The album only stretches to 35 minutes but its quality more than compensates. [July 2002, p.112]

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]

With The Private Press DJ Shadow ups even his own considerable ante. [May 2002, p.96]

High Society [proves] Schmersal capable of a good, straight-forward pop song. [July 2002, p.100]

Their pop peaks sound like an ecstatic communion of Mercury Rev, ELO and the cast of Hair. [Oct 2002, p.110]

An extraordinary album. [Aug 2002, p.95]

A pleasantly surprising step in the right direction. [May 2002, p.104]

A languorous, mid-paced affair that eschews visceral assault and pop nous for a raw, prowling, feline angularity. [June 2002, p.108]

A distinctly melancholic affair. [Aug 2002, p.102]

You finish listening to 18 feeling as if you've heard a decaffeinated version of Play. [June 2002, p.98]

For all his sour wit, however, Zevon remians a musical craftsman who's happy to leave the lyrics to others. [July 2002, p.102]

Charms on the surface yet stays in the memory. [Oct 2002, p.108]

Listen closely and you'll probably detect the likes of Wire, XTC and New Order but like contemporaries Hot Hot Heat and Ted Leo's Pharmacists, French Kicks are rocking their own joyfully addictive sound. [Jun 2003, p.101]

Vaporous, layered, beautifully evocative, with moments of discordant madness. [Co-Album Of The Month [with 'Blood Money'], May 2002, p.94]

Blood Money makes for an extravagant headphone experience if you're in the right frame of mind. If not, its clatter and blare and nihilism will genuinely jangle your nerves. [Co-Album Of The Month (with 'Alice'), May 2002, p.94]

The aural palette is as wide as ever... but in the service of songs that might be sung on the morning train, under stars on a moonless night or even in the bath. [Apr 2002, p.116]

The seemingly effortless confidence displayed throughout is startling. [Apr 2002, p.108]

When I Was Cruel is bursting with bile and romance, tricky lyrics and tantalising tunes, and finds him practically trampolining with the thrill of messing about with sounds. [May 2002, p.108]

The perfect vehicle for Eitzel's gorgeous, weary voice and wry, savage humour. [June 2002, p.106]

Exuberant and undeniable... if you don't own a Luna album, start here. [Aug 2002, p.112]

These songs move so languidly they seem self-pitying. [July 2002, p.104]

A masterpiece, exactly the sort of record that your average sentient pop genius should make in 2002. [May 2002, p.99]

Manages to provide a more coherent and enjoyable listening experience than mainstream dance bods like Daft Punk and Basement Jaxx have delivered of late. [Album of the Month, April 2002, p.94]

Half of Release feels like an old routine -- looming melancholy and not-quite-cheery disco by the pound. [Apr 2002, p.108]

Armstrong takes the Massive [Attack] approach to celebrity guests, utilising them in imaginative ways to avoid the pitfalls of self-parody. [May 2002, p.97]

Holmes's genius is to create a space in which these records are not only at home, but where they shine. [Apr 2002, p.128]

It's not perfect by any means, and having two of the weakest tracks in pole positions doesn't help. [May 2002, p.98]

An homage to Memphis soul and R&B that initially seems a pleasant lark but grows blander and more characterless the more it is heard. [Apr 2002, p.106]