Because Of The Times burns with all the invention and ambition that seemed to have been sucked out of its predecessor. [May 2007, p.108]

It's conceived, written and designed for the loud appreciation of sweat-drenched pill-poppers at a 'nitespot' nowhere near you. And as such, it succeeds in magnificently silly style. [Feb 2007, p.100]

An energised splicing of riff, declamation and technology that sounds like a thrilling synthesis of 2003's The Real New Fall LP and 2005's Fall Heads Roll, delivered with the highest levels of vigour for some time. [Feb 2007, p.92]

An album full of jukebox hits. [Mar 2007, p.98]

Strangelet's not so much odd as unusually good. [May 2007, p.102]

This remains at its essence an album of beguiling, rain-splashed intimacy. [May 2007, p.106]

The influences here are smart, the music smarter. [Feb 2007, p.100]

His lyrics don't always match his ambition. [Apr 2007, p.108]

A little too relaxed for its own good. [Apr 2007, p.108]

A fantastic consolidation of everything good about LCD. [Apr 2007, p.108]

A winner. [May 2007, p.106]

A record that sounds like absolutely no one else on the planet. [May 2007, p.102]

A big-tableau statement that combines his musical and ideological passions. [May 2007, p.106]

Overall, the album might not surpass his masterpiece The Mysterious Production Of Eggs, but Armchair Apocrypha proves Bird's knack for the musical hat-trick. [May 2007, p.102]

El-P's portentous delivery lacks poetics. [May 2007, p.110]

The ballads bewitch, reminding us that Tracey is one of the unique British voices, up there with Dusty. [Apr 2007, p.100]

[Introducing] contains her best songs and most relaxed, assured performances. [May 2007, p.112]

Its predominantly midtempo, cleverly crafted pop-Americana sounds even more substantial. [Apr 2007, p.97]

Immediately and huantingly familiar, it circumvents pastiche courtesy of a mischievous cut'n'paste aesthetic. [Feb 2008, p.108]

12 knockout tunes soaked in feedback and melody. [Apr 2007, p.96]

In a crowded space, The Rakes have a place to call their own. [Apr 2007, p.96]

[It] burns with pop ambition. [Feb 2007, p.105]

Winehouse remains one of modern music's most original voices and is now emerging as arguably the finest soul singer of her generation. [Nov 2006, p.116]

Memory Man comes at you with a hesitant rush, portraying bespectacled, nice Mr. Hales as an improbably suburban Jeff Buckley--no glamour, all passion. [Oct 2007, p.94]

The record comes on like a sweaty, amphetamine-fuelled rehearsal room bash that went extraordinarily well. [Oct 2006, p.102]

It's a reversal of the usual wild and weird direction of extra-curricular albums: it's more commercial than Room On Fire! [Nov 2006, p.112]

You're left feeling less !!! than ??? [Apr 2007, p.102]

It's impeccably stylish, idiosyncratic stuff, as ever, but is a little more heart too much to ask for? [Apr 2007, p.108]

Here lies much of the album's magic: whatever ornate turns the music takes, at its heart is the primal stuff of great rock'n'roll. But God, is it big. [Apr 2007, p.94]

On paper, it looks so wide-ranging as to be in danger of coming out gloopy and overdone; as it turns out, Rhys glues everything together with a crisp sense of confidence. [Feb 2007, p.98]

These 12 tunes pack an almighty sonic punch. [Apr 2007, p.96]

Full of curios and cameos, My Name Is Buddy falls short of masterpiece but is dense with wonderful music. [Apr 2007, p.100]

Sadly, there's little to propel them to radio ubiquity or challenge the Britrock big hitters, but then, maybe, that's the whole point. [Mar 2007, p.95]

Perfectly conceived and executed, the album is a beautiful collection of mood music. [May 2007, p.112]

This is possibly the most optimistic album about depression ever made. [Mar 2007, p.98]

Explosions In The Sky are true masters of their craft. [Apr 2007, p.102]

No vintage-gear replicator, he's modern-sounding, fresh, fun--a genuine contender for 2007. [Mar 2007, p.105]

Sex Change continues their move away from arena bombast towards streamlined Euro grooves. [Mar 2007, p.103]

Ooz[es] between queasy fantasy and distorted reality. [Mar 2007, p.105]

Vividly of-the-moment, rich in melody and wry optimism. [Mar 2007, p.104]

It's not perfect--you want it to shift up a gear occasionally, or to try different approaches, but the songs are all stuffed with daffy musicality and charm. [Apr 2007, p.102]

Most [tracks] are brilliant. [Apr 2007, p.97]

The result is 31 minutes of constantly surprising music, more absorbing and less conventional than anything on their self-titled 2005 debut. [Feb 2007, p.102]

The album's substantial rewards lie in the unorthodox rhythms of drummer Matt Tong. [Mar 2007, p.102]

An evocative set of instrumentals, rich in texture and gentle, melancholic beauty. [May 2007, p.103]

[It] sees their "spooky American music" get creepier still. [Apr 2007, p.97]

What if Lou Reed and Moe Tucker joined forces with the Danielson Family? [Mar 2007, p.104]

What Yes, I'm A Witch proves, above all else, is that the world is at last catching up with Ono. [Mar 2007, p.92]

While their music does have a Scando smoothness to it, its ramshackle moments recall the Beta Band more than they do Sondre Lerche, The Cardigans, et al. [Sep 2006, p.100]

A blast from start to finish. [Aug 2006, p.102]

It's too mixed a bag of highlights and lowlights to be lovable. [Feb 2007, p.100]

The majority of Not Too Late hums with a placid darkness and neurosis which is as delicious as it is unexpected. [Feb 2007, p.104]

A sweaty, dirty cellarful of noise. [Feb 2007, p.102]

Visitations may just be their finest half-hour. [Dec 2006, p.108]

The overall effect is a bit off-key, ill-defined and generally incomprehensible yet warm and attractive. [Mar 2007, p.100]

Neither the return of the Last Gang In Town, nor the crisp, literate, wonderfully confident pop with which Albarn perfectly crystallised the mid-1990s. Instead, The Good, The Bad & The Queen is a noir-ishly understated suite of songs, further testament to its chief author's need to keep on moving. [Jan 2007, p.98]

There are twists, but no clutter, just a gentle lyricism leaving every song lit from the inside. [Feb 2007, p.100]

His gifts remain undiminished. [Mar 2007, p.99]

Stereolab had similar starting blocks--there's no reason why Fujiya & Miyagi shouldn't become as notable. [Jan 2007, p.110]

There's just one heart-grabbing moment. [May 2007, p.120]

Ghost are soundtracking a fresh, modern hell. [Mar 2007, p.99]

You kind of know what to expect from a Kristin Hersh solo album, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. [Mar 2007, p.102]

Imagine a math-rock XTC fronted by Elliott Smith, illuminating the quiet corners of life. [Mar 2007, p.94]

It is Nas's poetic erudition that makes it a stone cold classic. [Mar 2007, p.100]

Bizarre, but brilliant. [Mar 2007, p.100]

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]

Stimulating, entertaining and moving. You'll listen to it more than you have Anthology, I promise. [Dec 2006, p.100]

Astounding... More even than his Exile On Main St., this is Tom Waits' Basement Tapes. [Dec 2006, p.104]

This is largely a quality-controlled treat. [Jan 2007, p.112]

It was a scratchy and sassy sound, funky and fun.

It is Newsom's voice that provides the stunning balm to bind this strange beauty together. [Dec 2006, p.118]

So Divided is less pompous, but the dynamic likes of Naked Sun and Stand In Silence barely atone for hamfisted stabs at chamber pop, country and The Cure. [Dec 2006, p.108]

This record easily beats its predecessor. [Feb 2007, p.105]

Songs that any liberal-minded Cat Stevens fan will adore. [Dec 2006, p.120]

Rice doesn't dismiss outright the folky troubadour charm that distinguished O, but here it's a springboard for jealousy, sex, misery. [Dec 2006, p.104]

The whole album is characterised by a subtle, all-pervading sense of menace that superbly offsets Campbell's snow-pure vocals and sparsely psychedelic orchestration. [Dec 2006, p.104]

Theirs is an ire that deserves to be heard. [Dec 2006, p.110]

It's disappointing that only 12 tracks have been handpicked for this release. [Jan 2007, p.124]

The joke's pretty much over after one listen. [Feb 2007, p.106]

No one could have predicted Endless Wire would be quite this good. [Nov 2006, p.98]

[It] lacks conceptual cohesion. [Nov 2006, p.112]

An experimental, sensual collection of songs harking back to the days of the first Gorky's EPs. [Mar 2006, p.104]

His most impressive skill is echoing the laid-back charm of Bill Withers and the melodic instincts of Stevie Wonder. [Dec 2006, p.104]

Despite its bleak outlook, this is a record big on nagging choruses and arm-punching emo punk that--more often than not--aims for the mainstream artery. [Dec 2006, p.110]

An intriguing, funny and inventive listen. [Nov 2006, p.101]

This is a collection of melodic, quality pop songs that lean to the grown-up side of things. [Nov 2006, p.100]

A set glorying in its sensual exoticism. [Jan 2007, p.102]

By turns, raw, sophisticated and sublime. [Sep 2006, p.104]

[It] delivers a pop-art contrast to the prog-opaque sprawl of its underrated predecessor. [Nov 2006, p.106]

Each song feels handmade, having the precise airiness or density it requires. [Jan 2007, p.112]

It's both so clever and so very charming. [Nov 2006, p.114]

Their forte remains unashamed headbanger action. [Nov 2006, p.114]

Adventurous of chord-voicing but never showy, the band nail most of their zesty songs in well under three minutes. [Mar 2006, p.92]

A feverish set that borders on near-delirium. [Nov 2006, p.100]

The latter tracks sink into Beck-by-numbers fare. [Nov 2006, p.100]

An action-packed blockbuster. [Oct 2006, p.104]

This time the music is as rich and detailed as [Finn's] wordplay. [Feb 2007, p.100]

Inventive, shape-shifting arrangements always go the extra mile. [Oct 2006, p.112]