The Unfairground finds Ayers rejuvenated and stands comparison with his best work. [Oct 2007, p.98]

Superabundance is a record to treasure. [Apr 2008, p.104]

Preposterous, but this time knowingly so. [May 2008, p.114]

Real Emotional Trash conjures a virtuoso meld of folk rock, prog and cosmic blues tropes, all filtered through the ex-pavement frontman's tradmark arch surrealism. [Apr 2008, p. 101]

It's a gloom that suits them both. [Apr 2008, p.112]

It's a fantastic collection, there's still nothing else remotely like it. [Apr 2008, p.104]

It's not a great album but it is good, bar a slapdash feel to some songs and too much squealing, dated guitar. [Apr 2008, p.100]

With her co-producers, they fashion some perfectly weighted, tastefully adorned grroves but her voice, an idiosyncratic mix of Lucinda Williams and Dolores O'Riordan inflections, sometimes jars. [Apr 2008, p.100]

Lovely. [Nov 2007, p.102]

Their sun-baked, lyrically feverish chooglin' is more textured and melodic on these addictive new jams, ripe with Hammond-flavoured funkadelia and visionary gospel-prog. [May 2008, p.111]

Ryan's predilection for Wilsonesque harmonies, glokenspiel, etc, erupts into twinkly fairytale pop that's bold and forward-looking in equal measure. [Mar 2008, p.113]

Brevity obviously suits them as the results are both evocative and sublime. [May 2008, p.111]

The Bros' songs mostly rollick on witrh the agreeably vaudevillian bonhomie of The Band, when not essaying gloom with swooningly lachrymose balladry. [June 2008, p.114]

A lush and trippy affair with shades of Edward Lear-like surrealism and John Winston Lennon amid strawberry Fields. [Mar 2008, p.103]

NuAmerykah is her boldest and best yet, brilliantly eccentric but repaying every indulgence. [May 2008, p.106]

Scally's armoury of drum boxes, Bontempi organs and electric guitars provides shape-shifting backgrounds--classic '60s pop arrangements filtered through the fuzzy prism of a dream. [Mar 2008, p.108]

Opener, the self-referncing 'Better Get to Livin'' is cheesy and disposable even by Nashville standards. The title track, also autobiographical, is better, but like several songs suffers from '80s-style over-production. [June 2008, p.115]

Here her wonderful voice, smooth and warm with throaty twang and unforced power, has free rein to do what it does best on 11 fine new songs. [May 2008, p.111]

A giddy chaos of fuzz-noise and thundering drums ensures these sclectic experiments still sound like no one else but The dirtbombs. [May 2008, p.114]

Despite its promising title, Lust Lust Lust is mighty forlorn. Or, optimistically, transitional. [Dec 2007, p.100]

Aficionados will welcome a renewed emphasis on Vudi's idiosyncratic string-bending, erecting iridescent frames around Eitzel's through-a-glass-darkly vignettes. [Feb 2008,p.105]

The polished arrangements of Heretic Pride do Darnielle's songwriting no favours. [Mar 2008, p.106]

Isolation doesn't get more splendid than this. [June 2008, p.100]

His gentle mantric vocals and concise, evocative lyrics drift through layers of treated instrumentation and ambient electronica. [Apr 2008, p.112]

Not every number here reaches its perfection, but 'twas ever thus with the works of Raymond Douglas Davies; warts and all, and even the warts are interesting. [Dec 2007, p.109]

The use of borowed items invites comparisons, not only with the originals but also with other versions of the same song. And there Moorer fails the test. [Apr 2008, 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]

This is musical wheatgrass juice: wholesome, virtous, but ultimately fun-free. [Mar 2008, p.115]

Grand Archives are a modest outfit, never as anthemic as Bridwell's widescreen My Morning Jacket-lite, but with a celestial line in harmonies. [May 2008, p.114]

Here is a pop masterpiece so toe-tapping and huggable that we might just have to rearrange the canon. [Mar 2008, p.106]

As a snapshot of Friday night through Monday morning in 36 minutes flat, this is a joy. [Mar 2008, p.106]

Briitsh Sea Power's third album proves once again there's more to them than stuffed owls and a facination with odd geological landmarks. [Feb 2008, p.100]

They wear their ideas on their sleeves, certainly, but under all the layers, a heartbeat is sometimes hard to find. [Feb 2008, p.104]

That play of sonic summer and spiritual winter shades this. [Mar 2008, p.102]

Possessed of hazily catchy and irresistible choruses, the end result is an endearingly affectionate blend of radio-friendly AOR and homely indie-rock touches anchoring their grand pop to something human. [Mar 2008, p.106]

Deceptively simple, Watershed highlights what Lang does best--fulsome ballads sung with precision timing, intelligence and a humourous twist. [Jan 2008, p.100]

The new dad has ditched the gap-year spirituality to reach for a more adult world where poverty, war and uncertainty must be confronted, and it's a world beyond his expressive abilities. [Mar 2008, p.102]

There's substance to 'Long Sad Goodbye's accusing lament for his late father and Vietnam's denunciation of the Iraq war, but Kravitz generally limits himself to muscular yet uninspired multi-instrumental expertise and sloppy-thinking hippitude. [Mar 2008, p.114]

District Line is Mould's strongest song collection since Sugar's alt-rock paradigm, "Copper Blue." [Mar 2008, p.102]

Old Growth has the primeval, fuzzed-out power of the trio's earlier albums, but with a new clarity and groove. [Mar 2008, p.113]

Dev Haynes' debut is a sinewy, surprising move for one steeped in metallic noise bridging semi-acoustic country rock and chamber folk with a folk-prog detour on the 10-minute centrepiece 'Midnight Surprise.' [Feb 2008, p.112]

In short, genial, infectious guitar pop like they used to make. [Feb 2008, p.102]

The pace is relentlessly uptempo, but the sheer feisty spirit and conviction with which it is delivered ultimately brooks no argument. [Feb 2008, p.102]

This is unlikely to expand thier fanbase, but The Mars Volta are making music built to last. [Feb 2008, p.113]

Most tracks are sophisticated, jazzy pop songs and ballads about relationships, but the angry young man of yore occasionally peeps over the parapet. [Feb 2008, p.102]

With Keep Your Eyes Ahead Brandon Summers and Benjamin Weikel have pushed their fringes out of the way to display a new focus. [Mar 2008, p.112]

Such a bad idea. Such a stunning result. [Mar 2008, p.114]

At their best, as in 'Sometimes,' they drag you into their circling obsessiveness and measured rhetoric. But, too often, Yoav's cleverness feels calculating--unless it's the reverse that, over-tasked. [May 2008]

The air of gentle rustic drama is enhanced by discreet flourishes of trumpet, vibraphone, bowed banjo, amplified kalimba and quartz singing bowl. [Mar 2008, p.113]

The gleeful exuberance of Hey Venus! finds the band refreshed.... If Hey Venus! lacks anything, it's the thumping-heart centerpiece that made SFA's early records so special. [Sep 2007, p.108]

The punk grooves of 'Laugh Track' or 'Seeing Hands' and the near-perfect Phnom Pehn pop of 'Mr. Orange' or "Monsoon Of Perfume' bookend a set that grows in strength with each play. [Feb 2008, p.110]

In The Future showcases a group who knows exactly what they're doing. [Feb 2008, p.101]

Not even Cat Power can turn an album of cover versions into anything more than a facinating detour from the main journey, but Jukebox is a precious waste of time nonetheless. [Jan 2008, p.98]

The Truckers have always been a direct band but this time there's a kind of foreplay, where each song gives the other time and consideration. [Mar 2008, p.100]

It makes poetic sense but, like many autobiographical songwriters, he knows the stories so well he fails to tell them. [Feb 2008, p.112]

The sudden shifts between smooth/jarring and soft/hard make for an uncomfortable but compelling ride. [Mar 2008, p.113]

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]

It exudes an organic, direct feel from which it gains its considerable charm. [Feb 2008, p.112]

It's faux-naif orch-pop that crashes and thunders. [Feb 2008, p.108]

Generally, the undistinguished R&B pop and trite lyrics he and his long-term bandmates come up with bear no comparison to the salty good cheer of 'It Don't Come Easy' and 'Photograph.' [Feb 2008, p.100]

Angels Of Destruction continues a rich tradition forged in the bars of their hometowns. [Feb 2008, p.105]

Sprawling and dense as it may be, but amid its deranged lyricism and brutal soundscapes, 8 Diagrams vindicates The RZA's devotion to the collective ethic. [Feb 2008, p.100]

An alternative greatest hits compilation, it proves that the old sound of tomorrow can still make the grade today. [Dec 2007, p.100]

Jean's sonic scope is breathtaking, complemented by imaginative lyrics. [Dec 2007, p.102]

The idea remains more brilliant than the performance can hope to be; because Wainwright is very good but Judy ia unassailable. [Feb 2008, p.98]

Another impressive cocktail of Eastern-inflected drones, mantra-like vocals and thick slabs of empyrean noise guitar. [Dec 2007, p.100]

Unsurprisingly for a 2D project, it's all a little flat. [Dec 2007, p.121]

The rethink has paid dividends. [Nov 2007, p.90]

Every so often an album comes along that's so original it's difficult to accurately liken it to anything else--even Efterklang's last album, "Tripper," is left behind by Parades. [Nov 2007, p.106]

Rather than sounding like an '80s soft-rock rehash, they have worked with up-to-the-minute beat merchants Timbaland and Nate 'Danja' Hills to create a dramtic, contemporary pop concoction. [Dec 2007, p.98]

The follow-up to 2003's "The Diary Of Alicia Keys" has lots of confidence and volume, but less of the shades in between. [Dec 2007, p.98]

Ire Works is a thrillingly hostile racket containing 13 wild bursts. [Dec 2007, p.110]

Whatever is behind Sigur Ros's ineffable Nordic magic, it doesn't appear to be powered by electricity. [Dec 2007, p.98]

Far from sounding like the future, however, Situation is valiantly old school in its belief that the best rap is cultural commentary, poetic and from the heart--the modern blues basically. [Nov 2007, p.108]

There are some very bad lyrics on this album. [Dec 2007, p.99]

Earthy, reassuringly calloused country and bluegrass is its currency. [Dec 2007, p.110]

In the end you're left with a creeping sense of missed chances, made more painful by the fact the Babyshambles have so obviously raised their game. [Oct 2007, p.88]

An album of great emotional depth and uninhibited artistry. [Nov 2007, p.96]

There's even hit-single potential--'Feathers' is unabashed radio-rock--that could make this weird bunch into the biggest cult band in the world. [Dec 2007, p.109]

Tankian has created a forward-thinking album that swerves convention. [Dec 2007, p.98]

It's better to simply let La Cucaracha happen and enjoy how much Gene and Dean toy with and transgress musical forms while still playing them to a high degree of invention, proficiency and sincerity. [Dec 2007, p.99]

Hourglass plays the "I, an artist" card with equal earnestness, a collection of electronic songs that mix dungeon-master sexual predation with angst-ridden introspection. [Nov 2007, p.104]

The most remarkable collaboration since Norah Jones and the Foo Fighters is also one of the best albums of the year. [Nov 2007, p.92]

Any goth undertow is easily outweighed by post-rock grandeur. [Nov 2004, p.95]

The appealingly titled Oblivion With Bells continues Karl Hyde and Rick Smith's desire to capture the Freon-and-neon static of modern life. [Nov 2007, p.92]

The CD reveals R.E.M. still have plenty of fuel to throw upon their smouldering career. [Jan 2008, p. 100]

Stone pens 14 of the 15 songs and has clearly overstretched herself; the material is bland and only on sublime, transcendental 'Baby,'featuring Betty Wright and a cappella showcase 'Go Back To Your Life' do we hear the Angie of old. [Nov 2007, p.96]

The whole thing sounds effortless, and not always in a god way. [Dec 2007, p.109]

The joyous next single, 'Let Me know,' along with dark gems such as 'Primitive' and 'Movie Star,' make this close to a modern synth-pop classic. [Nov 2007, p.90]

Both artistically and in terms of a new business model, In Rainbows is a necesary masterstroke. [Dec 2007, p.96]

Unsurprisingly, Necessary Evil falls short of her prime's pop perfection, yet it provides a fair compendium of her career. [Oct 2007, p.90]

Condon has a tendency to over-emote vocally, but even at its most melodramatic this music's rhapsodic swirl is undeniable. [Nov 2007, p.104]

Widow City is the Furnaces' punchiest set to date. [Nov 2007, p.104]

Mostly it looks like there's a new kid in town. [Dec 2007, p.98]

It's hard to imagine a record more original or full of life, from any artist of any age, emerging this year. It's that damn good. [Nov 2007, p.91]

Mantaray, however, displays a passion and conviction that shows an artist unhappy to rest on her numerous laurels. [Sep 2007, p.102]

The immediately obvious aspect of Magic is there hasn't been such a musically dramatic Springsteen album since "Born In The USA;" and like that album, this is a State of the Union address disguised as a pop record. [Nov 2007, p.88]

She sings of global suffering, emotional loss and female power in a way that's occasionally overwrought--but always packs a punch. [Oct 2007, p.92]