In the world of the gilded musical scion, sixth album counts as stripped back. [May 2010, p. 93]

Finn is still writing wordy story songs, but the breathing space elevates those words. [Apr 2017, p.97]

Can't deny his range (hip-hop, disco, acoustic picking) or songwriting, but voice and lyrics lack depth. [May 2018, p.98]

Folds' leaps from satire to farce to domestic drama are part brilliant, part alarming, yet he still seems to wear wit and the manic energy of his voice as a carapace to conceal his soul. [Dec 2008, p.102]

They range from the short and comic (Sweep Piece is the sound of producer Robin McGinley brushing a room for two minutes) to longer, studio-based ensemble performances that are often surprisingly beautiful. [May 2025, p.92]

There's no high concept, just 12 pop songs that sound as if the pair decided to down tools the moment working ion them felt like work. [May 2018, p.90]

Though Old Sock ultimately feels somewhat stop-gap, it genre-hops beautifully, Clapton and friends reliably able. [Apr 2013, p.86]

Eldritch psych-folk that recalls Meg Baird's work in Espers. [Jul 2018, p.98]

The honesty of these performances infinitely more important than any finessing. [Oc 2009, p.108]

Collapse Into now finds Stipe, Peter Buck and mike Mills pleading relevance and vitality. [Apr 2011, p.96]

Wildewoman is more of a patchwork quilt. [May 2014, p.94]

The album pays in cleft between Darnielle's left and right brains and strikes the perfect balance between wild imagery and plaintive sentiment. [May 2011, p.112]

The Stockholm-based composer edges into metallic wave-like dissonance, using organ and guitar to explore points at which sonic clarity starts to mess with our spatial awareness. [Sep 2019, p.91]

A few tracks sound blunt and under-realised, but mostly this is the sound of a champion artist getting good again. [Mar 2002, p.116]

If inherent heaviness is the ultimate aim for any metal band, then Mastodon only partly succeed. Fortunately, they hit the right combination between brutal, epic, progressive and endless wild soloing. [Aug 2014, p.92]

Souleyman's high velocity dabke-techno hybrid keeps the BPM and bleep count high on his third LP. [Dec 2017, p.96]

Its instrumental first disc a foreboding seas of sputtering synths, dislocated drums and disorienting ideas. Yet rare moments of beauty peak through. ... A similar wilful primitivism pervades disc two. [Dec 2019, p.95]

Coming of age delayed for guile-free pop star. [May 2010, p. 95]

The Messthetics is a short set, long on detail. [Jun 2018, p.94]

Panic Blooms generates fond memories of a recent past. [Jun 2018, p.89]

The results are less out-there, but mostly play to Allison's strengths. [Oct 2025, p.91]

She walks us through iconic and barely known songs from her repertoire, inspired by the city. [Jun 2020, p.93]

If this is a less turbulent FWF manifestation, they're still powerful, churning perilously. [Feb 2026, p.80]

The confrontational quintet dare to seek out melody and explore a new-found subtlety on an otherwise exhaustingly visceral ride. [May 2010, p. 95]

Too many superfluous guest vocalists distract but the result are bright and bold. [Jan 2015, p.96]

Barry also produces with an ear to the sonics of yesteryear. ... But some of the vocal sections aren't as strong. [Jun 2021, p.87]

The bass-fuzz stomp and chain-gang holler of 'Grounds for Divorce' couldn't be more immediate, Guy Garvey refusing to let emotional intelligence blackball a decnt tune. [Apr 2008, p.106]

Best tracks are the most acid. [May 2020, p.96]