This is thrilling, incontrovertible evidence of a major new talent in our midst. [Mar 2006, p.102]

Theirs remains a gallows wit. [Nov 2005, p.112]

One of the most vital and imaginative records that [Coldcut has] ever made. [Jan 2006, p.120]

At moments Other People's Lives sounds weird and forced, but it's never less than fascinating and it's frequently sublime. [Feb 2006, p.93]

All this ambitioin coagulates into an irresistible, tumbling, tune-filled whole. [Dec 2006, p.118]

A frustrating listen. [Jan 2006, p.119]

A solo album with not enough of the soloist. [Jun 2006, p.102]

This is fine singer-songwriter Americana, particularly good on the ballads. [May 2006, p.100]

Vibrant, vividly colourful and high spirited. [Jan 2006, p.146]

Pleasing as Trevor Horn's simpatico production on 2003's Dear Catastrophe Waitress was, Tony Hoffer has picked up the baton and ran with it, capitalising on the band's increased musical confidence while preserving vital hints of indie scuzz. [Feb 2006, p.92]

What Orton has sacrificed in terms of post-clubbing appeal she has replaced with grit and poignancy seldom heard since the LA canyons were in their pomp. [Mar 2006, p.96]

When the jokes stop... the relentless cantering pace and slightly predictable pedal steel accoutrements that characterise the bulk of the material here can struggle to hold your attention. [Mar 2006, p.92]

Herren never lets his music become too easy-going or the listener too settled. [Mar 2006, p.108]

2006's album of the year may have arrived early. [Mar 2006, p.104]

Swearing At Motorists are drunk'n'roll successors to The Replacements and Guided By Voices. [Mar 2006, p.102]

His supersonic flow frequently dazzles, yet he remains intelligible and intelligent throughout. [Mar 2006, p.106]

He's at his best when making compulsive, synthetic house anthems. [Mar 2006, p.106]

Well before David Essex provides a gruff guest turn on Relocate, you are entirely won over by this record, brimming with music from a postcode synonymous with class. [Jul 2005, p.106]

For every shot that hits the target, however, another flies into the blue. [Sep 2005, p.92]

By putting some warm flesh on her musical bones, Chan Marshall is punching her considerable songwriting weight. [Jan 2006, p.116]

The band's most persuasive album. [Feb 2006, p.92]

Pretty, but pointless. [Feb 2006, p.95]

More than a curiosity. [Jan 2006, p.131]

His sheer enthusiasm and peerless pop nous are enough to carry things along. [Jan 2006, p.124]

Simply played, gently sung, graceful, literate, folk rock. [Apr 2006, p.98]

Sheer liquid mayhem. [Dec 2005, p.98]

A tear-stained, yet tasteful, requiem. [Feb 2006, p.93]

Unfortunately, the disc highlights a new hole: storytelling. [Feb 2006, p.92]

Pure gonzo blues-rock boogie. [Mar 2006, p.94]

Innovative it ain't. [Jan 2006, p.132]

There are some great moments. [Nov 2006, p.101]

Their strictly modal, contemplative soundscapes have rarely sounded more compelling. [Mar 2006, p.93]

If her murmurous slurring defies full comprehension, her gentle sadness, hesitant beats and melancholic piano settings match the odd clear phrase. [Mar 2004, p.102]

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]

Patchier than Jacksonville. [Mar 2006, p.92]

Reveals a still intense and enthralling grittiness to her performances. [Feb 2006, p.93]

They're a group that believes in a thing called love. Happily, however, they don't believe in a thing called restraint. [Dec 2005, p.98]

A surprisingly consistent listen, albeit one that's akin to gorging on Christmas cake. [Feb 2006, p.102]

A bijou flashback to a place of quiet nirvana. [Feb 2006, p.107]

There's a beguiling musicality at play that puts pleasing melody at the centre of even the most outre detour. [Dec 2005, p.102]

Finds an uncommonly energised Oldham ranging across his capacious back catalogue, his palpable enthusiasm manifesting in unlikely between-song whoops of joy. [Dec 2005, p.116]

As each track segues into the next, this is a breathless listen, but the overall scheme works. [Dec 2005, p.99]

A worthy snapshot of a band at its peak. [Dec 2005, p.104]

Motion Sickness won't convert the uninitiated, but offers subtle craftsmanship and deft musicianship. [Feb 2006, p.95]

Heady, bodily, beautiful stuff. [Jan 2006, p.126]

Kate Bush is the greatest living British artist in song and this is her masterpiece. [Dec 2005, p.96]

It's not flawless, though it's damn good, and consistently engrossing. [Feb 2006, p.94]

Best savoured as a whole, a magical mystery of Pollard's pop-obsessed, haphazardly-filed subconscious. [Feb 2006, p.107]

Slick mediocrity. [Dec 2005, p.98]

None of these tunes conveys a fraction of the emotional ardour of those on the first (self-penned) Sun Kil Moon album. [Feb 2006, p.103]

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]