This is the desert-blues album for fans of Can and Pink Floyd to sink their teeth into. [Nov 2013, p.91]

A poignant reminder of a talent that may have gone forever. [Mar 2018, p.102]

The Decemberists' ace and absorbing eighth album is rather more traditionalist than they're letting on. [Apr 2018, p.88]

Perfectly sequenced, Sinister Grift's dubious uplift gradually falls away to reveal an exquisite melancholy introspection, the sound of optimism weighted by mooring hooks of sadness. [Apr 2025, p.86]

[The new songs] have a compression and pop playfulness often lacking from his albums, yet still manages to address the complex "every feeling" emotions of high school students. [May 2020, p.91]

The freshness of allowing us into his private world, most importantly, fuels Lanegan's third rock/electronic beauty on the bounce. [Jun 2020, p.86]

Boldness has its own reward in the big grime beats, tension-filled horns and cold self-loathing of Mercury. [Nov 2008, p.104]

It is simply beautiful. [May 2009, p.96]

Their most piercing and autobiographical yet. [Sep 2020, p.82]

Blending bossa with trip-hop and samba with vintage synths, she creates an entirely contemporary blend. [Jul 2016, p.91]

Hersh's voice is measured, husky, and quietly defiant, the sound of the [Throwing] Muses' ambient alter ego. [Apr 2003, p.97]

Eight lengthy bouts of exquisite thrumming folk. [Jan 2023, p.86]

Though the battering ram thrust of Sad But True takes some beating, other highlights are James Hetfield solo with orchestra on The Unforgiven III, and on (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth, SFS principal bassist Scott Pingel paying tribute to Metallica's Cliff Burton, who died in 1986 aged 24. [Oct 2020, p.86]

A masterfully subtle follow-up to 2018's Down The Road Wherever. [May 2024, p.85]

Yet for all the luxuriant, Gong-like dreaminess of I Surrender or Imagine An Orchestra, sudden beats and vocal hooks make Delight more unpredictable odyssey than easy float downstream. [May 2024, p.89]

Holy grail or curate’s egg, diehard fans will run to this 5-disc package and relish even its flaws. Adding the original album simply emphasises what we already knew: Nebraska represents the very best of Bruce Springsteen. [Dec 2025, p.92]

Inventive, reactive, but hauntingly untethered, there's no doubt UK Grim comes from a very bad place. [Apr 2023, p.85]

An album of alluring dignity and depth. [Jul 2014, p.93]

KG is no mere retread of the earlier album, Stu Mackenzie's custom-built electric baglama leading him in unexpected directions. [Jan 2021, p.86]

Hatchie is moving into interesting territory. [Feb 2026, p.84]

Stars offers deep dreamlike comfort, undercut by the melancholy violin of founding member Noel Sayre, who tragically died during the album's recording. [Sep 2011, p.96]

Less chaotic and parochial, more serene and accessible, but no less magical. [May 2005, p.96]

Pyramids’ borrowing of Chuck D’s mantra “I don’t rhyme for the sake of riddlin’” is emblematic of his still-abrasive mood, whether dissecting the prison system’s failures on A Bigger Picture Called Free or unleashing his most heartfelt rallying cry on the thrilling Robert Glasper-produced, Stevie Wonder-starring title track.

The low-fidelity recordings add a refreshingly unpretentious, non-commercial realism. [Dec 2019, p.102]

These transformations prove entirely worthwhile. [Dec 2015, p.92]

Throughout, Starr’s drumming is reliably great, and while he may indeed have travelled a long long road, here he sounds 85 years young. [Jun 2026, p.86]

On paper, it looks so wide-ranging as to be in danger of coming out gloopy and overdone; as it turns out, Rhys glues everything together with a crisp sense of confidence. [Feb 2007, p.98]

A precision, Sleater-Kinney-ish rewiring of new wave guitar with cool, no wave delivery. [Apr 2019, p.96]