A definate contender when those Best of the Year polls gets underway. [Aug 2008, p.105]

Laveaux may have set out to rediscover Caribbean roots, but she also underlines how much the islands influenced the early rock'n'roll and soul that emanated from New Orleans ... but with the modernist sheen of France's A.L.B.E.R.T production team. [Apr 2018, p.94]

The Blind Boys Of Alabama and Norah Jones pops up in Sweet Things Just For You, but no guest can overshadow June's sweet and salty tones. [Jun 2025, p.89]

Foxx reaches pensionable age in 2013, but the creative fires still burn white hot. [Mar 2013, p.90]

Les Revenants is more about establishing a complex, unsettling atmosphere than slashing Bernard Herrmann-esque quiet/loud dynamics. [Apr 2013, p.90]

Williamson outlines her personal mythology; as a lover, a daughter and, by the closing Piano Love, a future mother, via songs sung in a resonant, often Patti Smith-like voice, over a heat haze backing of Rhodes piano and guitar. [Jul 2018, p.90]

Metronomy have tapped into a rich seam of eccentric pop for their third studio release. [may 2011, p.114]

A suite of songs that are more reflective than self-pitying, and unlike her last, beats-free album, often grounded by solid grooves that allow her bewitching melodies to soar. [May 2024, p.85]

Succinct and entirely self-preformed, Regan's typically poetic sixth album conjures a singular, almost meditative mood via fingerpicked guitars, backwards-recorded instruments and subtle textures. [Sep 2019, p.95]

O'Brien sees dead people, spits at love, puts himself inside the heads of fellow bus passengers and defies anyone to categorise his music. It's a rich experience making the attempt though. [Jul 2010, p.92]

For all the grey matter on display, this is a Technicolor record. [Jul 2013, p.94]

They know their limits, and while they are prepared to test them, gently, Marauder isn't in the market for revelation. With songs this subtle and steely, though, reinforcement is good enough. [Sep 2018, p.87]

Slimmer, leaner, more disciplined than its predecessor.

She further unleashes her psyche in a voice of throaty, Diamanda Galas-style intesity. [Jan 2022, p.88]

Makes for some striking textures. [Apr 2005, p.97]

Though the album opens with an isolated funky bass line, Butterss proves a democratic bandleader, often ceding the spotlight to saxophonist Josh Johnson and guitarist Gregory Uhlmann, Butterss’ companions in another fine group, SML. [Dec 2024, p.87]

Its [an eccentric take on the Stones' Wild Horses] unlikely beauty is typical of Taylor's bold approach here. [May 2026, p.85]

This covers collection moves with mysterious grace. [Feb 2017, p.90]

As the album progresses, a powerful expansion of Del Rey's folkier inclinations. [Apr 2021, p.80]

Black Rivers is an excellent surprise. [Mar 2015, p.94]

Song Of Co-Aklan definitively affirms Coughlan's place amid Ireland's poetic pantheon. [Apr 2021, p.80]

One of Neubauten's very best releases. [Jan 2014, p.98]

This union [with Lady Gaga producers Yves Tumor and Lawrence Rothman and Taylor Swift co-writer Jack Antonoff] pushes his emotional, sophisticated rock in vivid new directions. [Mar 2025, p.84]

Any goth undertow is easily outweighed by post-rock grandeur. [Nov 2004, p.95]

Kudos goes to the French Afrobeaters Fanga and Moroccan trance master Abdallah Guinea for finding a new spin on Fela Kuti's funk. [Feb 2013, p.89]

Forever Is A Feeling is layered, lush and contemplative. [May 2025, p.86]

Ultimately, this is music with therapeutic benefits, for the listener as much as for its creator. [Jun 2025, p.89]

Devotees of J Dilla and Flying Lotus in particular should investigate. [Apr 2013, p.95]