrangements, Butler's feral guitars and Davies's perfect diction. [Nov 2020, p.83]

Lets playfulness weave through her cinematic forms, as orchestral tapestries, chamber folk and electronics commune. [Dec 2020, p.89]

The resulting 12 songs return the group to their earlier sound, a chaotic bundle of charm and romance, realism and poppy experiment. [Dec 2020, p.83]

Supple rhythm section underpins Rowley's abstract lyrics facing existential ills with charisma and skill. [Dec 2020, p.89]

Proceedings occasionally veer toward earnestness, but gorgeous textures of clarinets, guitars and synthesizers keep the project bracingly alive. [Dec 2020, p.82]

The acoustic demos in this forensic reissue lay bare Tweedy's raw hurt and beguiling melodies; alternative takes of the title song and I'm Always In Love show the sturdy bones of Wilco's early alt-country ideals. [Dec 2020, p.97]

It's Kuroda's interplay with singer/trombonist Corey King, sharp riffs and lithe, streetwise solos that hold sway. [Nov 2020, p.85]

A glistening hybrid. [Dec 2020, p.87]

The songwriting revealed another unique strength: commercial hooks wedded to allegorical poetry. [Dec 2020, p.96]

Overall these "ultimate mixes" sound airy and punchy. [Dec 2020, p.96]

Gorgeous, enveloping music. [Dec 2020, p.80]

Icily cinematic, Arnalds has a widescreen future. [Dec 2020, p.85]

It feels doubly elegiac, a mood best caught by Nick Cave's tremendous Cosmic Dancer. Even so, there's fun to be had. [Oct 2020, p.86]

White's rage and fear drives the album's songs across any number of stylistic lanes. ... Which is good news for us, because their timeless fury is just what we need more of right now. [Dec 2020, p.82]

Enhancing the listener's wonder at her rapid evolution, shoreline to treetops in under four years. [Dec 2020, p.90]

An intense, trip-hoppy and orchestral examination of love in all its forms. [Dec 2020, p.88]

It's a beautifully eclectic one. [Dec 2020, p.97]

Symbols of hope still gatecrash his bruised world. [Dec 2020, p.80]

An album that's lighter on its feet than its closest relation, When I Was Cruel. Jagged but innovative and angry but wry. [Dec 2020, p.86]

Although there are hints of his alter ego GLOK's textured electronics throughout, experimentation is evenly balanced with his love of '60s classicism. [Dec 2020, p.86]

Some of its best moments, including Savannah's rolling, tumbling Lynard Skynyrd-style grooves, are steeped in '70s Americana. Others, though, are distinctly so-so. [Dec 2020, p.86]

This is music for interiors, sequestered days in tune with the beauty of our immediate surroundings. [Dec 2020, p.85]

Across a double album, Clarke's songwriting landscape can start to feel featureless, his big-sky country demanding tighter focus, more interesting rock formations. [Dec 2020, p.88]

clipping.'s finest refinement yet of their abrasive horror-rap. [Dec 2020, p.87]

Highlights a voracious creative appetite and their relationship's enduring strength. [Dec 2020, p.87]

Savour John Darnielle singing. [Dec 2020, p.86]

Loma are quite capable of drawing listeners in with their own perspective. [Dec 2020, p.86]

Posse-laden re-workings of deathless anthems Public Enemy Number Won and Fight The Power are suitably superfly; rehashing four tracks from 2017's Nothing IS Quick In The Desert less so. A welcome blast if righteous funky wisdom nonetheless. [Dec 2020, p.83]

The most cohesive Gorillaz album since Demon Days 15 years ago. [Dec 2020, p.81]

Love Is The King is determined to hold on tight to the good things while keeping a sharp eye on the mirror. [Dec 2020, p.80]

The vital spark that graced Fleet Foxes' debut is back. [Dec 2020, p.80]

Ultimately, what redeems Letter To You from notions of idealised nostalgia is the rigour of its performances, particularly those of Springsteen himself, who for the second successive album is in the singing form of his life. [Dec 2020, p.78]

Offers many perfect showcases for their ability to take lounge inside a groove 'til something remarkable happens. [Nov 2020, p.85]

Several songs here feel swamped. [Nov 2020, p.88]

The overall message is of gentle positivity. [Nov 2020, p.80]

Songs draws itself into clearer focus through Lenker's sweet, freshly-cut voice. [Nov 2020, p.83]

It's not gloom and vitriol, it's gorgeous. [Nov 2020, p.83]

It's an adrenalin rush to experience rather than listen to, and the 11 tracks are over too soon. [Nov 2020, p.81]

Punchier and more accessible, while still showcasing the sextet's psychedelic bona fides. [Nov 2020, p.84]

Something of a sonic lucky dip, these 20 short, super buzzy impregnably titled tracks often switch beats or cut-off abruptly, underlying its rule-breaking creator's rookie confidence. [Oct 2020, p.93]

Even without explicit elegies, there's a sense Morby is permanently watching something sink into the horizon, suspending what's left in beautiful songwriting amber. [Nov 2020, p.80]

This exhaustive reissue includes his [Bob Stinson] final contributions, though the real gold comes in their studio sessions with Jim Dickinson. [Nov 2020, p.95]

Her songs are beautifully, tentatively constructed, the arch quirkiness of her early albums now replaced by the lush writing of songs. [Nov 2020, p.88]

Here across 11 instrumentals, it's a totally entrancing journey as grooves are saturated by horn swells, eerie organ, bad-trip backwards guitars and drum breaks ready for sampling. [Nov 2020, p.83]

There's a Paul Simon acuity to Up With The Jones, a look at living beyond your means, going bust and being free. Wisdom Of The World steps right out of line, a feedbacky Hendrix-style howl that resolves into mellow catharsis. [Nov 2020, p.89]

Travis remain curiously unrevered, but 10 Songs is fine work nonetheless. [Nov 2020, p.86]

A lower case delight. [Nov 2020, p.88]

Despite no huge leaps forward sonically, there are some fantastic scenes set to song. [Nov 2020, p.83]

Their finest since 2010's Destroyer Of The Void - sees them concentrating on what they do best: songs that sound like The Beatles at Big Pink; songs that sound like Dylan gone power-pop. [Oct 2020, p.93]

Pare things back to an insistent Banshees-like boom and groove. [Nov 2020, p.90]

The fabulous final versions of these songs often haven't travelled far from their rougher cuts, possibly because Harvey's voice, matured into a sumptuous growl, anchors the mood in enough grandeur. [Nov 2020, p.94]

Prolonged exposure to this scattershot approach can be exhausting. In smaller chunks, however, Free Humans is exhilarating, and unpredictably so. [Nov 2020, p.89]

A compelling, grimy darkness ripples throughout. [Nov 2020, p.82]

The follow-up packs a whole heap more precision ramalama. ... Top class. [Nov 2020, p.86]

If all of this sounds heavy gong, the soul and country moves and comparative lightness of the music throughout help to illuminate the darkness. [Nov 2020, p.78]

This solo instrumental album feels lighter in gates-of-doom atmosphere than previous work, but even so, whispers and echoes start to bounce off this record's walls, promising revelations at every turn. [Nov 2020, p.86]

In all, more a series of disconnected building blocks than a cohesive album. [Nov 20, p.89]

New York is one of Reed's strongest solo albums, with its tight focus, impassioned lyrics and spare, almost punky music. This is a deserved reissue, but the extras - a complete, energetic live rendition of the record from 1989, and some outtakes including he unissued The Room - are for fans only. [Nov 2020, p.92]

An immersive trip, if not one to take that often. Smith, though, is in her element. [Oct 2020, p.89]

An epic ride. [Oct 2020, p.87]

A confidently tuneful if nostalgic set. [Aug 2020, p.87]