The music is taut, the vocals, if anything, under-emoted, and the overall feeling is that of a muse rediscovered. [Jun 2009, p.108]

Its first side pelts past in 12 minutes, melding the brittle charms of Modern Lovers and Wire with a muscular garage rock dynamism: the joyous hurtle of Down On Loving makes like a more savage Strokes, while the caustic Answer To Yourself draws the fuzzy '60s classicism of the The Black Lips into tighter focus, a Nuggets-worthy anthem. [Feb 2010, p. 95]

An enjoyably bad-ass record. [Feb 2002, p.102]

It's ecentric, then, but charmingly so. [Apr 2010, p.102]

Canny, foundation-shaking urban pop. [Jun 2015, p.91]

Ultimately, the only benchmark springing to mind is the similarly-styledearly-'80sFranco-Belgians Antena. Feu De Garde is that good. [Jun 2024, p.88]

Her band is spare and empathetic, and she's a smart enough writer to avoid mawkishness and dramatics. Which just makes it grab you harder. [Aug 2014, p.93]

This is a sparse, minimalist ode to joy. [Nov 2019, p.88]

Sometimes co-written with The The’s guitarist Barrie Cadogan or keyboardist DC Collard, these 12 songs cement Johnson’s ‘cherishable agitator’ status. And – whisper it – there’s hope here, too. [Oct 2024, p.86]

Defiantly dark, dense and hazy hip hop and paranoid urban blues. [Nov 2015, p.93]

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

The easygoing Natural Information may be Callahan’s latter-day signature tune, and here daubed in Clarence Clemons-flavoured sax and quicksilver guitar, it sounds like the Eagles at a shamanic retreat. CPR for the soul. [Nov 2024, p.92]

This quick-fire sequel brutally updates the sabre-sharp formula. [Dec 2014, p.93]

Retains an elegant spirituality. [Mar 2021, p.89]

A set weighted towards her 2007-to-present day material, mainly modern freedom songs performed with energy and joy. At 79, Mavis's vocal retains its gutsy passion and vitality. [Mar 2019, p.95]

Immersive and thought-provoking record. [Apr 2019, p.87]

While the drum-less duo reach a wonderfully womb-like stasis amid Moth To The Flame's nine drawn-out minutes - Weber's whispers all at sea in a deep duvet of guitars - they're also unafraid to explore darker territory. [Jun 2020, p.91]

Lightburn continues to enthral though, his heartfelt, inventive arrangements testament to many questing hours in the studio. [Dec 2008, p.112]

Halo digs deep into the unknown and bring back unexpected brilliance. [Jun 2017, p.93]

Slowly Paradise are slow love songs, but slow love songs that, thanks to Chenaux's playing, suggest an impermanence at the heart of all romance, a chaos at life's core. [Jun 2018, p.93]

[A] mini-masterpiece. [Jul 2017, p.105]

Can a band that has been as good as defunct since the 1980s truly recapture their spark? The answer appears to be yes. [Apr 2011, p.98]

Catches the sense of wistful dislocation that comes with trying to go home again, the after-hours sidewalk cafe intimacy of Manejando Por Pando or Cancion Mama suggesting quiet reckonings and reorientations. [Aug 2025, p.83]

Every song on Two Dancers reflects the meticulous intelligence of master stylists. [Sep 2009, p.90]

A triumph, possessing a universal appeal that extends beyond the dancefloor straight to the heart. [Sep 2001, p.100]

Mambo Cosmico is largely a carnival of delights. [May 2018, p.95]

In all, far more touching than we've been allowed. [Oct 2020, p.92]

KoKoKo! wield improvised technology with the deftness of touch to create the kind of pop music you'd expect to hear in the best post-punk disco in heaven. [Sep 2019, p.94]