All told: here's blues, raw'n'alive. [Sep 2023, p.83]

Bauhaus Staircase shows OMD thriving as much as surviving. [Dec 2023, p.91]

Marries Gerald Clayton's vivid, painterly piano with Immanuel Wilkins' malleable alto sax and vibraphonist Joel Ross's heady melodicism, its internal poetry enhanced by Kendrick Scott's sophisticated drums and Matt Brewer's intricate bass. [Jan 2025, p.85]

He reinterprets key moments from his back catalogue. [Oct 2025, p.87]

After 1991's low impact Kill Uncle, the often truculent Your Arsenal was where Morrissey discovered a newly villainous persona and a way forward. [Mar 2014, p.105]

A ghosts' convention set to music. [Nov 2003, p.130]

Last Broadcast is visceral, pulsing, uplifting, widescreen but has none of the bluster that would tip its forbears into self-parody. [May 2002, p.108]

This record is full of surprises, roping in all manner of esoteria for a sweaty, beer-splattered and tune-drenched rock'n'roll party that rivals even Nevermind for balancing the pop sugar with the twisted underbelly and subtle smarts. [May 2003, p.90]

Cursive employ musical inventiveness and a healthy dose of self-awareness to set themselves apart. [Apr 2003, p.102]

Ocean Roar exists deep in extreme nature, a journey's end of madness, memory and Euphoria. [Nov 2012, p.95]

With these elegantly devastating songs, she carves put a space, and a class, all of her own. [Mar 2019, p.91]

Beautifully poised. [Dec 2021, p.92]

With its major keys, funky breakbeats, scorching guitar solos and soothing flutes, here's one Gizzard Magnum opus not to miss in the deluge. [Dec 2022, p.92]

From rowdy juke-joint jams to sunblushed cornfield ballads, these songs born of tough times. The latter provides the album's stand-out moments. [Jul 2009, p.100]

She's taken a great leap forward at the very moment one was required. [Jul 2022, p.89]

The album gels and is unexpectedly airy: with its souffle-light facade and full-fat core, this is a delight. [Dec 2025, p.83]

A compelling consistency of mood makes Metal Illness easy to get lost in. [May 2017, p.94]

These songs of faith and endurance work because the singer/guitarist and his band play according to their album's title--with hearts of oak, which refers not to flesh turned stiff, but to spirits that are stout, strong, tall. [Apr 2003, p.112]

Portrait gives us what the composer feels are the definitive versions of these tracks. It's also an excellent introduction to this most singular of musicians. [Jan 2020, p.88]

Arranged with exquisite care, not a swooning backing vocal, Gram Parsons echo or Brian Eeno-influenced synthesizer out of place. [Apr 2020, p.89]

The musicianship's great, Lloyd Maines' production's gorgeous and there's a slew of highlights. [Aug 2021, p.87]

Yellow scatterguns through P-Funk, Alice Coltrane, gospel, Sun-Ra, electric-era Miles Davis and '70s jazz-fusion with glee. [Aug 2021, p.85]

O'Neill has locked into humanity's flawed relationship with nature. But there's celebration too. [Mar 2023, p.92]

There's less reverb this time, but it all sounds great, befitting a set of excellent songs. [May 2025, p.85]

Even with zero knowledge of what is going on lyrically, these songs are often beautifully evocative. [Oct 2025, p.85]

Forgotten outfits like The Romans and Mod Fun come on like the '60s band Thomas Pynchon invented in The Crying Of Lot 49, but the prevailing geekdom suggests a scene that's ultimately as indie and introverted as our own C86. [Apr 2026, p.98]

Delirious, danceable songs with emotional heft. [Dec 2022, p.89]

Tirzah matches the spacious, hazy intimacy of Levi's often distorted creations with unself-conscious melodies, as if singing in her sleep, finding beauty in imperfection and transience. [Nov 2023, p.90]