The hobnailed thud and electronic clatter of Youth and Love riot force the seriousness but when they hit their exuberant stride, they pull on legwarmers and dance the night and cold away. [Dec 2012, p.88]

The former Vincent Frank has filled his debut with a hard-to-stomach collection of shiny pop tunes floating between Alphabeat's sing-along-a-showtunes and Mika's falsetto muggging. [Aug 2009, p.96]

Tough to take in one sitting, The Outsider nevertheless boasts enough fine 'deep cuts' to be a keeper. [Sep 2006, p.98]

His solo debut is, however, a robust proposition, not as his former band but certainly not the alt country indulgence implied by label and name. [Apr 2009, p.103]

It's at once plush and anodyne, both insatiable and confined. [Dec 2008, p.100]

A mixed bag. [Apr 2013, p.96]

It's to their credit, though, that this album's uncertain focus works with them, thickening the plot, rather than losing it. [Apr 2018, p.89]

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]

Walls is not a lovable album but if Kings Of Leon would rather be taken seriously these days, instead of simply being adored, they have put down a solid foundation. [Dec 2016, p.89]

Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser's third album again fails to provide a soft pop landing. [Oct 2013, p.96]

A varied, febrile affair more often than not in pursuit of the lunatic. [Feb 2004, p.93]

Radio Retaliation is another example of the Corporation's remarkable consistency. [Dec 2008, p.104]

The result is Placebo's best album since 1998's magisterial "Without You I'm Nothing." [Jul 2009, p.97]

Actors marry folk tales and socio-political polemic to pulsing, woozy-synth soundscapes. [Nov 2012, p.96]

This enjoyable act of historical revisionism highlights the still definitive source material. [Nov 2012, p.100]

The results are at first comically unexpected, then intriguing. [Mar 2015, p.94]

The pleasantly chaotic backdrop is heavy on analogue synths and vintage space echo, and though far from the reggae idiom, Perry is at home warbling his curses and magic spells in multi-tracked triplicate. [Nov 2016, p.93]

French Touch unfolds as a warm, stylish tribute to great songs from one of continental Europe's most affecting voices. [Nov 2017, p.98]

He's less scattergun and easier to pin down. More crucially, Graham's songwriting has blossomed. [Jun 2021, p.85]

The album takes on an airbrushed blandness that drowns out both the odd outbreak of compositional quality and the promise of adventure offered by the guests. [Dec 2001, p.104]

For all its country rockin' appeal, Monsoon lacks the emotional charge of its predecessor. [Feb 2004, p.98]

His pieces are mostly drawn from moderns such as Cage, Gorecki, Barber, Satie and Ravel, and work best when mined for their luxuriant melancholy...

Vision Fortune and then Spectres themselves serve up two slices of white noise, and even the hardiest listener may question the necessity of any further submissions. More substantial things arrive further on. [Jul 2016, p.93]

His socially conscious lyrics can be clunky but never overwhelm the light, acoustic setting. [Oct 2017, p.98]

Everywhere, tremolo guitars twang, and slow, compressed drums beat out the rhythm of disquietude. [Dec. 2011 p. 99]

Reaching a jubilant, freak-flag waving climax with the garage sloppiness of Where We Go, what's left is a quieter set of herbal spirituals that continue to link strands of country, folk and blues with the group's own beautifully wayward sense of direction. [Jul 2011, p.105]

Tune out the background media noise and immerse yourself. [Mar 2012, p.94]

Ersatz G.B. offers no easy explanations, but instead twists and excites the listener's brain with unexpected phantom bewilderments. [Dec 2011, p.100]