A few missteps, but horn-pumped soul-rocker Love Again is a happy return for the Jersey Shore prince. [Aug 2019, p.98]

A slightly awkward but ambitious beginning.

A quirky collision of funk, pop, blues, Bowie-esque rock and electro, it'll perturb traditional soul fans--some of his cross-genre experimentation is weirdly unsettling--but there are several ear-catching gems. [Aug 2015, p.92]

Starts strong and finishes weak, but it's forgivable considering the gems contained in this 12-song set. [May 2004, p.97]

It's still summer music, but The Only Place captures that moment when it's time to wrap a cardigan around your shoulders against the chill. [Jun 2012, p.83]

Gravity the Seducer aims to be the great leap forward but still falls a little short. [Oct 2011, p.98]

Dad is no longer the singer he was, which of course makes Cat Stevens’ title track all the more poignant. .... Junior does most of the heavy vocal lifting and it is he, you suspect, who suggested Ph.D.’s I Won’t Let You Down and Eurythmics’ Here Comes The Rain Again, both of which turn out to be highlights. [Jan 2025, p.82]

Hymns resembles a settling breath. [Feb 2016, p.94]

Prince's 26th album will be remembered more for its method of distribution--a reactionary tabloid's covermount CD--than for being tighter and more tuneful than 2004's "Musicology" and last year's "3121." [Sep 2007, p.113]

The years haven't deadened Lucero's spirit: indeed, that experience only lends their ballads and brawlers a weightier punch. [Jan 2013, p.90]

Although on occasion Simon verges on a tinkly supper club sound, these awkward moments are thankfully outweighed by her rich melodies and candid lyrics. [July 2008, p.101]

While beats like 'Shine All Day's' electronic bounce feel odd at first, they gradually begin to make sense, while KRS-One's 'What If?' and the Supernatural-helmed 'Tribute To The Breakdancer' will keep the most ardent old-schoooler happy. [Apr 2009, p.108]

But those with the gumption to take this record on will certainly come out of it knowing they've listened to something, and you can't fault Malone for putting himself out there. [Dec 2009, p. 94]

Ringgo Ancheta continues on a liquid ambient-funk, gliding across a set of between album one-offs and remixes. [Aug 2019, p.98]

Thirty years, 170 shows, a repertoire of 400 songs in 3,509 performances: from that motherlode we have 48 nuggets chronicling the live career of the South's Bruce Springsteen. [Dec 2009, p. 111]

While Maltese's playfulness extends to queasily imagining Theresa May and Donald Trump in flagrante as a nuclear holocaust rages on As The World Caves In, both Less and Less and doomy ballad Mortals prove he can deliver without relying on irony as a crutch. [Aug 2018, p.89]

Heaps more respect's due for the full-bloodedness of rippers like Frenzy, Modern Day Rip Iff and Neo Punk. ... Four-letter lyricism and dumb-ass riffing, however, leave you craving the substance of '16's Homme-guided Post Pop Depression. [Feb 2023, p.85]

The sextet returning to their complex basics. ... They still struggle for hooks, though. [Mar 2022, p.83]

Instead of a bona fide entry in either band's catalogue, chalk this up as a Dungen sidebar. [Apr 2018, p.89]

Pay No Mind plays appealingly like The Jesus And Mary Chain slowed to 16 rpm. Then, just as you're settling into drowsy twilight, out of nowhere, a lyric smacks like citrus on the tongue. [Jun 2018, p.89]

Slick and melodic but more Placebo than Pumpkins. [Aug 2019, p.98]

Creating a feel that blissfully reminiscent of Bruce Langhorne's instrumental score for Peter Fonda's 1971 western, The Hired Hand. [Aug 2020, p.89]

For the most part, Haim remain drive-time ear candy, undeniably slick and effervescent. [Aug 2017, p.88]

There are few moments where Director's Cut offers anything close to a bold deconstruction. [Jun 2011, p.95]

Alegrias bends gems from his Byzantine catalogue into new shapes. [Jun 2011, p.97]

The results career from interesting to neglibile. [Aug 2003, p.95]

Whikle the quintet can comfortably do sincere and introverted on tracks like A Thing Like This and Proud/Ashamed, their speciality indisputably lies in lo-fi revelry, as showcased in Friend Crush. [Jul 2012, p.88]

They haven't really been missed, yet it's good to have them back. [Jun 2012, p.83]