On Fenian they back that shrewdness with songs of depth and substance. [Jun 2026, p.90]

13 is a shape-shifting delight sans longueurs. [Jun 2026, p.88]

Reverberant secular folk, with spectral guitar and magic-realist vocals. [May 2026, p.93]

Grohl can still subvert his own formula: opener Caught In The Echo brilliantly synthesises Ian MacKaye with Paul McCartney, and the needling pulse of Window is superior Josh Homme-age. The wired Child Actor, meanwhile, reveals a conflicted man behind the persona. [Jun 2026, p.86]

There is nothing brash or student bout these subtle, layered songs: her vocals remain hushed, confiding, blurry, a distant cousin of Justin Vernon's abstract exhalations. [Jun 2026, p.84]

If Come Closer occasionally strays into the arena of techno-hippy (admittedly a compliment on the siren-squall of Ring The Alarm), the duo provide enough incentives to keep you there quite happily for a while. [Jun 2026, p.90]

It is a little heavier on the electric-piano than the louche post-punkers' previous outings, with Diaphanous, Map Of The Night Sky and Out Sweet Sould reaching out toward the baroque, Coral-style musical theatre that defined Bid's records as Scarlet's Well. [May 2026, p.89]

If dark forces are gathering, her songs do not lack an icy beauty. [Jun 2026, p.90]

The music is as sharply observed as the writing. [May 2026, p.84]

Fidelity is beautiful, diaristic and a very real portrait of modern black womanhood. [May 2026, p.86]

They're also practitioners of the ancient art form of popcraft, constructing tight, clever confections then working with longtime co-producer Pat Dillett to ensure the hooks are delivered cleanly and efficiently. They remain funny, too. [Jun 2026, p.88]

Muscular, melodic... this is the best outing yet from the Etheridge-Travis Soft Machine. [May 2026, p.90]

Kammerkonzert's immediacy and dynamism feel more like a concert recording than studio album, powered by the incandescent energy of its creator. [Jun 2026, p.93]

The impression left by Total Dive is that Brown Horse still have many miles in them yet. [Jun 2026, p.91]

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]

The urgency is tangible, as is the sense that while Simpson is smashing up genres as a rapid response to extreme times, he’s also landed on one of the best ideas of his increasingly remarkable career. Mutiny After Midnight doesn’t propose an escape from the now, it demands we confront it head-on, by being our most righteous and uninhibited selves. [Jun 2026, p.84]

Seductive and meditative. [Jun 2026, p.93]

Those smitten with Myriam Gendron and Josephine foster's more direct missives will be instantly seduced. [May 2026, p.89]

It's frequently beautiful psych-pop songs throb with a gentle electronic pulse. [May 2026, p.93]

Like Bridgers, Nagler is clearly fond of Elliott Smith's slow-release devastation - see Hammer And Nail or Another Mona Lisa - but even her most downbeat songs come with an easy, melodic shrug that keeps her on the sunnier side of the street. [Apr 2026, p.92]

Eternal Hand, Dream Of Mine and the love-up, XTC-flavoured relish The Possibility honour the band's history and mystery. [Apr 2026, p.86]

It sets the same intense listening pace as XTC, Jim O'Rourke or second-act Black Country, New Road. Amid the coiled violence (In The Blink Of An Eye) and brutalist romance (One Night) lie moments of pastoral loveliness. [May 2026, p.86]

Befitting the audiophile sonic explorer that Vernon is - sound reliably excellent. [May 2026, p.86]

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]

On fire indeed. [May 2026, p.89]

Three singular voices, one might murmuration. [May 2026, p.90]

One of their best, with most tracks written by various band members. [May 2026, p.89]

Despite being awash with regret, this record never falls apart, keeping its integrity, holding itself together with warmth and grace. [May 2026, p.88]