Even when further adrift from the lost funk sampledelia that made his name, Shadow's production brilliance shines through. [Dec 2023, p.90]

A few tracks disappoint; but there's lusty Fever Forever and graceful Beating On The Outside, which could be Roseanne cash. [Oct 2022, p.90]

It takes awhile to get some traction on these unassuming songs. But once inside it is a strange and enticing world. [Jul 2018, p.95]

At its best, Pole's new sound is winning. [May 2003, p.98]

While good stuff (with good sound) in the main, its sheer length and predictability mark this as one for the fanatics. [Jan 2010, p.114]

They explore the tricksy time signatures and artful insouciance of Deerhoof or Tortoise with aplomb. [Sep 2016, p.99]

Brought To Book starts off as a classic Hammill Piano ballad, but like many songs here it goes through metric convolutions while still keeping its melodic coherence, crashing through the hedges of its own maze to get from A and B. [Oct 2016, p.97]

Introspective, often forlorn and frequently mysterious, it's not an easy listen, but the delicate potency of Clarke's exceptional voice is a formidable saving grace. [Nov 2016, p.91]

Great that they are back on their own label, on their own terms, but some of these "democratically produced" recordings want for a more ruthless arbitrator. [Apr 2022, p.80]

There's no arguing with the brilliance if New Partner or I See A Darkness, though the sweetness of Oldham's mature voice and the impressionistic arrangements tend to detract from their ominous gravity. [Jan 2019, p.84]

This would be a strong set if they culled three tracks, shortened a few others and rearranged the sequencing. As it is, this record suffers from a distinct mid-album crisis. [Dec 2006, p.103]

The 12 songs here are mostly wild, loud, anarchic and irreverent but hardly ever subdued. [Feb 2017, p.96]

A stopgap while The Gossip work on new material, this album is nonetheless worth the price of a hand-stamp. [May 2008, p.102]

The arrangemnts are smartly constructed, Campbell's guitar is economical and crisp, and his interpretibve skills and singing are as sharp as during his commercial peak. [Sep 2008, p.112]

There's little original in the likes of 'Psychosocial' 'Snuff' or "All Hope is Gone,' but the bludgeoning guitars are crisp, the overload of percussion suitably crunchy and a sense of bravura and commitment that's lacking in many of today's metal bands runs throughout. [Nov 2008, p.118]

All through this listenable, though frankly inconsequential album, PSB are stuck on a sound: it's that booming release of early '90s dance, filtered through a bit of early-noughties terpsichorean quiet-loud sonic sexiness. [May 2016, p.86]

An intense, slightly avant chum. [Aug 2021, p.86]

Some of the lyrics, translated from the Dutch, are a touch clunky, but all in all a lively set and not, I suspect, Bishop Burke's final memorial. [Feb 2011, p.100]

A striking stop-gap for Krug and Siinai. [May 2012, p.87]

There's some really good songs here - Creature From The Wild is classic Fruit Bats, Moon's Too Bright is a beauty, and so is his moving cover of the Incredibke String Band song First Girl I loved - but the overall feeling is of an abandoned demo album [Nov 2025, p.93]

10 well-crafted, progressive rock tracks that transcend schlock-rock trappings. [Oct 2015, p.98]

There are points of similarity here with Kraftwerk, particularly on Clockwork, the electro and house styles of '8-s Cabaret Voltaire, the pumping bears if Front 242, and also the percolating sequencers of Favtory Floor. [Oct 2016, p.99]

A frontier bliss-out. [Dec 2019, p.96]

While showcasing a further surfeit of talents - Zongo Brigade's K.O.G., Ghanaian singer Pat Thomas, a rap-happy Soweto Kinch - could make Freedom Fables feel like a compilation, a wide streak of jazz connects the dots. [Mar 2021, p.90]

Extra bass and echo enhance it reality-subverting agenda. [Feb 2013, p.98]

There's a pleasing, Bowie-ish swagger to Elfman's vocals and a steam-punk thrust to Big Mess's heavy, junkyard percussion, the album's caustic, chaotic arrangements utterly fearless throughout 18 rather exhausting songs. [Aug 2021, p.86]

They remain a magical band still searching for a commensurate album, arriving at a record whose thrills are real but fleeting. [Nov 2022, p.92]

The album has its moments, but you really couldn't call it the main event. [Jun 2009, p.99]