A joy. [Sep 2020, p.84]

Lyrically it's one of Cohen's least ambiguous albums... Musically it's melodic and memorable. [Nov 2004, p.96]

Listen closely and you'll probably detect the likes of Wire, XTC and New Order but like contemporaries Hot Hot Heat and Ted Leo's Pharmacists, French Kicks are rocking their own joyfully addictive sound. [Jun 2003, p.101]

Like Sleater Kinney reimagined for synth-pop teens. [Feb 2014, p.98]

Imagine a math-rock XTC fronted by Elliott Smith, illuminating the quiet corners of life. [Mar 2007, p.94]

Folk roots meet soundtrack clips and contemporary perspective. [Aug 2013, p.98]

It's a tense, grace and often euphoric listening experience that simultaneously lacks the grit, drama and disquiet of their finest work. [Oct 2018, p.91]

Every song puts a tap in your toe, a worm in your ear and a smile on your face. [Oct 2018, p.85]

Imagine a 'luded-out Eagles fronted by a dying hillbilly and you'll only be mildly disappointed. [Jun 2005, p.105]

Three years ago, Africa For Africa felt like a career highlight: this isn't far behind. [Aug 2013, p.96]

Like a turbo industrial Tears For Fears. [Mar 2016, p.98]

It's beautiful throughout, but more ice or fire is sometimes required. [Mar 2018, p.91]

It's still raining in Ray's heart, but this is radiant stuff. [Jul 2018, p.92]

Daft and serious, catchy and strange. [Dec 2018, p.93]

Future Politics' galvanised vision takes myriad forms. [Feb 2017, p.95]

This record is looser and more organic, and a different sonic palette for Hynde. [Jul 2009, p.106]

DOOM is in the form of his life here. [Jun 2012, p.85]

The album is loaded with plenty of sonic winks and nods for record collector types. [Nov 2009, p.94]

Over 24 songs they constantly tremble on the brink of collapse yet they also manage to turn in such laser-guided songs as You Can Stay But You Gotta Go and Double Deuce. [Oct 2013, p.96]

An album whose drawn-out grooves spiral seductively like dandelion clocks in the breeze. [May 2018, p.93]

It's deliciously hauntingly odd. [May 2018, p.93]

Smith often finds herself stuck in a musical straitjacket of tired R&B tropes, rarely able to break out of a narrow comfort zone. [Nov 2023, p.88]

Though the ingenuity of the project occasionally outguns the quality of the songwriting, Darnielle's spadework has resulted in a zesty, spontaneous-sounding record. [Sep 2022, p.95]

An unexpectedly weird bolt from the blue, an ultimately outstanding crack at brokering an accord between spiky noo wave and fuzzy '70s stoner rock. [Nov 2004, p.116]

This is an adventurous, joyful album from a major talent. [Aug 2009, p.98]

The US albums is a fascinating document of American music industry practice in the mid '60s. [Mar 2014, p.103]

This follow-up is more considered, though occasionally suffers from one too many mid-paced hard rock standards. [Feb 2017, p.90]

Nau's adept handle on lachrymose soft-rock, meanwhile means even when treading water, the album charms with its soft-focus ambience. [Sep 21018, p.90]