A confident and substantial evolution of their sound. [Apr 2024, p.89]

There's no arguing with Fogerty's singing either - nor his distinctive guitar; part anger, part mad joy, like he's playing mid-Apocalypse. As for the arrangements, they're pretty much can't-believe-it's-not-Creedence. [Sep 2025, p,86]

[Kozelek] has never sounded more inspired, achieving a rich balance of haunting atmosphere and twangy grit. [Feb 2004, p.101]

His innate genius for transforming base building blocks into rhythmically compelling, humanist dance gold shines through. [Aug 2015, p.89]

Spektor delivers everything with such guileless brio that you never notice the join [between troubadour style to chrome-clean hip hop].

The cast of Beautiful fits with unforeseen subtlety. [Nov 2017, p.103]

There's a slow-burning moodiness... together with a new directness. [Mar 2005, p.101]

Rather than slicing the Fleet Foxes cucumber too thin, Poor Man adds a whole new flavour. [Sep 2012, p.86

Jana Horn is a singing magic eye picture somewhere between the scratchy emotional static of early Cat Power and itchy Talk Talk Spirit Of Eden jazz. Unfocus and see. [Feb 2026, p.84]

It's the heartfelt lyrics, however, that will keep you coming back to this album time and time again. [Oct 2014, p.92]

Rully Shabara and Wukir Suryadi call spirits from the soil with enough power to trouble the Richter scale. [Feb 2019, p.91]

Here the formula is still fresh and potent, with punchy production, twisting song structures and sweeping choruses. [Feb 2017, p.96]

It possesses a charm and innocence that's genuinely disarming. [Oct 2023, p.88]

With Fate, Dr. Dog have begun to deliever the sort of super-confident songs that, up until now, have proved frustratingly out of reach. [Sep 2008, p.108]

The Stockholm group return; their cement veneer hiding a riptide of emotions. [Dec. 2010, p. 100]

He manages to retain every essential element of blues tradition, sounding as basic as Hooker, yet at the same time probes ever forward into areas previously unexplored. [Sep 2009, p.96]

Crain has always been good, but on A Small Death she's genuinely great. [Aug 2020, p.92]

What might be a bleak set of songs about fragile ecosystems and unsustainable lives is saved from desperation by the warmth of the instrumentation – strings, synths, piano – and the watchful humanity of the lyrics. [May 2024, p.84]

Haggard's now 73 and I Am What I Am is as good as anything he has ever done. [June 2010, p. 94]

One could argue the 68 tracks of live Material and multiple versions of certain songs - five of Heathen opener Sunday, for example - might be overkill. .... The exclusive four-disc Live At Montreux Jazz Festival, recorded on July 18, 2002, has a weak sleeve, but the music is blistering. [Nov 2025, p.100]

John's piano at the Festival Hall brought a stentorian new dimension to a sped-up Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going To Be A Long, Long Time) and the demos offer the sense of a band working out how to get the best from John's freewheeling melodies. In the end, they turned out to be just what was required. [May 2023, p.101]

The occasional slo-mo reverb-guitar twang, and on The Answers To The Questions a weary beatbox, cap off a supremely unsettling update on Lynchian pop weirdness. [Sep 2024, p.92]

The fistful of Memento Mori tracks - especially the slow building Speak To Me - confirm what a strong, brooding album it was, but they're rattled off early in the set, leaving a glorious cavalcade of (mostly) hits for the second half. [Feb 2026, p.81]

Mraz is an entertaining smartass. [Feb 2006, p.98]

[An] accomplished compilation. [Oct 2012, p.100]

King Of A Land is an elegant, warmly orchestrated work. [Jul 2023, p.89]

The title track and Singularity speak of a trajectory where AI gives a final push to an already cannibalistic pop culture. But this thesis is spiced with joyous synthesis. [Jul 2026, p.91]

Cooder has history in his brain, veins and fingertips as well as a gift for sound collage. [Nov 2014, p.109]