The Czars only had minuscule--if fanatical--support, but Grant's current profile should see retrospective justice done. [Jan 2015, p.112]

Completists will enjoy having the single edits of many tracks and the sound is sparklingly good. [Jan 2015, p.112]

It's hard to shake the sense that these songs ape Corgan's past but too often lack the spark of inspiration that fuelled his previous masterpieces. [Jan 2015, p.100]

While The London Sessions takes her in fresh new directions, Blige's own identity remains the dominant flavour. [Jan 2015, p.98]

While an absorbing listen in their original form these largely uncluttered canvasses also present an opportunity for further remodeling bounded only by the imaginations of those ready and willing to pick up the gauntlet. [Jan 2015, p.97]

While Rock Or Bust doesn't come close to that benchmark [1980's Back In Black], nor does it disgrace Young's legacy. [Jan 2015, p.95]

The beautiful results make it clear that, unlike poor Charlie Brown, he does understand. [Jan 2015, p.92]

With these selections long-time Arkestra saxophonist Marshall Allen proves himself an excellent guide. [Oct 2014, p.105]

For all its flaws, the outcome remains spectacular. [Oct 2014, p.103]

A true treasure from the archives. [Dec 2014, p.109]

Like Marianne Faithfull’s grazed, rueful daughter telling fragile stories of heartbreak. Or sometimes like Faithfull’s hopeful but world-weary grandmother.

A serious set that delivers on his promise. [Dec 2014, p.93]

Jap noise magus Keiji Haino wenches apocalypse-blues from guitar squall, vocal wail and synth sirens. [Dec 2014, p.102]

A joyful, celebratory affair. [Apr 2014, p.92]

Long gone from Creation is the balancing act between country roots and pop ambition of their earlier albums, leaving a dense, darkly alluring pop where, if you listen closely, you might just hear a kitchen sink or two rattling in the background. [Jul 2014, p.93]

When it ends it leaves a weird absence that can only be filled by playing the thing again from the start. [Dec 2014, p.90]

Much is familiar, via the archive releases VU and Another View. But with all traces of ’80s remixes removed, the performances now sound as they should--less like a rock band and more like The Velvet Underground. [Jan 2015, p.104]

It ranks among the best work of a major innovator and his unfeasibly talented Magic Bands. [Dec 2014, p.106]

Wyatt's keening, unaffected, peculiarly comforting voice is the uniquely compelling common denominator. [Dec 2014, p.110]

Greta Morgan's expressive range goes creamy and detached on hazy pop-psych. [Dec 2014, p.102]

Cooder has history in his brain, veins and fingertips as well as a gift for sound collage. [Nov 2014, p.109]

A series of melodic sunset tales in which the bright light of Moore's piano is shaded and scattered by the dusk notes of his accompanists. [Nov 2014, p.99]

The Silver Globe leaving no doubt that she is amongst today's most striking sonic auteurs. [Nov 2014, p.99]

His fourth album's Blast-apeing vein of electro-gliding mirrorball pop comes in optimistic hues. [Nov 2014, p.95]

Palme finds Arnalds in fresh, electronically enhanced surroundings. [Nov 2014, p.96]

An even grittier, country-driven powerhouse collection loosely built around themes of female rebellion. [Dec 2014, p.94]

In all, a fiery triumph. [Nov 2014, p.100]

Stragglers carp it's not as good as 1985, fans thrill to the fractal energies. [Dec 2014, p.102]

Defiant and cathartic. [Dec 2014, p.90]

Their guileless sincerity is less wild rumpus than Snow Patrol in its universal simplicity. [Dec 2014, p.102]

Leeds psych-metal quintet sound suitably grinding and progressive. [Dec 2014, p.102]

A remarkable record. [Dec 2014, p.100]

The Oakland outfit grasp the slippery concept of time with philosophical relish and an abundance of psychotropic imagery on this conceptual sixth album. [Dec 2014, p.93]

Hardcore scholars will cheer this inspiring archival punk rock righteousness. [Dec 2014, p.111]

Martin Phillips was, and is, a singular songwriter, whose unassuming delivery belied songs of psychological depth and complexity. [Dec 2014, p.89]

The Basement Tapes ignored every record-producing rule while remaining true to the muse. [Dec 2014, p.109]

The problem lies with the unrelentingly downbeat music. [Dec 2014, p.96]

Nothing here truly ventures into the unexpected as [Russell] did, but there was only one Arthur Russell. [Dec 2014, p.89]

Their best album in 30 years. [Dec 2014, p.92]

DSU's charm is its blissfully carefree vibe. [Dec 2014, p.92]

A diverting, stoner-friendly 39 minutes. [Dec 2014, p.89]

This is hard rock as anthropology, administered like only this band can. [Dec 2014, p.88]

It's song-setting, rather than scene-stealing. [Dec 2014, p.86]

This studio rendition fills out the sound with added instruments, but this essentially remains a suite of spiky, modern-classical compositions delicately showcasing Smith's sensitive, frequently affecting observations on where he has fetched up. [Dec 2014, p.89]

Rhythm takes Mahalia Jackson into orbit. [Dec 2014, p.98]

A tentative return at best. [Dec 2014, p.89]

The resulting record never splashes too far out of the gene pool... but it creates a pleasing coherence along with a slightly sentimental glow. [Dec 2014, p.100]

The familiarity of The Best day might suggest some treading of water, but for fans of Moore's unmistakeable skronk, there's plenty to devour here. [Dec 2014, p.96]

[The Inevitable End] overflows with regret and sorrow. [Dec 2014, p.96]

It's largely horrible, but sometimes impressively so. [Dec 2014, p.94]

This quick-fire sequel brutally updates the sabre-sharp formula. [Dec 2014, p.93]

There's even more of a streamlined feeling to Seeds.... but there's precious little which surprises. [Dec 2014, p.93]

Such is its weight and accomplishment that it could easily be the work of Gavin Bryars or Arvo Part. [Dec 2014, p.92]

Superbly eerie and echoey evocations such as View From The Mirror and The Golden Bough don't need big productions to make your ears prick up, just their disturbing use of minor chords and subtle sound effects. [Dec 2014, p.90]

The Endless River is big on atmosphere, just a little light on songs. [Dec 2014, p.88]

Sheer vastness occasionally swamps the pained intimacy of Young's vocals and open-heart songs of regret, nostalgia and reflection. [Dec 2014, p.88]

These old dogs have plenty new tricks left. [Dec 2014, p.92]

This is an album that expands upon a growing body of work. [Dec 2014, p.92]

Her piercing, angelic voice, redolent of Tori Amos, is given a sparkling canvas by Claes Bjorklund's synth battery. [Dec 2014, p.96]

One of the best rock'n'roll albums of 2014. [Dec 2014, p.96]

The blueprint's not rewritten, but Something From Nothing and The Feast & The Famine dose the Foos format with steroids, while Grohl's earnest delivery redeems the occasional detour into cliche. [Dec 2014, p.89]

If The Way's latter stages descend into lumpy Who-y rawk, the earlier auditory apparition of Buzzcocks in tuneful excelsis will always be welcome. [Dec 2014, p.89]

No amount of heavy-friend noodling can redeem One Night Stand and Driving Me Wild, and Ferry's Send In The Clowns would have Krusty renouncing his vocation. [Dec 2014, p.88]

Frazey Ford undeniably models here new album on those delicate masterpieces [Ann Peebles' I Can't Stand The Rain and Al Green Is Love], but it really works. [Dec 2014, p.90]

Harris's spellbinding songs still feel beautifully half-hidden, buried in black space. [Dec 2014, p.92]

A relatively orthodox live recording. [Dec 2014, p.92]

His overall grasp of what he is doing has never been surer. [Dec 2014, p.93]

Simple stuff, sparsely rendered, with a weighty undertow. [Dec 2014, p.93]

A challenging move from such a young artist who deserves to have his fans take a leap of faith. [Dec 2014, p.94]

Maverick pop genius soon reveals itself. [Dec 2014, p.96]

The all-pervasive teenage sexual obsessions on his tenth album can only come across as sweaty-palmed and distasteful. A shame, because musically Pom Pom's 17 tracks are uniquely inventive. [Dec 2014, p.96]

[The term techno] seems inadequate for the magnificent noise emanating from Clark. [Dec 2014, p.96]

The album's soft-haze strings are to die for, and the trad-sounding Trusty And True has admirable reach and dignity. [Dec 2014, p.100]

[IX meerges] distortion and tunes with heartfelt euphoria and big breakdowns. [Dec 2014, p.102]

There's no flash, no showing off, just some rock-solid playing from the quiet man of Afrobeat. [Nov 2014, p.100]

They are strange, sibylline and gorgeous. [Nov 2014, p.94]

With much of Harrison's early solo output slammed upon original release, these remasters allow us time to search for the diamonds in the dirt. [Nov 2014, p.109]

[A] more light-hearted, and lightweight, fifth album. [Nov 2014, p.106]

By revealing a snapshot of the creative process part-way through, the working mix included on IV's companion CD only adds to tone's grasp of their artistic achievement. [Nov 2014, p.106]

A fifth studio album filled with hooks aplenty and gonzoid fun. [Nov 2014, p.102]

Their nostalgic lo-fi jangle and reverb surf guitars sound, weirdly, like a SoCal version of The Coral, with synths. [Nov 2014, p.102]

Distorted vocals, metallic clunks and disquieting sonic strangeness in spades. [Nov 2014, p.102]

Accomplished, shiny, but hard to get excited about. [Nov 2014, p.102]

It is impossible to wholly mess up a great pop songwriter's work; second, it is equally impossible to improve upon a perfectly crafted original recording. [Nov 2014, p.100]

An unsettling soundtrack of misanthropic club dystopias. [Nov 2014, p.99]

Freeman has emerged from Ween with his mojo intact, and less inclined to platy the joker this time around. [Nov 2014, p.99]

He's rarely sounded better. [Nov 2014, p.98]

Not so bad as to frighten connoisseurs of, say, Dub Housing's post-industrial emptiness passages, but, yes, it's a "difficult" listen. [Nov 2014, p.98]

It is a deeply odd but consistently compelling work. [Nov 2014, p.98]

A strand of misanthropy and musical bloody-mindedness makes for an uneven listen and feels like a band in transition. [Nov 2014, p.98]

The result is a sulky, euphoric blend of Ramones, Runaways and Cheap Trick, with maddening echoes of Iggy Pop, Ash and The Undertones. [Nov 2014, p.96]

He serves us a telling portion of autobiographical, Nashville-flavoured Americana. [Nov 2014, p.96]

Stereolab fans will not be disappointed. [Nov 2014, p.95]

Many of the inventive musical excursions were improvised live in the studio. [Nov 2014, p.95]

Yet another acknowledgement of these two commanding talents. [Nov 2014, p.95]

It's knowingly throwaway exhilaration all the way. [Nov 2014, p.95]

Hardcore Julius fans might recognise old tunes but the London-based musicians have given them all a fresh coat while the boss blows up a storm. [Nov 2014, p.94]

For all its ambitious and admirable wilfulness, the sound of Casablancas playing in his sandpit is still an acquired taste. [Nov 2014, p.94]