The piano-led 'New Beginnings' is one of several sombre mood pieces on what is the most ambitious work of the band's 40-year career. But fear not, headbangers: 'Revelation,' all chugging rifferama and panto villany, prove that Priest are still mad for it. Metal, that is. [July 2008, p.100]

O resoounds with the lustily imparted vocals of Kianna Alarid and Neely Jenkins, while the band's signature instrumental palette--fizzing guitars, chunky '60s organs--has expanded into a thick sonic cheesecake. [Nov 2008, p.109]

'Where to Here,' Slippery Slope (easier),' and 'In My Arms' are equally deadly writing, with gripping melodies and sing-out performances that seem to have benefited from listening to his pal Rufus Wainwright--and from arrangements by Wainwright's latest producer. [Sep 2008, p.112]

The band remains shackled to that wearying off-beat pulse that cauise trhe likes of 'Fire,' 'Vision' and the title track to tire. [July 2008, p.112]

She has the voacl talent of a young Alison Moyet, and thankfully this debut lives up to expectations. [Mar 2008, p.112]

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]

They've made their finest LP since 1995's "The Charlantans." [June 2008, p.112]

This misfires more than its hits home. [June 2008, p.108]

Heard back to back they almost make sense, but the sequencing here amplifies the disjointed feel of an album that facinates and frustrates in equal measure. [July 2008, p.108]

The Ottawan's new record abounds with moments most arresting for the crazy chutzpah with which she'll shoehorn a line of verse into a line of music whose rhythm puts the stresses on all the wrong words. [July 2008, p.104]

She draws in appropriate songs by Merle Haggard, Patty Griffin and Jack Wesley Routh, but excels them all with her own 'Not Enough.' [July 2008, p.104]

He's beautifully world-weary in songs such as 'Valley of the Low Sun' and 'Will it Grow.' [Sep 2008, p.102]

Given the backdrop to Joan Wasser's second album was her mother's passing to cancer, it's unsurprising that To Survive also packs a soporific sadness that can be draining despite our hostess's artistry. [July 2008, p.110]

Like other recent albums, this is not consistent enough to be classic Wilson but her voice still regularly seduces. [July 2008, p.109]

He calls his style 'slavishly copying,' we know it better as sweet soul. [July 2008, p.108]

A psych-folk bent for harmonic discord and atmospheric dread finds something forever sinister lodged at the album's heart: the kind of beauty that makes sailors run aground. [Dec 2008, p.102]

Marvellous. [Jul 2006, p.106]

The singles--'Fruit Machine,' 'Great DJ' amd the electro Krautrock of 'That's Not My Name'--are supported by the equally impressive 'Shut Up and Let Me Go' and closing title track, all bouncing beats, shiny samples and an invigorating knack for a pop tune. {june 2008, p.109]

Impressively, he makes it all his own--at times it feels like the songs might have been written by, or for, him. [June 2008, p.115]

Their third album is a confident return with staccato guitar/vocal interplay re-infused with wit and mechanical melodies. [June 2008, p.106]

Velocifero is comparable to pop at its best--travelling straight to the brain's pleasure centres but taking a strange tantalising cargo with it. [July 2008, p.110]

The Rick Rubin and Jacknife Lee-produced follow-up to 2005's "Make Believe," finds Cuomo precariously balanced btween amused/amusing self-obsessed and de facto narcissism. [July 2008, p.110]

Smilers is a masterpiece from a songwriter who's quietly chronicling the blanched last days of a sunshine empire. [July 2008, p.112]

The sense of wonder in Fleet Foxes' songs is matched only by the discipline and talent that created this adventurous, evocative record. One which is already shaping up as an album of the year. [July 2008, p.98]

A dash more melodic brio wouldn't have gone amis, but its muted charms gather cumulatively nonetheless. [May 2008, p.109]

The 10 songs here complements mainman Creston Spiers' whisper-to-howl vocals with startling dynamic shifts. [Sep 2008, p.106]

Howver uncool, these la's will have loads more hits in '08. [July 2008, p.104]

From the gentle fire of the first, and title track, this is Green in the role of Love Man and in very fine form. [July 2008, p.100]