This is mostly an album about England, about hearts beating wild and strong through wind whipped, rain-lashed, solace-in-introspection northern living. [May 2009, p.97]

Mavis's voice is still strong and convincing. [Jun 2019, p.87]

Ripped + Torn attests to the sophistication of their songwriting with this brutalist form. [Aug 2025, p.80]

Muscular adaptations of Stephen Stills' How Far and Parliament's Get On Out Of The Rain stray into '70s Who territory, with stirring arrangements and hot Townshend licks, while his courageous tilt at Nick Cave piano ballad Into My Arms roils with heartache that can;t be faked. [Jun 2018, p.89]

East India Youth has barely tinkered with the formula for his second full-length--a good thing. [May 2015, p.93]

There’s joyous invention at work here, along with nagging hooks which bury themselves deeper with every play.

It's all Iggy-growl motorik country-boogie and modal psychedelic blues jams. [May 2014, p.96]

The Redeemer finds Blunt adding a series of potent new weapons to an already well-stocked musical armoury. [Jun 2013, p.88]

In amongst the jumble of influences, trad indie-guitar Parquet remains: in, say, the early Go-Betweens-y Just Shadows, and the galvanising lyrics of collective consciousness - written pre-pandemic, but wonderfully inspiring for late 2021. [Nov 2021, p.84]

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]

Aoba's hushed voice makes for an immersive meld of indie-folk, classical and jazz. [Jan 2022, p.91]

A beguiling outing, cinematic in scope and ambition. [Jan 2022, p.86]

This is no holding exercise. Instead, think beautifully conceived curio. [Apr 2023, p.85]

It works beautifully, the band gently distorting their songwriting surfaces wit sudden psychedelic sun-spots and experimental flares. [Dec 2025, p.81]

There are comeback and then there's the new Cult album opener. [Jun 2012, p.88]

Rock solid debut from an exceptional singer. [Dec 2025, p.86]

For all its survivalist blues and everyman politicking, Mourning really connects when the Ali gets up close and personal. [Oct 2012, p.89]

The sum total is unmistakably, and welcomingly, Interpol. [Oct 2014, p.89]

All in all, this is an unqualified triumph. [Nov 2015, p.86]

Sean Lennon continues to impress. [Nov 2006, p.104]

It was a scratchy and sassy sound, funky and fun.

Memory Man comes at you with a hesitant rush, portraying bespectacled, nice Mr. Hales as an improbably suburban Jeff Buckley--no glamour, all passion. [Oct 2007, p.94]

This self-written, almost wholly self-played treasure trove of lavishly arranged widescreen epics owes as much to John Barry as John Grant. [Feb 2025, p.90]

Throughout there is a sense of making music for the sheer thrill of it. ... This is Newcombe celebrating the moment and at his best. [Aug 2022, p.92]

Hellfire, for all its sporadic intensity, is less harsh than previous Black Midi records. [Aug 2022, p.83]

In these crop-to-fit times, omnivorous, visionary pop is at a premium, and there's all the more reason to prize an omnivorous visionary pop record like the Week That Was. [Sep 2008, p.96]

When his sturdy tunes do hit the jackpot, one wonders why Kirsty MacColl's hit with A New England is such a rare cover. .... Like all political songsmiths, Bragg seeks to transcend the didactic and stir the blood, and largely succeeds. [Dec 2023, p.101]

Somehow, he and producer Jake Davis have conjured an utterly compelling account of Tyler's lurching mental health. [Jun 2025, p.87]