[Unfinished Business captures her vigour and verve] with its rough'n'tumble mix of R&B, country and rockabilly. [Dec 2012, p.90]

The hobnailed thud and electronic clatter of Youth and Love riot force the seriousness but when they hit their exuberant stride, they pull on legwarmers and dance the night and cold away. [Dec 2012, p.88]

A smattering of era-appropriate scene-setting standards sit surprisingly snugly amid the bespoke symphonic esoterica--all further testament to greenwood's deep, intrinsic musicality. [Dec 2012, p.88]

It was uniquely visionary--primordially rockin', yet titled defiantly at the stars. [Dec 2012, p.101]

Sunken Condos is a slyer, slow-burning pleasure. [Dec 2012, p.89]

Landing On A Hundred is a strong comeback that hopefully won't be followed by another decade of silence. [Dec 2012, p.84]

The result is a trifle confusing. [Dec 2012, p.85]

Palindrome Hunches is a record full of songs that whisper their entreaties. [Dec 2012, p.88]

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

It's all wonderful stuff here. [Dec 2012, p.85]

A mighty result. [Dec 2012, p.84]

Soft-focus memories echo through all 88 minutes. [Dec 2012, p.89]

Yes, it lacks the ambition of Norton Folgate... but compensates with pop nous. [Dec 2012, p.89]

For twisted garage buffs these unsettling sounds are, again, a joy. [Dec 2012, p.89]

Although it's his longest, it's arguably his least ambitious. [Dec 2012, p.84]

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

Throughout a refreshing spirit of old-school sonic exploration pervades. [Nov 2012, p.87]

Prim they may appear at times, but their offer of comfort in sound is impossible to refuse. [Nov 2012, p.90]

It's all tinged with, real communicable melancholy. [Nov 2012, p.85]

Songs are complemented by a close-miked acoustic production. [Nov 2012, p.96]

Actors marry folk tales and socio-political polemic to pulsing, woozy-synth soundscapes. [Nov 2012, p.96]

An epic ambition that bolster Nona Marie Levine's lightly burnished vocals. [Nov 2012, p.96]

Consistently engaging. [Nov 2012, p.87]

It all hangs together well, and is ably supported by the band's superb musicianship. [Nov 2012, p.87]

Her singing, often overwhelmed in the mix, lyrics inaudible, adds David Lynch eeriness. [Nov 32012, p.94]

Queasy melodies, light-headed keys and emaciated Smiths guitar flourishes slowly generate a dank unease. [Nov 2012, p.95]

The songs dive off in unexpected directions, but remain linear. [Nov 2012, p.87]

The Aftermath is wild and explorative, its appeal lying in the sprawling ideas and yearning vocals. [Nov 2012, p.103]

A short, dynamic return to form is similarly earwrenching. [Nov 2012, p.95]

A dense, fervent, riffy drums and electric-guitar driven album. [Nov 2012, p.95]

It doesn't help that the album features a glut of dull mid-tempos. [Nov 2012, p.95]

It makes a terrific album, stronger than Interpol's last two, with enough detail in the arrangement to separate Banks and his day job. [Nov 2012, p.95]

Sonically ambitious it may be, but it's consistently accessible. [Nov 2012, p.94]

Most important is the pure joy of these tracks and how instantly likeable they are. [Nov 2012, p.94]

Easy on the ear yet never sugary, full and layered yet never stodgy, intricately assembled yet never fussy, pulsing with a Ringo beat yet never monotonous. [Nov 2012, p.91]

There is improvement in the songwriting....But halfway through you might well weary at the album's unrelenting, full-bodied tone. [Nov 2012, p.91]

Glad Rag Doll breaks intriguing new ground for a hitherto smooth operator. [Nov 2012, p.90]

Even in Beth's comfort zone, her acoustic band, produced by Tucker Martine, enrich some beguiling songs, with not a dud among them. [Nov 2012, p.90]

The sound of a band re-energised, La Futura is possibly the hard rock album of the year. [Nov 2012, p.88]

Blessed with impeccable musical bone structure, nearly everything suits them. [Nov 2012, p.88]

Some of the 11 songs have a rich band sound with strings and strong piano, and others a spare contemplative tone. [Nov 2012, p.88]

Quite literally, a dream album. [Nov 2012, p.88]

Muse and David Campbell's melodramatic arrangements occasionally raise a smile, but if you like your rock symphonic and your vocals histrionic, The 2nd Law delivers. [Nov 2012, p.87]

Other artists covered include Gnarls Barkley, Tom Waits and Neil Young, but this is Bettye's record, these are her songs now. [Nov 2012, p.86]

Ndegeocello doesn't opt for straight covers, adding a fresh, and sometimes unexpected, twist on a 14-track collection that mostly reconfigures Simone's most famous songs. [Nov 2012, p.86]

Silver Age is the most consistently exciting record he's made since Sugar's Copper Blue. [Nov 2012, p.86]

The album follows a North American folk linage from Jean Ritchie and Hedy West through to the present, via the chugging, churning electronic (folk) rock of The Velvet Underground, all the time infused with a joyous communal warmth. [Nov 2012, p.85]

As an experiment in revisionism, the results are mixed. [Nov 2012, p.85]

Possibly it's the glorious touch of melodic grandiosity forming the heart of Don't Mess With Latexas that supplies the most climatic moment to remember amid this remarkable, kaleidoscopic offering. [Nov 2012, p.84]

In sonic terms, it's considerably more aspirational than even last year's Sun And Shade, allowing Earl's take on various ages of American song-craft to snap into sharper focus. [Nov 2012, p.84]

The increasingly frequent transitions between the finger picking subtlety of old to such newfound rockage are, however, simply too jarring for satisfactory listening. [Nov 2012, p.84]

The teen delivers poetic social realism. [Nov 2012, p.90]

Snaith's upward trajectory shows little evidence of slowing. [Nov 2012, p.87]

Department of Disappearance won't surprise or disappoint anyone who loves its 2009 predecessor Yours, Truly, The Commuter. [Nov 2012, p.86]

It's inspired genre-hopping and relentless invention resulting in a substantial and brilliantly sung career-best. [Nov 2012, p.85]

This album elicits a powerful aura, which continues to resonate potently several hours, even days, after the last note has died. [Nov 2012, p.82]

The keening askance of his voice, celestial choirs and brittle hesitation of his guitar all speak of terrible demons exorcised, and when that all comes together on Brother or opener Part One: The End, maybe only Josh T. Pearson can touch his pain. [Aug 2012, p.84]

When the title track and Handshake attempt stylistic detours they are swiftly re-routed with a familiar chorus or chord progression, symbolising the "play it safe" mentality of the whole album. [Oct 2012, p.90]

The 2CD "best of" is a strong cherry-pick of his catalogue. [Oct 2012, p.102]

This follow-up retains the enthusiasm and innocence of [its 2010 release] Dansette Dansette. [Oct 2012m p.87

It plays to all their debut's moody, elegant, widescreen strengths while illustrating the changes since. [Sep 2012, p.86]

The effect is memorable. [Oct 2012, p.91]

It is probably Dylan's most distinctive statement. [Oct 2012, p.94]

This Fascinating, individual and exhilarating fusion welds classical tropes to such diverse elements as Arcadian folk, doo wop, Steve Reich and Greek Mythology. [Oct 2012, p.95]

[An] accomplished compilation. [Oct 2012, p.100]

There's plenty of individual spin to set k&f apart and the tension never slacks. [Oct 2012, p.89]

This is beautiful music that appears to breathe independently of its creator. [Oct 2012, p.95]

Burgess always wanted to be a country soul man, on this album he has done it. [Oct 2012, p.87]

Master of genre purity in R&B, Country and folk, Knopfler shapes each style to his own purpose and personality. [Oct 2012, p.83]

Paley's voice is a little frail but it's true, and his picking skills are as finely honed as when he gave lesson to the young Ry Cooder and Jerry Garcia. [Oct 2012, p.90]

Despite the elegant grey-sky thinking, deep beneath the emotional permafrost, Piramida isn't as cold as it seems. [Oct 2012, p.86]

These veterans are already better than The Funkees. [Oct 2012, p.91]

More than just a decent nu-folk album, Babel is a great pop album. [Oct 2012, p.82]

Listeners who have enjoyed the prolific jazz pianist;s preoccupation with moody rock material will be delighted and unsurprised at his choices of vehicle here. [Oct 2012, p.82]

It's a bona fide Lee Hazlewood classic: Mournful and orchestrated, imbued with a heart-rendering yearning. [Oct 2012, p.102]

Great songs and renewed relevance aside, Woody at 100's greatest bounty may still be Guthrie's own sketches and illustrations, beautifully reproduced in the book. [Oct 2012, p.101]

Exercises is elegant, welcoming, if somewhat melancholic. [Oct 2012, p.95]

They may be musical magpies but what they build from their stash is gold. [Oct 2012, p.95]

It's a punishing listen certain to prove divisive among his fan base. [Oct 2012, p.95]

With this first album, Stealing Sheep join that weird and wonderful place inhabited by Warpaint, Bat For Lashes and The Raincoats. [Oct 2012, p.94]

There's much more depth to the sequel. [Oct 2012, p.91]

Mysterious and enfolding, Ascent seduces. [Oct 2012, p.90]

No retro trip, this, greasy grooves and hollered pulpit soundbytes remain Blue Explosion's prime business--and business is good. {Oct 2012, p.90]

William Bensussen mashes up cavernous hip hop beats, 8-bit electronica, West Coast psych and glitch. [Oct 2012, p.95]

For all its survivalist blues and everyman politicking, Mourning really connects when the Ali gets up close and personal. [Oct 2012, p.89]

Theirs remain an abstract, liminal brand of pop, with Prekop's vocals as delightfully gossamer, and his lyrics as intriguingly impressionistic as ever. [Oct 2012, p.88]

Though lacking the infernal dynamics of 2009's Farm, there remains sufficient compensation to delight Dino devotees. [Oct 2012, p.88]

In reconnecting with the guileless, tribal chaos of their roots, Animal Collective have made another delirious and ecstatic step forward. [Oct 2012, p.87]

Mirage rock's persistent melodies and infectious energy is hard to resist. [Oct 2012, p.87]

MacNeil is certainly a stronger singer--though without the coarse and charismatic Carter there's a sense that they are now one punk band among many, albeit still more sonically violent than most. {Oct 2012, p.86]

Nothing here is less than intriguing. [Oct 2012, p.86]

Believe You me is something of an art-house installation. [Oct 2012, p.86]

[Lekman] delivers a buoyant, frankly heart-wrenching, autobiographical album. [Oct 2012, p.86]

This brilliant, complex and surprising piece proves to be no exercise in getting to know them better. [Oct 2012, p.82]

For every infectious pop song, there's a lengthy, piano-and-synth-based epic, and everywhere a lust for life. [Oct 2012, p.83]

Charmer is in essence an Americana and power-pop confection with piano and tasteful guitars swaddled in the choicest vintage tones. [Oct 2012, p.83]

Easily their most accessible album, Algiers is also Calexico at their most expansive and very, very best. [Oct 2012, p.94]

This is cerebral yet genial fare. [Oct 2012, p.91]