Ancestral Star finds Barn Owl alchemising those touchstones into new sonic vistas evoking either nocturnal desert chill or fathomless cosmic expanse. [Dec 2010, p.97]

Emmy's most effective tool is a sense of place, and her journey from experience to the finished work, saturated in detail, is often a lot darker than her measured delivery suggests. [Mar 2016, p.94]

The Dubliner's fourth album of original material is his most varied sonically, yet is perversely his least fussy, happy to let a simple melody be carried by his distinctively sweet, slightly prim diction. [Oct 2018, p.84]

They've added anger to their traditional wall of ferocious sleekness built on sizzling guitars and unyielding electronica. [Jul 2021, p.80]

Longstreth still doesn't make it easy on the listener with his frenetic arrangements. But, this time around, the sense of plainly expressed emotions is strong. [Aug 2018, p.91]

The Cherry Thing is quite a brilliant combination, with its creepy, freaky sound and clever reinventions. [Jul 2012, p.92]

With his amiable croak and humour warming his observations, Manhattan is no bitter mope. [Dec 2015, p.90]

Production is dense, grainy and atmospheric, with Corby's layered vocals to the fore. [Apr 2016, p.94]

One of this unlikely old master's most hauntingly satisfying works. [Dec 2016, p.90]

Now he only resembles himself--a distinctive and exhilarating vituperative voice celebrating anything from glam rock to beans on toast. [Jan 2017, p.102]

He [Scott Mogan] references Phillip Glass, anti-humanist literature and aerial photos of industrial pollution. [Jan 2017, p.104]

Born on a Gangster Star is the more accessible volume. ... The result is a thrilling excursion, possessing an otherworldly ambience and substance you'll spend months decoding, every spin yielding something new. [Aug 2017, p.88]

A somewhat arid listening experience. [Jul 2018, p.104]

Carla Dal Forno's newest release sounds strangely fragile and vulnerable. ... Interspersed with exquisitely forlorn Eno-esque instrumenetals. [Nov 2019, p.95]

A record which is less abrasive and more measured, if slightly wishy-washy from time to time. [Sep 2013, p.96]

Portland's college-rock heirs downsize with Peter Buck-featuring sixth album. [Feb. 2011, p. 106]

Scratchily downbeat, this is a true artist's vision in that Hood can remove himself from the pain without stinting on the honesty. [Oct 2012, p.82]

With a shrewd selection of material by the likes of Tom Waits, Josh Ritter, Eliza Gilkyson, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Anohni and Zoe Milford, some effectively subtle, engagingly tasteful arrangements and an immaculate production by Joe Henry, it all sounds of the day for the day. [Apr 2018, p.95]

An account of how virulent idealogy can draw in the most rational people. [Jun 2016, p.97]

The sound is '80s indie, air and water. [Apr 2019, p.96]

While Riddick doesn't boast the vocal chops of his heroes, telling interventions from Q-Tip, Leon Sylvers III and The Doggfather himself flesh out his questing intergalactic creations with charm to spare. [Oct 2015, p.89]

There is a levity to Uniform Distortion that differentiates it from all James's previous work. Indeed, work is the last thing it resembles. [Aug 2018, p.86]

The album pays in cleft between Darnielle's left and right brains and strikes the perfect balance between wild imagery and plaintive sentiment. [May 2011, p.112]

Few Pretenders albums have honoured the classic line-up's template so faithfully or successfully as Hate For Sale. [Aug 2020, p.86]

An ongoing reconnection with the experimental dandy in the mirror lends his latest work's stylistic pinballing a fun quotient that compensates for it's unevenness. [Apr 2012, p.84]

No one said living "woke" was gonna be easy, but Thick turn the friction into furious, satisfying pop. [May 2020, p.95]

Mann's voice remains exquisite, her lyrics cinematically vivid, often painfully so, but the album possesses a chimerical looseness, a fuzzy aimless drift that is simultaneously haunting and somniferous. [Dec 2021, p.87]

As the plot inexorably winds on to its tense denouement, the depth of tempest's storytelling ensures the album yields more with each further play. [Jul 2014, p.88]