On the third Uni long-player--a series designed, unlike his starker glitch compositions, to work in dance clubs--the 52-yar-old's signature techno pulses and liminal keyboard clouds enmesh with comparative generosity. [May 2018, p.93]

It's a warm and heartfelt album. [May 2018, p.97]

It's a mixed bag. ... Until Hot Chip's mothership heaves back into view, Taylor's emotive, immersive solo output will tide things over nicely. [May 2018, p.93]

The results are terrific, harking back to The Black Album and Strawberries, with lots of Phantasmagoria-like gothic pop and '60s-via'80s garage a la Naz Nomad. [May 2018, p.96]

It all shines a light on Cash's enduring artistry. [May 2018, p.94]

Can't deny his range (hip-hop, disco, acoustic picking) or songwriting, but voice and lyrics lack depth. [May 2018, p.98]

TLICTFIR finds Wye Oak reaching new heights of sophistication. [May 2018, p.96]

This is LaVette's album, start to finish: heterodox song choices, rearranged verses, tweaked lyrics--none of it gratuitous. [May 2018, p.90]

Amid all the bleakness and despair, Goulden emerges as a true shining light. [May 2018, p.92]

Multi-Love's frequently tremendous follow-up. [May 2018, p.92]

Beneath the surface sheen, Resistance Is Futile is a complex, multi-layer work. [May 2018, p.88]

Another Eels album--the 12th!--to treasure. [May 2018, p.94]

Dracula simmers like The War On Drugs, and Calling Paul The Suffering has Latino touches, while Blue Rose dresses Greenwich Village rock in Fleetwood Mac silk. [May 2018, p.96]

Brion's 3/4 step-step micro-cues--for Greta Gerwig's perfect comedy drama--come with the necessary sprinkling of inexplicable sadness. [Apr 2018, p.89]

A provocative, anti-establishment critique of the blind idolatry received by the British monarchy and finds each of the nine tracks paying homage to Hutchings' list of notable women that he believes are worthy alternative monarchs. [Apr 2018, p.87]

Goat Girl's vision is as unique as an oily fingerprint, their confidence dizzying, and richly justified. [May 2018, p.90]

Musselwhite's bittersweet harmonica offers plaintive asides to 10 Harper-penned tunes, the most potent of which is Nothing At All, a solemn waltz-time ballad. Elsewhere, the material ranges from rough-hewn country blues to swaggering Muddy Waters-esque message songs. [May 2018, p.95]

Laveaux may have set out to rediscover Caribbean roots, but she also underlines how much the islands influenced the early rock'n'roll and soul that emanated from New Orleans ... but with the modernist sheen of France's A.L.B.E.R.T production team. [Apr 2018, p.94]

Bursting with invention, energy and occasionally cheesy synths.[May 2018, p.95]

With smart synths and Young's wry lyricism ensuring a contemporary edge to their retro-leanings, Combat Sports is fizzy fun that won't rot your teeth. [May 2018, p.91]

[The] band's fine third album. [May 2018, p.92]

The sounds here do at times recall territories previously mapped by Brian and RD James, with or without MDMA, but Song For Alpha still makes for an electronic listening album of particular quality. [May 2018, p.93]

An album whose drawn-out grooves spiral seductively like dandelion clocks in the breeze. [May 2018, p.93]

Another star turn for soprano Lavinia Blackwall. [May 2018, p.98]

Many of these 25 short pieces are rich in layered melody and texture, and full of primary coloured sonics. [May 2018, p.94]

A fourth album of brisk Saharan grooves, heavy jamming and trance percussion. [May 2018, p.98]

Ndegeocello's covers album comprises wonderful takes on R&B and soul. [May 2018, p.98]

Second time out, they've all but eradicated the gauzy abstractions, in favour of a cards-on-table, powerpop sound, which, i tandem with impressive melodic directness, should make them on e of 2018's hastiest crossover bands. [May 2018, p.90]