Kelis' involvement in the brooding title track can't save it from its fundamental dullness, warped, tetchy ska of 'Saga' fails to get under your skin, They're better on the camp, ecstatic single 'Raindrops,' and the hollering soul jive of 'She's No good.' [Oct 2009, p.98]

Quality control dips during the last quarter, but this is a reassuring step forward. [Nov 2009, p.94]

Quality inessential entertainment. [Mar 2010, p.97]

Never overwrought, A La Sala is a cool exercise in the beauty of restraint and understated groove mastery, exploring new vistas without subverting Khruangbin's blueprint. [Jun 2024, p.88]

There's less jamming than on earlier NMA releases, more insistence on songwriting. [Jul 2011, p.108]

It's a familiar world they inhabit, but still a deeply odd one. [Oct 2019, p.82]

Luck is more satisfying than Leisure Seizure, but it's still not throwing sixes all the way. [Jul 2014, p.90]

An awkward faceoff between Mathers the prankster and Mathers the cultural and would-be political agitator. [Jan 2005, p.96]

Roberts' dying-Jacobite vocals remain thrillingly feeble, and Nic Jones-ly fingerpicking on Wonderful Grey Horse and Young Airly may draw in waverers. [May 2023, p.89]

Meredith's precision helps control the fun, but this is another buoyant invention from her musical lab. [Dec 2019, p.95]

A Henry Rollins cameo in the title track is tantalising: were he a constant presence, this set would really spark. [Nov 2016, p.96]

Whatever the style, Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone’s music is executed with wholehearted passion and technical precision.

The gauzy hypnotism of opener Infinite Trips sounds as if was beamed in from a far more enticing album altogether. [Nov 2014, p.89]

Only Johann Johansson's airy decanting of Protest and two movements from chamber music Glassworks really tap Glass's sublime essence. [Dec 2012, p.88]

A record to welcome the morning light as it seeps through chinks in the curtain. [May 2017, p.91]

On this solid business-as-usual set, his band kicks requisite ass on Isaak's decent country-rock tearjerkers. [Jul 2009, p.106]

Here, the band look to the more languid nod of Spaceman 3 instead. [Jul 2009, p.98]

[A] moving tribute, gently awash with autumnal colour. [May 2013, p.96]

Amid all these tribulations, Toro Y Moi still quarries a few gems. [Aug 2017, p.89]

Few of his collaborations stick or turn out to be more than the sum of their parts. [Aug 2017, p.88]

While it's debatable whether Empire Of The Sun deliver on a stated aim to make music that's "transcendental," you'll have a lot of fun hearing them try. [Jul 2013, p.85]

A collection of judiciously orchestrated, densely textured tracks that often demand accompanying visuals. [Nov 2017, p.94]

He may not be a born singer, or particularly vocally charismatic, but he sounds like he means it, and that's more than enough. [Nov 2014, p.94]

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]

More blood on the tracks might have upped the ante, but as it stands Tomb is still a gorgeous wallow, with producer Doveman's minimalist touches left to indicate cracks in the facade. [Feb 2019, p.84]

Shrieky-voiced, Jad fair-esque solo set of mid-70s Bowery oddball punk. [May 2017, p.98]

The formula makes for a kick-ass sound, one which you can imagine rocking a festival tent to its foundations, and yet uncomfortable echoes of Lenny Kravitz keep reappearing. [Dec 2007, p.108]

Pleasant but risk adverse. [Mar 2014, p.88]

Stream of realpolitik consciousness lyrics come leavened by a synthetic, dancefloor-wise production. [Jun 2017, p.95]

It's ever so nice, except for the nagging feeling that a disembodied voice is about to say, "I'm going to count backwards from five and, when I snap my fingers, you will wake up and remember none of this." [Sep 2002, p.106]

The Caribbean funk that results, however, sounds unpredictable, i,possibly human and imperfect. Oh, and fun. [Sep 2020, p.89]

Audience delight is palpable. [Aug 2019, p.98]

This sounds like a decent Gang Star LP--no bad thing, but it lacks the spark of individuality. [May 2004, p.103]

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

What Turner lacks in lyrical bravura he makes up with arena sized melodic hooks. [Sep 2015, p.95]

The FB's ragged, slip-sliding DNA is too irreverent to make them true inheritors of The Band's mantle, and that hasn't changed. Neither has the way they're one minute bursting with exuberance and the next resembling a burst tyre. [Jul 2014, p.93]

There's a synergy and rapport in the set's dozen tracks that reveals how deeply the new band has gelled with Mayall. [Oct 2015, p.88]

At least 50 years out of date, and wonderfully so. [Jan 2017, p.98]

Songs that initially resemble formless dirges, gradually reveal hidden depths, thanks to Desertshore's engaging backing and Kozelek's ever intriguing lyrics. [Nov 2013, p.84]

It may be that RW are out to capitalise on previous use of their music in shows such as "The O.C." and "Weeds," but Rogue's voice--as angelic and tender as those of Buckleys Tim and Jeff--is a joy throughout. [June 2008, p.103]

A rich score of chamber melancholy and electronic disquiet. [Mar 2016, p.97]

Mayall and his ace band revive songs by Bettye Crutcher, Jimmy Rogers and Jerry Lynn Williams alongside Piquant original material. [Mar 2017, p.96]

There's nothing here inviting enough to really convince floating voters, but Editors continue to thrive in their own dark universe. [Apr 2018, p.90]

Wonky fuzz-pop duo from Leeds weird out a little on follow-up to 2015's Ratworld. [May 2017, p.98]

Damaged souls taking bitter stock of what they've become. It's all here in this raw, reflective clutch, with the taste of midlife crisis on its tongue. [Apr 2016, p.92]

Overall Anthems is a gutsy carer swerve from Carter who proves himself capable of crooning with swagger. [Mar 2013, p.94]

Yacht are a band that know how to party; they just need to lock it down. [Oct 2009, p.108]

Assured and challenging. Unlikely to convert the uninitiated, it will thrill the Volta Nation. [May 2012, p.92]

A tad less confrontational than previous Pita releases but no less powerful. [Aug 2016, p.97]

Walk Thru Me Andrew Perry feels less vibey and cutting-edge, with occasional polemical tunes reedily voiced by Davis, and Barlow brooding on grown-up issues like parenthood (My Little Lamb) and battling depression (Crepuscular) – not different enough from latterday Sebadoh, or indeed solo Barlow, surely, to reprise 1995’s commercial uplift. [Aug 2024, p.84]

New material like See What Love Did To Me sits well alongside these [four songs from 1967's New Masters album]. [Oct 2017, p.91]

Amid the jams and Vietnamese trim, neat ideas coalesce. [Dec 2018, p.94]

Filmic instrumentals ranging in mood from Badalamenti oddness to bright piano etudes and reflective gloom. [Nov 2018, p.96]

At the heart of this overgrown squall of a record, there's a sense that The Strokes feel they have something to prove. If only they'd been able to decide upon what that is with greater clarity. [Feb 2006, p.88]

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

It's easy groove doesn't suggest exhaustion, just peace of mind. [Jan 2019, p.84]

It's the tracks that mix it up a bit that appeal most. [Apr 2024, p.90]

Not everything hits the mark. [Aug 2016, p.98]

Grief therapy has rarely sounded so groovy. [Jul 2013, p.85]

The best new tracks' confidence boosts the band's emotional clout. [Oct 2019, p.88]

It's not perfect by any means, and having two of the weakest tracks in pole positions doesn't help. [May 2002, p.98]

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]

Part 2's brittle, somewhat alienating production isn't exactly subtle. ... Foals sound like they are overreaching themselves a little. Two highly ambitious, thematically-linked albums in six months was always a big ask. [Nov 2019, p.86]

It's a mess of ambition and avant overload, and often too much, but you can't help but admire The New Sound's Stevie Chick wild abandon. And while the whirlwind of concepts and sonic right-turns ultimately fails to cohere, its thrills are many. [Nov 2024, p.84]

Eclectic as it is, Weatherhouse is largely convincing evidence of a singular voice being belatedly found. [Nov 2014, p.99]

US party band !!!'s fourth is a holiday record, full of movement and heat and things that feel tired and cheesy at home, but are good, sleazy fun when you're away. [Sep 2010, p.98]

Possibly an album for Boz's benefit more than anyone else's. [Apr 2013, p.91]

Much here stands in marked contrast to that lushly arranged benchmark ["The Shepherd's Dog"]. [Jul 2009, p.114]

There is much here to enjoy. [May 2012, p.93]

Results range from the radio-friendly but obvious to the obscure but not a word out of place. [Oct 2021, p.96]

Ecstasy is definitely a Lou Reed record for Lou Reed fans. If you're a happy regular shopper at Lou's Boutique, this one'll fit nicely on the shelf alongside all the others.

Higher-proof versions of both music and visuals exist, but these songs stand up all by themselves. [Jul 2013, p.85]

There's much to applaud about Bow To Love as Campbell targets toxic masculinity (Everything Falls Apart) and the distancing, dehumanising aspects of social media (4316), but you sometimes feel only the shallows od her rhyming dictionary are being plumbed. [Jun 2024, p.82]

Air Museum sees the Brooklyn duo largely trade computer manipulation for the studio, processing instruments using analogue gear. [July 2011, p. 105]

What makes everything tick is Berman's plausibly gooey hooks, matched by guitars sparkling like diamante--just the ticket for shiny, happy people. [Jul 2014, p.95]

Lovely though these songs are, it’s hard not to feel they demand a similar attention, your mind fighting to impose structure on their swathes of classic rock signifiers, their lyrical opacity. Izenberg might be getting closer to his music, but he’s still oddly far away. [Sep 2024, p.84]

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]

Once they settle in, Cats In Paris could be a hyper-modern Stackridge. [Sep 2008, p.98]

With one million sales, the French quartet can be forgiven for not messing with the formula here. [May 2013, p.86]

Citay's third album ratchets up the production values from its predecessor, 2007's "Little Kingdom," emphasising deluxe stoner grooves and coruscating fuzz-guitar wig-outs. [Mar 2010, p.92]

The sound a minibus of demons might make stuck in a bank holiday A303 tailback. [Aug 2016, p.99]

It drifts rudderlessly in places, but at its best... it's among Tortoise's most persuasive music to date. [Apr 2004, p.108]

Often he makes a lot of noise without really connecting. [Oct 2004, p.100]

Their patchwork approach to psychedelia recalls the shoestring ingenuity of cult mid-'90s act Neutral Milk Hotel. [Jan 2005, p.104]

Imagine a 'luded-out Eagles fronted by a dying hillbilly and you'll only be mildly disappointed. [Jun 2005, p.105]

Dolly steps up as America's cheerleader, to help fight the recession blues. [Oct 2011, p.100]

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

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]

Though their sound seems delicate and ethereal, in a live setting the quartet's music yields plenty of compelling sonic drama. [May 2013, p.94]

A first strike of the match before they burn their own path forward. [Sep 2019, p.94]

Few other bands could provide properly sympathetic backing for a singer who delivers his roiling emotions in such sad, sleepy tones. [Oct 2004, p.112]

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

Juana Molina once again proves her ability to gently beguile with a warmth and ingenuity that reaches way past language and genre boundaries. [Dec 2013, p.87]

HIs essential charm flows through raise-a-glass choruses tinged with melancholy. [Oct 2007, p.91]

Almost entirely instrumental apart from the occasional detour into Floyd-like orbits, this is yet another bold statement from this ever-changing and challenging group. [Mar 2016, p.96]

Its choice of selections successfully reinvent the familiar and/or introduce the less well-known. [Jul 2009, p.104]

Robertson sings each with a parched intimacy that seems unaffected by the passing of time. [May 2011, p.111]

A psychedelic soft rock treat that peaks with the uncanny, ethereal chord-changes of the sleep-walking Meet Me in The Air, but Poignancy, tunefulness and feeling abound throughout. [Sep 2018, p.94]