A delicate, inward-facing set. [May 2024, p.80]

The Parisian has lost his cool, let rip, taken his metaphorical shirt off, and it sounds liberating.

Is not only utterly delectable but manages to find genuinely new ways to shape heartbreak. [Dec 2002, p.114]

Though the production isn't listener-friendly and the lyrics can be lovelorn in excelsis, Arthur's strong melodies and arresting imagery always win through.

The longer the album runs the more engaging the songs seem to become. [May 2004, p.104]

His best yet, a mix of reimagined trad pieces, diverse covers and elegantly rowdy new jams. [Nov 2018, p.89]

This darker edge lends substance to some of Vile's best songs to date. [Oct 2015, p.94]

Imbued with harmonies, melody and some hard-edged dynamics that draw on Led Zeppelin, this is what the pastoral Pink Floyd of 1971 might have done next. [Apr 2016, p.91]

Note Eaglehurst/The Palace, an ecstatic workout that mythologises a shared house of Brit jazz tyros as an inspiringly sacred space. [Dec 2018, p.92]

The guests never distract from or overshadow the Malians. [Oct 2020, p.88]

The follow-up packs a whole heap more precision ramalama. ... Top class. [Nov 2020, p.86]

Throughout Francis Lung turns dark emotions into bright and welcoming songs. [Jul 2021, p.83]

Thirty-five albums in, incredibly, GBV are still scaling new heights. [Apr 2022, p.80]

Welcome echoes include Bramah's sinister, cogent non sequiturs and the contorted, sharp-edged rock sounds, and the urgent to interpret everything as a reference to MES becomes flesh with the spectral/beefy Harlequin Duke. [Jul 2023, p.85]

Into his eighth decade of unblinkered creativity, Hayward continues to thrill. [Dec 2023, p.93]

Eleven-minute workout Don't Look Down's shifting continents of influence cement the notion of a band tightrope walking with aplomb. [Apr 2026, p.91]

It is a little heavier on the electric-piano than the louche post-punkers' previous outings, with Diaphanous, Map Of The Night Sky and Out Sweet Sould reaching out toward the baroque, Coral-style musical theatre that defined Bid's records as Scarlet's Well. [May 2026, p.89]

An entire LP of these earthy yet cerebral pop constructs would have been no hardship whatsoever. [Oct 2011, p.92]

These are exquisitely sad songs of spare belongings and reduced circumstance, about men who fail, and the women who stay with them. [Dec 2018, p.91]

A fine collection from a timeless song craftsman. [Mar 2023, p.84]

It's a familiar mix of delicate acoustic tracks and crunching country rock - but The 400 Unit has evolved via the deepening emotional heft of their leader's songwriting. [Jul 2023, p.86]

Hieroglyphic Being aims to take you to a higher state of consciousness. There's plenty of fun to be had there. [May 2025, p.91]

It's disappointing that there aren't one or two more inspiring moments, especially when there's a roughly equivalent number of duds. [Jan 2017, p.92]

Some of the purest, restorative, most unburdened music imaginable. [Oct 2016, p.98]

Any agitation on Katherine Paul's second LP is gently expressed. [Oct 2019, p.92]

Highly engaging. [Dec 2019, p.96]

In another world, Andy Warhol would want to manage them, but on this evidence, Horsegirl have pop down to an art by themselves. [Mar 2025, p.86]

Teen Dream is a lovely album, but there's more to admire here than to actually love. Oddly, that may not be a problem. [Feb. 2010, p. 94]