Afrucaine 808 have perfected a highly effective remedy to standing still. [Feb 2016, p.94]

The first seven tracks are wonderfully lush and mellow, but loses its way on the closing two-song suite, War/Peace. [Feb 2016, p.96]

Jet Plane And Oxbow pulls together crisp, motorik grooves, dirty great guitar riffs and arms-aloft choruses. [Feb 2016, p.90]

As was the case on 2013's Until In Excess, Imperceptible UFO, seem poised equidistant between the mellifluousness of '70s Beach Boys and prog rock opacity. [Feb 2016, p.93]

A debilitating thrash/death doom speedball. [Jan 2016, p.98]

The deliciously daft Litter Love, all skronky synth and cavernous twang guitar, Stoltz comes on like The Wombles' nemesis--and dishes enough pop suss to brighten Mike Batt's eyes. Fans of Kelley's wonky back-pages gem You're Out Of This World will also lap-up Wobbly. [Dec 2015, p.89]

The set includes seven songs left off This Note's, many now sturdier than versions previously issued. [Feb 2016, p.104]

Sessions and collaborations abound, finally collected here. [Feb 2016, p. 104]

Although Gibbs's lyrics rarely veer beyond their survivalist comfort zones, his innate ability to switch up styles allows him to scale the gaping chasm between Forever And A Day's moody confessions and the unreconstructed boasts of Cold Ass Nigga with ease. [Feb 2016, p.94]

Though arriving with less of cacophonous attack, their crush of distortion and Elena Tonra's swooning vocals is rooted in the same psychedelic heartland. [Feb 2016, p.91]

A touch of feyness lingers. Not much, though. [Feb 2016, p.95]

These "little" songs have the feel of home-studio genesis, thanks to pitter-pattering drum machines, the unflashy layering of instruments, and the author's intimate lyrical reflections. [Feb 2016, p.94]

Never just black and white, nor blatantly "cinematic," it operates in subtle shades of grey and sepia, flushing with urgent instrumental colour when the internal simmering becomes too much. [Feb 2016, p.94]

It's not that Tortoise have got their groove back--they've never lacked compelling rhythm--rather, they've rediscovered their alchemical ability to conjure the atmospherically and melodically sublime from premium grade popular and art music precedents. [Jan 2016, p.89]

Less direct than its 2012 predecessor The Shadow Of Heaven, Suicide Songs collects richly arranged reflections which climax with A Cocaine Christmas And An Alcoholic's New Year. [Feb 2016, p.96]

The upshot shocks with unexpected new ground. [Feb 2015, p.93]

New View furthers Friedberger's quest to declutter, finding great pop and occasional profundity in getting to the point and letting her tunes ring clear. [Feb 2016, p.92]

Nutty as Emotional Mugger is, it's a joyful trip. [Feb 2016, p.91]

This album pop-pops with pleasure, sunshine and subversion. [Feb 2016, p.96]

Night Thoughts is the work of a band very much at home in the here and now, all the while looking forward. Still something else, still something wonderful. [Feb 2016, p.88]

A debut packed with infectious fun. [Feb 2016, p.94]

Hymns resembles a settling breath. [Feb 2016, p.94]

It proves to be an oblique, sometimes outre, but always artistic reinvestigation rather than an indulgent lap of honour around erstwhile glories. [Feb 2016, p.94]

Almost inevitably, Adore Life overcompensates, but in a good way. This is Savages' love album. [Feb 2016, p.91]

Theatrical swishes of piano, mellotron, guitars and percussion back her powerful, red velvet voice. [Feb 2016, p.98]

The wiry Dubliner is stealthily building a similarly indelible songbook. [Feb 2016, p.92]

She's assembled an intriguing set of duets. [Nov 2015, p.91]

This collection suffers slightly from inconsistency--possibly because it's cut from several different shows. [Jan 2016, p.90]