A band who aim foolishly high but always return, wings intact. [Sep 2004, p.92]

While there's more than a little influence from early New Order here, one can also hear echoes of Suicide, PiL's Metal Box and the motorik reveries of Cluster. [Jul 2005, p.112]

An oddly seamless follow-up to its distant predecessor. [Nov 2005, p.110]

As unique and poignant as a family bible. [Nov 2005, p.104]

It's sweet and vivid, but also a bit messy. [Dec 2005, p.116]

Here, he is still the anthem addict of old, but there are softer, subtler electronic textures and a real sense of reflection. [Nov 2005, p.112]

Every bit as chaotically charming as its predecessor. [Nov 2005, p.108]

It's a less alien, less disturbed and thoroughly lighter record. [Nov 2005, p.104]

Shows a good deal more focus than their last two studio efforts. [Nov 2005, p.104]

Maybe all originals next time? [Sep 2005, p.89]

Lightning Bolt consistently sound like no one else. [Dec 2005, p.105]

A timely reminder of how speculative and exciting American alternative rock was before it discovered Duran Duran and money. [Nov 2005, p.100]

Closer in quality to [his] five immeasurably influential '70s standard-bearers than anything from Wonder's '80s or '90s catalogue. [Dec 2005, p.102]

His bellowed cadences are as timeless and elemental as the blues. [Nov 2005, p.98]

Not every moment is transcendent.... But otherwise, this is that rare thing, an album that shares new pleasures each time you hear it, made by someone who's still excited by music. [Nov 2005, p.102]

An entirely silly album. [Jan 2006, p.120]

The band use trad tools... and trad tricks... But there's nothing trad about their cock-your-head tunings and lose-your-balance rhythms. [Dec 2005, p.100]

An album of gauzily reflective--but engrossingly atmospheric--pieces. [Nov 2005, p.108]

The best Gang Of Four tribute album... ever. [Nov 2005, p.96]

Underpowered covers... confirm the impression of a high-octane artist tired out and running on empty. [Dec 2005, p.105]

As Is Now may be his finest and most consistent record since 1993's Wild Wood; possibly even since the days of The Jam. [Nov 2005, p.100]

This is one darkly alluring trip. [Mar 2006, p.108]

The Magic Numbers have made one of the records--perhaps the record--that 2005 is destined to be remembered for. [Jul 2005, p.110]

A fine, off-beat listen. [Jan 2006, p.124]

An effervescent rush of melody, invention and magic. [Jan 2006, p.119]

A brilliant second album unembarrassed about building on the strengths of the first, delivering 13 knockout tunes betraying not an ounce of flab or self-indulgence. [Nov 2005, p.94]

[Ladytron] have evolved into a dark behemoth, trading much of their Moogy plinky-plonk poise and gentle subversion for ominous rock thunder. [Sep 2005, p.96]

With Z, My Morning Jacket have left their comfort zone, assumed the mantle of firebrands, and delivered a truly momentous work. [Oct 2005, p.96]

Determinedly singing in her own accent was a wise move. [Oct 2005, p.110]

Proves Mark E. Smith's gang have lost nothing of the power to surprise. [Nov 2005, p.104]

Finds [Wolf] firmly ensconced within a four-piece-band format, but still coming up with the lyrical goods on a regular basis. [Dec 2005, p.102]

These gentle, melodic, acoustic guitar-driven songs are outweighed by electronica of the retro-modern variety. [Nov 2005, p.110]

Fans of relentless riffing may be sated, anyone else will be left feeling a little awkward. [Dec 2005, p.98]

By turns, it's both sublime and downright ridiculous. [Oct 2005, p.116]

There's an undeniable feeling of bile over content. [Nov 2005, p.100]

Frustratingly, Adams' insistence on releasing his every whim means that for each wonderful My Heart Is Broken or Pa, there's a rather ordinary The Hardest Part, dreary Silver Bullets or simply stinking Dear John. [Oct 2005, p.112]

Mercifully, the venerable Big Star franchise emerges pretty much unsullied. [Oct 2005, p.108]

Almost every track plays nice sweet-and-sour tricks on the ears. But maximum, piercingly intelligent, heartfelt Crow comes through only in Sending A Letter To God. [Oct 2005, p.98]

Both spectacularly riotous and deliciously bittersweet. [Nov 2005, p.112]

The songs are so wordy, the album so one-paced that it soon begins to sag. [Dec 2005, p.105]

Martey is a definite improvement. [Jun 2005, p.106]

This is a fine record, a real grower, but it also sees a group comfortably adrift. [Sep 2005, p.89]

Engaging, inventive and emotionally charged. [Nov 2005, p.96]

Seems largely unable to go far beyond generic musical stylings and rather lifeless, matt[e]-finish reportage. [Nov 2005, p.97]

Calla aren't only as unique as NYC new wave gets... but beautifully tense too. [Feb 2006, p.103]

Stick on the nine minutes of opener Lufuala Ndonga, turn the bottom end up and stand back. What happens next is unbelievable. [May 2005, p.98]

While Kenny still sounds like he's mumbling mantras to himself, the band's soft-focus allure remains undiminished. [Oct 2005, p.102]

Their best by a country mile. [Oct 2005, p.118]

Has much to recommend it. [Oct 2005, p.101]

By track two... he has slipped back into the familiarity of sinuous guitar lines, fidgety beats and the cheesy language of international disco. [Jul 2005, p.110]

A mature work from a fascinating man. [Oct 2005, p.110]

Brakes give the likeable impression of being a jokey jamming session at a party that got out of hand. [Aug 2005, p.98]

Given her almost unremittingly bleak subject matter, it helps enormously that she's blessed with a unique voice. [Oct 2005, p.108]

CocoRosie sound, blissfully, like no one else. [Sep 2005, p.102]

Any ad creatives hoping for mobile phone campaign music will be disappointed. [Oct 2005, p.102]

Those who thought White Ladder would stand as Gray's crowning achievement may now have to think again. [Oct 2005, p.104]

The combination... works just fine. [Oct 2005, p.114]

After the laboured Driving Rain, a welcome return of that definitive, love-it-or-hate-it McCartney effortlessness. [Oct 2005, p.98]

Uninhibited where "()" felt constipated. [Oct 2005, p.99]

A charged return. [Mar 2006, p.96]

A beautiful waste of time. [Sep 2005, p.88]

A triumph of majestic American pop uplift over bleak real-life adversity. [Oct 2005, p.112]

OOIOO instill Boredoms' cosmic clatter with an air of genre-bursting adventure and mischief. [Nov 2005, p.108]

Imagine Deerhoof without the jazzcore twist'n'turn or Stereolab with extra no-wave muscle and groove. [Jan 2006, p.126]

A slow-burning cracker. [Apr 2006, p.101]

A glorious melange of love, loss, regret, homesickness and romance. [Sep 2005, p.86]

Though not without the odd turkey, it is arguably their most satisfying work since 1978's Some Girls. [Oct 2005, p.100]

Recasting love songs as ghost stories, and with no recycled early '80s moves, The Coral's self-created world seems reinvigorated. [Jun 2005, p.96]

Frankly this sort of thing makes Athlete, Snow Patrol et al sound like fire-breathing berserkers. [Oct 2005, p.102]

Clapton's playing is still fluid. [Oct 2005, p.98]

Where Kloot's self-titled second had moments of glowing, maximalist production, here the sound is pared back. [May 2005, p.106]

The new approach... lets them explore their lyrical side. [Sep 2005, p.94]

[Doesn't] always make satisfactory listening. [Dec 2005, p.104]

Rolls by like a summery blast of mid-'60s AM radio. [Sep 2005, p.89]

Like a series of melancholy one act plays. [Jan 2006, p.131]

Through it all, Veirs' voice remains intimate but deadpan -- a la Suzanne Vega. [Sep 2005, p.96]

Surgery won't catapult the group into the realm of all-time greats, but it's certainly a move in the right direction. [Sep 2005, p.92]

Uneven but exceptionally inventive. [Sep 2005, p.92]

There are times when their admiration for R.E.M. burns a little too brightly... but overall this marks another step forward. [Mar 2005, p.100]

If you didn't know what the band have been capable of, this would be good enough. [Aug 2005, p.94]

Crowell employs his gift for setting complex ideas to twangy hooks. [Oct 2005, p.101]

Live drums and guitars give it a feeling of anarchic playfulness. [Aug 2005, p.101]

This is chic pop electronica. [Aug 2005, p.101]

At times they resemble The B-52's having a bitter row, at others a particularly violent Femmes. [Jul 2005, p.110]

Less has become more for Richard Thompson. [Sep 2005, p.96]

Throws out the genre manual and leaves every cell, body and soul, buzzing. [Dec 2005, p.100]

His gritty voice and folk-art lyricism ensure that these stylistic curveballs carry real emotional resonance. [Sep 2005, p.90]

Lovely. [Oct 2005, p.114]

A second rate version of the original. [Sep 2005, p.102]

The blend of Moulds old and new is highly successful. [Aug 2005, p.100]

Mraz is an entertaining smartass. [Feb 2006, p.98]

Theirs is really a taste worth acquiring. [Sep 2005, p.103]

A welcome drop in intensity. [Oct 2005, p.102]

Honeycomb is really closer to the Dylan of New Morning than Blonde On Blonde; an angry young man finally transformed by a new voice and outlook. [Aug 2005, p.95]

Experimental longueurs and lack of vocals mean this trip's not for everyone, but out-rock fans should get on board. [Aug 2005, p.109]

Whereas Eno's purest ambient music has such an organic abstractness the listener stops thinking about what is actually producing the sounds, Lanois favours guitars, which links his music more to established styles. [Jul 2005, p.110]

Too much of it passes by easily, leaving little lasting impression. [Aug 2005, p.101]

By focusing on the temporal, he reduces himself to simple protest music rather than timeless folk. [Aug 2005, p.104]