At times City Of Gold may sound a little hungover after the euphoric heights of 2022, but Tuttle shows every sign of pushing through. [Aug 2023, p.78]

Questionable sequencing and some strange production choices (layers of synths and suffocating syntheric strings) sometimes make Jordan sound like a guest artist o her own album. [Jun 2026, p.86]

This follow-up is more considered, though occasionally suffers from one too many mid-paced hard rock standards. [Feb 2017, p.90]

The results sound authentic, melodic '60s girl-pop, if a bit thin. [Feb 2019, p.93]

Unbalanced and unrelenting, it's a fascinating album, if difficult to enjoy. [Apr 2013, p.90]

Minimalist of palette it may be, but Laraaji's characteristic approach to melody, harmony and rhythm, at once both charmingly childlike and spiritually ecstatic, is present throughout. [Aug 2020, p.87]

It's a steady, comforting blast of warmth, from the Jon Hopkins-Style soft techno pulse of Soft Gradient beckons to Nocturne's ambient swell. [Aug 2025, p.79]

The songs barely disturb the dust in the room as they gently tip-toe about, Millan's lazy drawl far less deliberate than the clipped enunciation she often exercises on Stars' chamber pop. [Feb 2010, p. 102]

Sweet Apple rock it up in gonzo mid-'70s style, with lashings of glam and powerpop. [June 2010, p. 93]

Ultimately proves hard to get a handle on. [Jul 2015, p.96]

It's hard to imagine CRB ever re-inventing the wheel, but boy do they know how to roll. [Sep 2016, p.96]

Heavy on atmosphere, but candid and brave also. [Aug 2015, p.98]

There is genius in here... [but] Shangri-La does sometimes drift into lazily delivered Knopfler history lessons. [Nov 2004, p.96]

Allowing Talk Talk, The Chameleons and David Sylvian to swell the ranks of recognisable names and the odd mystifying entry too - on what planet is The Wake's English rain ethereal, dream pop or showgaze? [May 2023, p.98]

After nine songs averaging under four minutes, Moore closes with The Realization, 10 minutes of converging light and dark, and one of the finest piece of music that he has put his name to. [Apr 2022, p.84]

Recorded remotely, Distractions is febrile and modern but cries out for a through-line. [Mar 2021, p.88]

Though it’s not the recluse’s reverie that was 2020’s fine single-hander Monovision, Long Way Home also feels somewhat introverted. [Sep 2024, p.86]

More euphoric indie fits and starts from Hooray For Earth's Noel Heroux. [Mar 2016, p.100]

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]

They return with an eleventh album on which they seem to have distilled every good idea into these 14 short, smart songs. [Sep 2008, p.106]

Marnie Stern is a strong statement from a musician whose confidence is soaring. [Dec 2010, p.97]

The whole album suggests the assured songwriting will in time be matched by the sloughing-off of any nods to the familiar. One to keep a beady eye on. [Aug 2019, p.96]

The cumulative effect is effortlessly gorgeous, if a little smoothed out compared to the variety and tension of the last two albums. [Sep 2016, p.96]

While on occasion disappointingly heavy handed, the more wistful moments shine through the murk. [Nov 2002, p.105]

There's not much here to rival very top Tull but then nothing that sullies the venerable brand either. [Feb 2022, p.83]

Cheatah's emotional core is easily decipherable. [Dec 2015, p.94]

At turns comforting and disturbing. [Apr 2020, p.95]

There are plenty of twisty turns, and more than a dollop of cynicism and cheek, to ensure that this latest comeback earns its rightful place in the CVB canon. [Apr 2013, p.90]

Out on its own, Here We Go Magic demands attention. [Aug 2009, p.108]

It's hard not to be seduced by the pure enthusiasm the duo have for wailing feedback, white light/white heat and archaic teen rebellion. [Aug 2009, p.103]

Not much subtlety, but if some of the lyrics and playing are sometimes tough and ready, righteous passion overrides it to carry the day. [Aug 2015, p.88]

The higher production values simply water down R.L.'s natural vigour. [Jan 2001, p. 103]

While much here errs toward vanilla and cheese, delectably idiosyncratic morsels are also on the menu. [Dec 2018, p.100]

The tune count is down and it's sometimes a little too Mr. Motivator, but these sonic smiles can still be infectious. [Oct 2007, p.106]

Her alternately husky and tremulous Dolly Parton timbre weaves through a yacht rock/mid-'80s Fleetwood Mac hybrid (Spirit), a Eurovision-worthy almost power-ballad (Right Now) and the quasi-disco, gospel-edged shuffler Baby. [Apr 2025, p.80]

Whether Liam Gallagher's band is the start of a new story or a diverting subplot to an on-going saga remains to be seen -- and you can imagine where the smart money lies. [Mar. 2011, p. 92]

Get To Heaven feels both like a band at the peak of their powers and self-consciously dialing everything up to 11 before things go up in flames. [Jul 2015, p.90]

[Amy Winehouse had] something compelling, human and wonderful, and it surfaces just enough on this compilation to make it worthy of her name. [Jan 2012, p.91]

He [Luke Younger] has blended ghost-echoes of dub, techno, and house to oddly sounding effect. [Aug 2015, p.95]

His pieces are mostly drawn from moderns such as Cage, Gorecki, Barber, Satie and Ravel, and work best when mined for their luxuriant melancholy...

They can't always resist their old ways, as autumn processional PPP shows, but Legrand's vocals feel sweeter and closer. [Sep 2015, p.87]

American Life is revealing and diverting -- no bad things in a record -- but in the end the brow-beating, finger-wagging and psycho-babbling take their toll. [May 2003, p.86]

Trouble is they're embalmed within a high-gloss, synth-heavy production that sounds like '80s LA soft rock. [Sep 2014, p.98]

The covers format doesn't facilitate too much untamed Scabies (sadly), but Brian himself poignantly appears on The Last Time. [Mar 2026, p.81]

Soft Error's background in film and TV composition is the foundation for the opulent, operatic electronica on Mechanism. [Feb 2017, p.95]

They offer up a wonderful lysergic carousel of communal singalongs, spiked pop and tribal hoedowns. [Nov 2007, p.95]

Mavis tries to stamp authority on songs written by ward's musician pals.... They're not all great though--neither the Charity Rose or Nick Cave contributions hit the spot. [Mar 2016, p.99]

It's an uneven but at times wonderfully eccentric mix of early-'80s synth-pop mores and a kind of post-industrial electro that wants to sound like Depeche Mode but then wants to get all nasty on you. [Dec 2013, p.98]

Nurses aren't the undead, but Dracula has staying power. [Nov 2011, p.98]

Its highlights peaking above those of its predecessor even if the quality of the often plasticky beats means it's a little more uneven. [Nov 2008, p.108]

After the initial shock, the pair's songwriting smarts cuts through persuasively, alongside strong messaging about acknowledging your needs and vulnerabilities. [Feb 2024, p.88]

Things dip slightly in the middle when Jackson's reedy vocals are exposed against a mid-tempo backing, but it's a minor quibble. [Jul 2009, p.98]

A winsome, nostalgic atmosphere. [Jul 2017, p.91]

For all her professed preference for slower, gothically-inclined blues, it's old-time rippers like Sometimes There's Blood or land speed banjo record attempt, Oh, Command Me Lord!, where she really excels--and, critically, excites.[Aug 2018, p.88]

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]

The hefty production complements a moody selection of songs about bullying, Italian Soccer and1960s London. [Jul 2014, p.93]

There's still much to link the group to their musical past. [Jun 2004, p.107]

Ayers is a lovely singer in both English and Spanish; he rather less so on the London homage It's Another Night or the gently barbed I've Never Had A Good Time.... In Paris. When they harmonise on Room At The Top, though, they're a joy. [Jun 2023, p.89]

Stylistically, the album juxtaposes grungy art rock with punk-jazz, electronica, and hip-hop, though it's McCaslin's tenor sax and aesthetic vision that imbues Blow. with a sense of unity and coherence. [Nov 2018, p.95]

Motorpsycho's commitment to their heavy cause is admirable, but even part-timers will benefit from a day trip through their universe. [May 2026, p.88]

When they crank out breathless melodic euphoria like Darkened Rings, originality seems a pointless objective anyway. [Feb 2017, p.98]

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

In Our Bedroom After The War aims for a more dramatic sweep than its predecessor but falls a couple tunes short. [Nov 2007, p.108]

A bold step forward. [Nov 2011, p.98]

Budget-price corporations such as Lidl and Ryanair take a mauling, amid a sonic barrage which occasionally coalesces into pleasing punk-funk but mostly glories in making lap-steel sound like a cement mixer. [Nov 2022, p.92]

Flux lacks a little of the old uncanny razzle dazzle, but there's no doubting the elegance of its execution or the expertise of its creator. [Sep 2025, p.79]

Students of the 19080s Brit synth-pop and Gallic cold wave will find Austra a contemporary champion. [Jun 2011, p.97]

The overall effect is affecting and exhausting, the listener feeling queasy and spent. [Nov 2017, p.96]

Laus's writing is maturing, Real Man and tie My Shows surprisingly country-folk, while elsewhere there's bell-clear acoustic pop. Any occasional sameness is offset by existential stingers. [Oct 2024, p.90]

Eyes Open hardly furthers Snow Patrol's rote one guitar attack, and repetition exposes Lightbody's interpretations of love's little hiccups as a tiring experience. [Jun 2006, p.108]

Their new direction sounds suspiciously like the old one. [Jul 2006, p.100]

[A] heartfelt, reflective LP. [Nov 2015, p.91]

Only final track, The Way Our Lives Go, a slowish ballad, counts as a surprising divergence from the template. [Mar 2018, p.95]

There's no doubt these are expertly constructed songs, but it feels as if the emotional wiring h as been botched. ... Let's Rock lacks the connection to be truly electrifying. [Aug 2019, p.89]

Do you like reading poetry while folded into a big armchair in some sunny corner? You'll love False Beats And True Hearts. [Jun 2011, p.102]

Another patchily edifying addition to the Cuomo enigma. [Jul 2005, p.106]

Luke Pritchard and co attack each of their songs with crisp, clean confidence, brisk guitar lines and open vowels. [Oct 2011, p.97]

Solemn, aesthetically rigorous environment this music occupies. [Dec 2018, p.93]

The longueurs of the album's latter half rob the long-player of true classic potential, but the rehearsal room banter and stripped-back demos will pique fans' interest. [Jan 2019, p.105]

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

Intimate, ambitious and just occasionally misfiring. [Oct 2023, p.82]

It's not an ideal entry point into Amos;s unique world. [Nov 2011, p.98]

WLIB AM is best taken as a whole. [Nov 2008, p.116]

Reassuringly autumnal, it drifts by with the grace of a soaring kite. [Jun 2018, p.88]

The dejected vocals and mesmerising mood of the music are in place, making this an album for long lonely winter nights. [Feb 2009, p.115]

Awesome in scope and execution, it's an album that's ultimately easier to admire than it is to love. [Jun 2009, p.108]

It's a strangely stilted approach on songs. [Sep 2009, p.92]

When the Vampire pals are good, they are very good, but they just occasionally sound like their bloody Marys have been spiked with garlic. [Aug 2019, p.92]

Inspired stuff, though its slightness feels like a tease, and leaves us hungry for more. [Aug 2018, p.88]

Enter a floating world of the surreal, of gently uneasy listening, warped strings and distorted brass, as if Chris Montez led an Indian mariachi band. [Aug 2019, p.93]

Deerhoof being Deerhoof, the arty, poppy, proggy noise is jagged, cathartic, and occasionally grand. [Nov 2021, p.88]

It finds Glasper trying to maintain the interest of his new audience by putting a trio spin on neo-soul material as well as songs by Joni Mitchell and Radiohead. [Aug 2015, p.91]

Classic Quadrophenia, recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and TV-friendly tenor Alfie Boa, works, but only sometimes. [Aug 2015, p.91]

The stark beats are the best Hugo and Williams have built in years. But its themes--dealing, girls--require more lyrical innovation to compel. [Feb 2007, p.105]

It's difficult to tell how much post-production has been done and how much the record truly reflects Marie's artistic vision. Even so, it's a good listen. [Apr 2013, p.90]

Still winging it, still wearing it well. [Dec 2010, p.99]

Cobb as a blockbuster album in him, but not quite yet. [Aug 2025, p.79]

These songs sound like they were made to be played on-stage (other than a few that don't lift off the ground). [Aug 2019, p.95]