Wainwright's fifth LP has artistry galore. [Sep 2021, p.78]

In the main, conjure strange, eerie atmospheres filled with ghostly spirits like those inhabiting the recordings of Del Shannon and Joe Meek. [Oct 2021, p.95]

Not quite up to par with the last three indie label releases, but he set the bar high. [Oct 2021, p.93]

Achieved what they wanted: Mariah Carey scaling dramatic peaks on Somewhat loved (There You Go Breakin' My Heart); Babyface recrowned the king of quiet storm on He Don't Know Nothin' Bout It, and Usher, the love doctor, all breathy and hot on Do It Yourself. [Oct 2021, p.95]

Their enthusiasm for the project is palpable and if their joyful noise turns just one listener onto the original, it's job done. [Sep 2021, p.82]

The free-est, fun-est, most psychedelic Villagers record so far. [Sep 2021, p.76]

More cohesive and less Britpop than 2018's Brickbat. More trenchant too. [Aug 2021, p.87]

Highly polished, rootsy but gentle rocking with some big hooks, even if the quality wavers a little over 15 tracks. [Sep 2021, p.88]

Bristling with hooks, this thoroughly enjoyable set deserves to be spilling out of open windows wherever it's summer. [Sep 2021, p.81]

Shine[s] a light on forgotten corners of the influential '70s label's past. [Jun 2021, p.94]

Sinner Get Ready spotlights the itinerant Californian's magnetic vocals by removing harsh textures, reflecting her move to rural Pennsylvania with a majestic palette of choral polyphony, crashing percussion and traditional porch and church sounds. [Sep 2021, p.86]

With its 10 tracks and 24-minute running time, this unexpected sequel--its sleeve nodding playfully to Dr Dre's 2001-might look like a small-scale musical property, but once inside, it's a mansion. [Sep 2021, p.84]

More cohesive, languid and countrified [than Floaters and October Song]. [Sep 2021, p.83]

Delivering a deliciously unsettling and artful listening experience. [Sep 2021, p.83]

While Heart-Shaped Scars might not be the first flowering of such wistful folk mysteries, it still brings in a good harvest. [Sep 2021, p.80]

A lofty ambition [songs to heal some souls], perhaps, but one this resonant and deeply pleasurable album achieves with grace and groove. [Aug 2021, p.78]

There is plenty going on: doomy folk blues; sparse Woody Guthrie-esque folk; slow, sad Sweet Refrain and The Levee On Down. There's also passionate, pissed-off, rousing country rock. [Sep 2021, p.85]

Their unique gift for sounding at once thoroughly unhinged and ferociously in control is intact. [Aug 2021, p.80]

Thirstier comes on like a bold, heady catharsis. [Sep 2021, p.86]

Native Sons adds a local twist as Los Lobos roll back--with new, inventive detail--through their LA roots and influences, binding the Chicano branch of '60s rock and California from the other side of town. [Sep 2021, p.78]

Animal admirably slips standard musical taxonomy to take on a life of it own. [Aug 2021, p.83]

An enthralling step on her musical journey. [Aug 2021, p.83]

This is Sign 'O' The Times territory. ... When Prince wanders from the funk path the results are more mixed. ... Yet there's strength in Welcome 2 America's commitment to the idea of the Classic Prince Album. [Sep 2021, p.93]

A joy to behold. [Sep 2021, p.81]

There are some anthemic rockers--the '70s Stones-esque Until Justice Is Real is good, the strident backing vocals not so much--but most of the album's highlights are the midtempo or slower songs. [Sep 2021, p.84]

Spiral slowly reveals a core mood, triangulated between Talk Talk, Radiohead and Pink Floyd models of taut, blissful, trance-inducing rock, but often beat-driven. [Sep 2021, p.86]

Amid the chaos, some rare calm and solace from Emmylou Harris's favourite rhythm guitarist. [Sep 2021, p.78]

Audaciously, it all coheres. The vision is precise and the execution meticulous. The album's 14 songs are tightly arranged and energetically delivered. [Sep 2021, p.81]