Hardcore scholars will cheer this inspiring archival punk rock righteousness. [Dec 2014, p.111]

In Our Bedroom After The War aims for a more dramatic sweep than its predecessor but falls a couple tunes short. [Nov 2007, p.108]

A bold step forward. [Nov 2011, p.98]

Budget-price corporations such as Lidl and Ryanair take a mauling, amid a sonic barrage which occasionally coalesces into pleasing punk-funk but mostly glories in making lap-steel sound like a cement mixer. [Nov 2022, p.92]

Flux lacks a little of the old uncanny razzle dazzle, but there's no doubting the elegance of its execution or the expertise of its creator. [Sep 2025, p.79]

Students of the 19080s Brit synth-pop and Gallic cold wave will find Austra a contemporary champion. [Jun 2011, p.97]

The overall effect is affecting and exhausting, the listener feeling queasy and spent. [Nov 2017, p.96]

Laus's writing is maturing, Real Man and tie My Shows surprisingly country-folk, while elsewhere there's bell-clear acoustic pop. Any occasional sameness is offset by existential stingers. [Oct 2024, p.90]

Eyes Open hardly furthers Snow Patrol's rote one guitar attack, and repetition exposes Lightbody's interpretations of love's little hiccups as a tiring experience. [Jun 2006, p.108]

Their new direction sounds suspiciously like the old one. [Jul 2006, p.100]

[A] heartfelt, reflective LP. [Nov 2015, p.91]

Only final track, The Way Our Lives Go, a slowish ballad, counts as a surprising divergence from the template. [Mar 2018, p.95]

There's no doubt these are expertly constructed songs, but it feels as if the emotional wiring h as been botched. ... Let's Rock lacks the connection to be truly electrifying. [Aug 2019, p.89]

Do you like reading poetry while folded into a big armchair in some sunny corner? You'll love False Beats And True Hearts. [Jun 2011, p.102]

Another patchily edifying addition to the Cuomo enigma. [Jul 2005, p.106]

Luke Pritchard and co attack each of their songs with crisp, clean confidence, brisk guitar lines and open vowels. [Oct 2011, p.97]

Solemn, aesthetically rigorous environment this music occupies. [Dec 2018, p.93]

The longueurs of the album's latter half rob the long-player of true classic potential, but the rehearsal room banter and stripped-back demos will pique fans' interest. [Jan 2019, p.105]

His fourth album's Blast-apeing vein of electro-gliding mirrorball pop comes in optimistic hues. [Nov 2014, p.95]

Intimate, ambitious and just occasionally misfiring. [Oct 2023, p.82]

It's not an ideal entry point into Amos;s unique world. [Nov 2011, p.98]

WLIB AM is best taken as a whole. [Nov 2008, p.116]

Reassuringly autumnal, it drifts by with the grace of a soaring kite. [Jun 2018, p.88]

The dejected vocals and mesmerising mood of the music are in place, making this an album for long lonely winter nights. [Feb 2009, p.115]

Awesome in scope and execution, it's an album that's ultimately easier to admire than it is to love. [Jun 2009, p.108]

It's a strangely stilted approach on songs. [Sep 2009, p.92]

When the Vampire pals are good, they are very good, but they just occasionally sound like their bloody Marys have been spiked with garlic. [Aug 2019, p.92]

Inspired stuff, though its slightness feels like a tease, and leaves us hungry for more. [Aug 2018, p.88]