It's obvious that the Chicago-born, multi-instrumentalist bluesman is about to add yet another Blues Music Award nomination to his already impressive tally. [May 2017, p.96]

Lyrics with thematic substance are complemented by fine tunes. [Apr 2017, p.93]

Triplicate lacks the revelatory impact of Shadows In The Night. And you always wish there was more light, inside these pocket-size arrangements. ... But this kind of immersion--in folk, blues or Sinatra--has always been serious business and rejuvenation to him: looking for answers and a way forward in a pasture of plenty. [May 2017, p.90]

A perfect starting place for Holter neophytes, In The Same Room doesn't really add much to her extant discography. [Apr 2017, p.96]

The foundations--the Latin rhythm section--remain solid, and wandering freely around is saxophonist Issa Cissoko, who, spiritually and musically, is to Baobab what Keith is to the Stones and Bez to the Mondays. Still a bit special. [May 2017, p.95]

The latest dispatch carries on its immediate predecessors' good work with familiar Wire tropes all in place. [Apr 2017, p.91]

Jo Bevan declaims like Siouxsie leading The Smiths, on fevered melodies worthy of a band named after a Cure rarity. [May 2017, p.98]

Mostly You Had Me At Goodbye is an artist stretching out and eagerly grasping a whole new world, one that she should easily conquer. [May 2017, p.94]

Greene here pulls together abstract R&B, twisted 2-step and crunching house, skillfully adopting vocal techniques employed by his heroes, Masters At Work. [May 2017, p.91]

Instrumental rhythms and all manner of sound effects are used to colour in these morbidly compelling stories. [Apr 2017, p.90]

Intriguing debut. ... A surfeit of vocals is distracting. [May 2017, p.98]

Wonky fuzz-pop duo from Leeds weird out a little on follow-up to 2015's Ratworld. [May 2017, p.98]

Shrieky-voiced, Jad fair-esque solo set of mid-70s Bowery oddball punk. [May 2017, p.98]

The odd head-snapping moodswing, a la Nick Cave, can jar. [May 2017, p.98]

What lets her down is a pair of English songs--beautifully sung, but the material is unforgivably weak. [May 2017, p.95]

Occasionally infuriating when great ideas are cast aside indiscriminately, Wolf's vision remains undimmed. [May 2017, p.92]

A spectacular lift-off, but Owens' career apogee sounds a long way off yet. [May 2017, p.91]

While Drunk is occasionally muso brinkmanship there's a human touch that grounds it. [May 2017, p.91]

John Talabot and Axel Boman share a rep for expressive, expansive rhythms aimed at forward-thinking dancefloors--music that can stand in its own right, away from the club. Thrust together, it's an approach that the Catalan/Swedish twosome maintain. [May 2017, p.91]

Covers include The Four Tops' Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever cooked into greasy Southern soul, and the title track, where, backed by Derek Trucks on slide guitar, she delivers the hymnal straight. [May 2017, p.96]

Future Islands still sound thrillingly marginal, people standing on an emotional faultline, waiting to be swallowed up. [May 2017, p.94]

Silver Eye shows mo loss of conviction, a dense, meditative collection that explores cosmic mysteries and natural wonders without any wispiness. [May 2017, p.92]

A compelling consistency of mood makes Metal Illness easy to get lost in. [May 2017, p.94]

This is Mastodon rediscovering both their edge and their emotional resonance. [May 2017, p.96]

Throwing down a persuasive gauntlet, opener Undying Love For Humanity is all breezy percussion, percolating synths, chiming vibraphones and complex, wordless backing vocal arrangements--a sunny, tropicalia-like setting for Sadier's typically liquid delivery of lyrics. [Apr 2017, p.97]

It's Flynn's warmest outing so far. [Apr 2017, p.98]

Lovely. [Apr 2017, p.96]

A familiar narrative, perhaps, but rendered with uniquely mordant wit. [Apr 2017, p.91]