There is a stark grandeur in songs like the almost Leonard Cohenesque title track, and the gritty, abstract New York Is Killing Me. [Mar 2010, p97]

His first, full-tilt protest record... he comes out swinging, in every respect. [Oct 2004, p.110]

As the concerns that drive Lytle's lyrics lift out, the well-known tremulous quiver and fragile vocals become increasingly irreplaceable, the perfect medium for songs about articulating the intangible. [Jun 2003, p.94]

The work of a genuine individualist. [Aug 2001, p.108]

Epic, exhilarating, extraordinary. [Feb 2004, p.98]

This crisp, Rick Rubin-produced outing packs away a machine that was well-oiled to the last. [Jan. 2001, p.107]

Earthquake Glue sees a return to the satisfyingly stylistic cohesion of 2001's Isolation Drills, ... while retaining the impressionistic aural fug that's so key to the band's appeal. [Sep 2003, p.98]

Arguably Plant's most Zeppelinesque solo work to date. [May 2005, p.92]

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

She gives each song an unforced intimacy. [Feb 2009, p.115]

On opener 'Satellites,' with Neu!-like locomotion, big guitars and electronics, and melodic twists, they trump their better-known neighbours. [Dec 2008, p.111]

By doing exactly the same thing for all that time, and by avoiding building up a public image that would come before the music, Cale has come full circle and now sounds fresh and relevant once more. [May 2009, p.110]

The Chieftains lay a vibrant carpet of colour but veering between joyous and heartbreaking, the fiery Mexican element is what makes it so compelling. [Apr 2010, p.105]

The rest is equally compelling, oscillating between eccentric skronk essays, woozy nocturnes, and harmonic hymns. It's jazz shorn of cliche that demands to be taken on its pigeonhole rebuffing merits. [Mar 2010, p.92]

The very subtlety of Hon Hoopkins' production may be why it sounds so unique. [May 2011, p.114]

Stars offers deep dreamlike comfort, undercut by the melancholy violin of founding member Noel Sayre, who tragically died during the album's recording. [Sep 2011, p.96]

Sometimes playful, sometimes starkly beautiful. [Dec. 2011 pg. 95]

Two dark, roiling 22-minute tracks that conjure up a world of nature in turmoil. [Feb 2012, p.97]

With Audience of One he applies his mastery of both instruments [drums and guitar] to a surprisingly diverse four-part suite. [Apr 2012, p.95]

Starts with elegant Congolese rumba then transforms into something angrier and more powerful... What lets it down, however, is an unfocused mid-section. [Jan 2012, p.101]

Their fourth LP might be their best. [Jun 2012, p.93]

Exquisitely sung, swept over with stormy emotions, Wild Dog's autumnal mysteries are alluring indeed. [Jul 2012, p.85]

This fierce debut [is] an essential purchase for anyone who has fallen for the jazzier end of the Ethiopiques spectrum. [Sep 2012, p.97]

This is effectively one long, fuzzily fragile, ever-orbiting tone poem. [Aug 2013, p.91]

Toure sounds at his best, then, with distorted guitars behind him, brooding on an album of menacing, slow-burn songs reflecting on a rough year in Mali. [Aug 2013, p.96]

As soulful and vital a British jazz record as there's been in a while. [Nov 2013, p.89]

Defiant, confused, heartbreaking: Hank3 is country music in a nutshell. [Jan 2014, p.101]

There's always a soulful undercurrent to James's work, exemplified by album's deliciously dream title cut. [Jul 2014, p.92]