Aural absinthe. [Jul 2003, p.115]

These intimate hushes and lilts would be remarkable even as instrumentals.... Yet it's Nastasia's voice--and the words that it sings--that really sucks the air out of the room. [July 2003, p.102]

All in all, it's pretty much perfect. [Jul 2003, p.100]

An intriguing companion to DM's Songs of Faith and Devotion, heady with the lexicon of addiction and redemption. [Jun 2003, p.110]

Beats click and rumble while Jewel simpers baby-doll vocals which sound deflatingly calculated. [Oct 2003, p.114]

Sometimes their brutish irreverence works.... But Audio Bullys' vignettes of suburban lad-life can't quite equal Mike Skinner's deft way with a lyric. [Jul 2003, p.106]

This is nihilistic pop at its finest. [Jun 2003, p.113]

Sounds like an all-girl early Beastie Boys.... The politics, though, are somewhat sounder. [May 2003, p.99]

A persistently funny exercise in nonconformity. [May 2003, p.106]

Whether this leaves you head-scratching or dancing like an electrified monkey, it certainly won't bore you. [Jul 2003, p.109]

The empathy between the four is palpable. [Jun 2003, p.113]

The balance between Joe's resigned words and uplifting melodies remains sublime. [Aug 2003, p.100]

The result is ZZ Top's Eliminator meets The Best of Chic. [Jun 2003, p.112]

Occasionally gestures towards greatness, but remains earthbound for the most part. [Sep 2003, p.112]

Delivers some great tunes in tight, concentrated blasts, but sets them behind a gauze of distortion that gives the impression they are gradually fraying around the edges. [Apr 2004, p.102]

For every aching melodic twist and sagacious lyric, there's a lumpy, sub-Beach Boys dirge and dicing-with-doggerel couplet to negotiate. [Mar 2003, p.103]

On a couple of tracks here he feels the need to introduce some lame house beats and equally passe drum'n'bass, which is a shame because the rest of the time he creates a vocabulary that's utterly his own. [Jun 2003, p.100]

Better than the conceptual barf of its predecessor Holy Wood, but not as sharp as his best record to date, '98's glammy Mechanical Animals. [Jun 2003, p.100]

For a genre whose young bands are increasingly concerned with girls and girls only, the Alkaline Trio have delivered an album offering far more than the pink blush of awkward adolescence. [Jul 2003, p.108]

Paul proves this production pioneer can still turn in brilliant beats when he wants to. [Jul 2003, p.106]

Cex moves slightly away from his former snot and swagger towards more humble inflection. [Jun 2003, p.108]

Enjoy it before it all gets used in bank adverts. [May 2003, p.104]

Beth's vocals are startling. [Jun 2003, p.100]

There's no sonic trickery here, just Mac the balladeer. [May 2003, p.95]

A significant return to form. [Feb 2003, p.86]

The awe fades quickly as this album progresses. [Jun 2003, p.100]

The season's most deliriously funky beats. [Jun 2003, p.113]

Heaves with harmonic charm. [Oct 2003, p.111]