These carefully manicured, self-serving triffles nearly all fall flat, despite the nonstop roll-out of A-listers. [Feb 2011, p.108]

Good news for shoegaze-curious neophytes too afraid to dive headfirst into MBV's loveless, but very backward looking, too. [Jan 2012, p.98]

The first side's carnal workouts are muscular of beat, but let down by Common's awkward dirty-talk....The more 'conscious' ssecond half plays better. [Feb 2009, p.106]

As a record of one man's love affair with his guitar, it's a solid testament. As the work of one of British music's unshakeable geniuses, however, it's not really worth the name. [Mar 2003, p.98]

[It] lacks conceptual cohesion. [Nov 2006, p.112]

Amy Winehouse it ain't, but we can take a certain pleasure in a man who at least possesses the sort of grainy Sam Cooke mellifluousness that, down the ages, has redeemed blue-eyed-soul boys the world over. [Oct 2011, p.94]

Another patchily edifying addition to the Cuomo enigma. [Jul 2005, p.106]

Very focused and quietly anthemic. [Feb 2006, p.92]

On 'North London Trash,' 'Burberry Blue Eyes,' 'Hostage Of Love' and the histrionic 'Blood For Wild Blood,' Razorlight have matured beyond bubblegum rock and may yet answer Borrell's prayers for immortality. [Dec 2008, p.100]

Clapton's playing is still fluid. [Oct 2005, p.98]

They sound more and more as if they've found a sound that they can all their own. [Apr 2012, p.94]

The perkiness and quirkiness are paper-thin. [Dec 2004, p.112]

Fringe entertainment, for sure, but top fun. [Dec 2017, p.87]

Shave Devil's Playground of nine tracks and repackage it as an EP and it could conceivably be the comeback of the year. [Apr 2005, p.98]

[Songs swerve] between undistinguished reggae, so-so pop and indistinct blues-rock. [Nov 2011, p.92]

Incredible Machine, however, is mostly just Nettles having a bawl. [Mar 2011, p.108]

The song titles alone tell the story: The Long Con; Stop Bitching, Do Something; Big Lie; What Are You On Facebook? Plus 24 (24!) more tracks that take a swipe at a modern world controlled by conspiratorial forces. ... Even the music is largely route-one. [Jun 2021, p.87]

The root of the malaise most surely [lies] in the protracted production, which appears to have sucked the life out of whatever good material there was. [Nov 2004, p.110]

The lyrics veer towards simplistic, but Destiny pull it off, mainly through muscular production and stunning vocal interplay. [Jan 2005, p.97]

If you think The Rutles' Double Back Alley is better than Penny Lane, then this just-over-35-minute's worth of semi-reverential fun is for you. [Aug 2003, p.95]

Alas, it's largely diminishing returns. [Jun 2017, p.87]

There's promise here if they can stay out of jail or the loony bin. [Feb 2005, p.94]

There's an absence of audible heat, no palpable anguish or tantrums. [Oct 2009. p.108]

Adheres to the simple formula that worked so successfully on her debut, combining fluid, mid-tempo grooves with infectious vocal hooks. [Sep 2003, p.110]

Tired, frightened-sounding and hopelessly misjudged.... Hugely disappointing. [Dec 2001, p.116]

There is little truly distinctive here. [Jun 2003, p.113]

Mills' slightest work by some distance, The Fifth is evolution in reverse. [Oct 2013, p.88]

His lyrics don't always match his ambition. [Apr 2007, p.108]