The failing voice at its core would clearly be happier in the privacy of lo-fi. [Mar 2003, p.106]

Full and lush, yet somehow homey and direct. [May 2003, p.97]

Their atmospheric twist'n'drone merits more acclaim than they've received so far. [Mar 2003, p.112]

A compelling blend of 21st Century world music. [May 2003, p.106]

Sounding assured and triumphant, Scotland's finest finally have realised their true potential. [Aug 2002, p.112]

There's a moving intimacy and improvisational feel to the wistful, late night, piano songs. [Apr 2003, p.108]

Bold, stirring and so unfashionable it just might work. [Mar 2003, p.114]

While the comparisons to Springsteen's Nebraska and Gillian Welch's Time (The Revelator) are obvious, they don't do justice to Jurado's wholly original craft. [Jun 2003, p.98]

Pig Lib is full of as many little mysteries as it is revelations. [Apr 2003, p.91]

Nobody's idea of "the new rock'n'roll," certainly, but it rings seductively true. [Mar 2003, p.109]

At times positively fizzes into life. [Jun 2003, p.110]

The highest of hi-technicalia and lo-fi acoustic instruments alternately clash, embrace, or pull apart, but ultimately, like Siamese twins, can't be parted. [Jun 2003, p.110]

If the album has a weak point, it's a sense of congestion. [Mar 2003, p.110]

Their most accessible, and arguably best, long-player yet. [Apr 2003, p.112]

There are no punk-lite hits here, but cult stardom is knocking at the door. [Mar 2003, p.112]

Frustratingly short of utter genius, but largely lovely too. [May 2003, p.102]

This is thrilling, intelligent stuff. [Dec 2002, p.122]

Sadly, the results are soul-less. [Apr 2003, p.99]

An unconventional beauty. [March 2003, p.114]

While the music is a combination of old Smog and new... there's a freshness here, a sense of change, and most remarkable, a real empathy on display. [May 2003, p.89]

A real emotional rollercoaster ride. [Apr 2003, p.102]

He sounds like a cross between Sonic Youth and Massive Attack, and the results are immediately convincing. [Apr 2003, p.100]

The wit and intelligence rarely lets up. [May 2003, p.95]

A fine piece of work. [Mar 2003, p.106]

Harper offers nice lines in homages to Marley, Basement Tapes Dylan, and funky James Brown. [Apr 2003, p.106]

An album of relentless, aching beauty. [Mar 2003, p.96]

Sounds surprisingly traditional. [Jul 2003, p.115]

For better and occasionally worse, it feels effortless for listener and writer alike. [Apr 2003, p.112]