Payseur's vocals might still sound diaphanous, his lyrics still concerned with small moments of sadness and pleasure, but there is now a structured professionalism here that will delight and confound others. [Jul 2023, p.82]

If lyrics about mushrooms, unicorns and frogs are your jam, Coyne & Co. of course have you covered. The Naked Slaves and Amazon strippers do feel tiredly exploitative. [Feb 2017, p.93]

There's still a lot of soul-searching at mournful tempos, but reconnecting to his roots has made for a fine set of songs. [Feb 2019, p.93]

Beyond the singles-"Melody A.M." lapsed into a latterday jazz-funk. This album sometimes tends the same way, but interest is reignited by Royksopp Forever--ELO with dancebeats--and the tracks where Lykke Li and The Knife's Karin Dreijer-Andersson approach Robyn's unhinged lager-umlaut Europop berserkersim. [May 2009, p.104]

Mostly, though, the album plays to Mould's strengths. [May 2009, p.98]

It works remarkably well. [May 2012, p.83]

This bloody enormous rock demeanour means Stone Roses fans may not be amused. [Oct 2002, p.96]

All lovely throwbacks have an instant familiarity. [Oct 2015, p.93]

French Touch unfolds as a warm, stylish tribute to great songs from one of continental Europe's most affecting voices. [Nov 2017, p.98]

Psych instincts and gas-weight vibes avoid modern psych's retro slavishness, but its lightweight sound can feel insubstantial. [Nov 2018, p.96]

At just 23 minutes long this stop-gap album, but it's great to hear the fire in his belly once more. [Jan 2018, p.94]

If Watneys Red Barrel-flavoured stompers like Roll The Balls, Watch Your Step and Bonehead Waltz are something you'd dig, this is definitely for you. [Feb 2016, p.98]

This muscular, everyman rock could have been produced at any time in the past 35 years, but has charm and character nevertheess. [Apr 2008, p.104]

Years Of Refusal isn't a great album, but it's no disaster. [Mar 2009, p.104]

A subversion of new age, but still oddly soothing in its own way. [Aug 2020, p.94]

Hands sees the 24-year-old blossom into a throughly modern chart contender, but at the expense of some of that quirkiness. [Jul 2009, p.95]

Former soul-punks return with rough edges removed and hearts on sleeves. [Feb. 2011, p. 99]

Foster's extraordinary voice is suited to Dickinson's poignant rhymes, and tracks like They Called Me To the Window and I see Thee Better -- In The Dark, are concentrated, exquisite and oddly moving. [Feb 2010, p. 101]

Despite no huge leaps forward sonically, there are some fantastic scenes set to song. [Nov 2020, p.83]

Though brief nautical ballad Deck Chair is a skit too far here, there's a great bubblegum-pop song fighting its way through the exploded theatrics of Heavy Metal Lover, while silly song of thanks for the six-string We Are The Guitar Men is a virtuosic hoot. [Nov 2019, p.89]

Sometimes futuristic, at others surprisingly formulaic, it’s another stepping stone on Sinephro’s path to greatness but one where the parts are worth more than the whole. [Oct 2024, p.87]

The rough-milled follow-up to 2020’s Down In The Weeds, Where The World Once Was doesn’t suggest time is mellowing him. [Oct 2024, p.86]

Patchier than Jacksonville. [Mar 2006, p.92]

While his alienated, laissez-faire flow disguises sly pop sensibilities on the smoked-out, funereal-paced Red Bottom Sky and Silver Arrows, it's bare-bones lament Agony that sums up his charm. [Jan 2018, p.94]

Though his nervy, nasal singing style can occasionally grate, the songs are redeemed by his breathtaking lyrical precision and eye for detail. [Oct 2006, p.103]

Albini's hardline technical/philosophical missive is the tastiest 'discovery' in this inevitable 20th anniversary box set--tastier, indeed than any of the unheard music. [Nov 2013, p.101]

Dana Margolin isn't just reckoning with a break-up, but a near-total collapse in its wake. ... Yet the prettiness somehow makes listening feel more voyeuristic. [Jul 2022, p.92]

Efrim Menuck's off-key wail remains an acquired taste, but there's undeniable collective commitment. [Apr 2008, p.112]