A succession of sprawling mini-epics--throbbing with energy, insidious basslines and pulsing chords--prevail. [Mar 2016, p.95]

For a rapper who has excelled in redefining the artform, The Life Of Pablo is a sprawling, uneven and curiously unfinished sounding affair with a dearth of recognisable bangers. Much less than the sum of its parts when stacked against the grandiloquent orchestral sweep of 2010’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy or pared-back abrasive aural sculpture of predecessor Yeezus, it suggests West is merely human after all.

The quality dips and pitches, occasionally stuck at third on the bill at the Bill And Gate. There are tiny revelations too. [Mar 2016, p.104]

A potent debut that juxtaposes pastoral lyricism with urban angst. [Mar 2016, p.96]

Capable, often catchy, but the Shaker fail to truly stir. [Mar 2016, p.100]

Feed The Fire takes Lana Del Rey to a spacey summit meeting with Lee Hazlewood of Summer Wine after a conference call with Sweden's own Concretes. [Mar 2016, p.99]

Their emotional post-club grooves are the real star. [Mar 2016, p.95]

On his third solo album, Steve Mason veers dangerously close to that overfarmed damaged-earnest-sensitive-bloke territory, but luckily he doesn't seem capable of schmaltz or emotional cheap-shots. [Mar 2016, p.95]

Again, the result is terrific with Hunter, band and producer in perfect harmony. [Mar 2016, p.92]

A solo debut with am encyclopaedic range. [Mar 2016, p.96]

Inventive, swinging, dud-free and very musical: terrific entertainment by any standards. [Mar 2016, p.94]

Lovers of their earlier electro-cumbia won't be disappointed, but nor will reggae fans or Garifuna aficionados. [Mar 2016, p.98]

Here he mines Suicide and Depeche Mode's sleazy synth overtures. [Mar 2016, p.100]

Emotions unemoted can work, but Good Advice feels too disciplined/stylised. [Mar 2016, p.98]

She delivers twisted, nostalgic jazz, flanked by her Spanish husband's eerie Portuguese guitar.... Lovely. [Mar 2016, p.98]

Mavis tries to stamp authority on songs written by ward's musician pals.... They're not all great though--neither the Charity Rose or Nick Cave contributions hit the spot. [Mar 2016, p.99]

More euphoric indie fits and starts from Hooray For Earth's Noel Heroux. [Mar 2016, p.100]

This repeat performance from marginally less familiar names might seem like a poor substitute for a new project. Happily, it's not. [Mar 2016, p.97]

It's an artful and lyrically dense synth-pop LP. [Mar 2016, p.96]

2012;s Rhine Gold album leant more on burbling electronica, while Grasque pushes further still, into slow R&B jams, chillwave, even George Michael when Makrigiannis uses his higher register. [Mar 2016, p.95]

Their reunion album fizzes with energy--although it retains the underlying melancholia that defined their previous work. [Mar 2016, p.95]

For all their organic methods, these Animals often come across so robotic and constricted--witness natural Selection's echoes of woozy Chicago house classic Washing machine--stripping those painstaking vocal arrangements of their humanity. [Mar 2016, p.94]

Much of the airbrushed pop-metal nous that elevated 1983's Pyromania and 1987's Hysteria back in evidence. [Feb 2016, p.92]

An album in glorious hock to improvisation, rhythm and texture. [Mar 2016, p.95]

A sense of growth, impermanence and yearning runs through these songs. [Mar 2016, p.96]

Almost entirely instrumental apart from the occasional detour into Floyd-like orbits, this is yet another bold statement from this ever-changing and challenging group. [Mar 2016, p.96]

Culturally rich, and instantly identifiable as excellent, this one's an extra-hot essential. [Mar 2016, p.97]

A rich score of chamber melancholy and electronic disquiet. [Mar 2016, p.97]