A tremendous (and timely) distraction from the bad news from the desert this year. [May 2013, p.85]

While synth stomp Full Of Fire circles the (twisted) dancefloor, the bias is for brave, immersive, and high-risk music. [May 2013, p.88]

Even when he's so amiably out-of-focus, Vile's melodies remain vivid, his wanders never self-indulgent. [May 2013, p.86]

It captures their two sides--songs are either rousing with crashing guitars, swirling atmospheres and arresting climaxes or empyrean, indie introspective ballads. [May 2013, p.88]

Night Cafe, The Future Will Be Silent and the earworm that is Dresden might just be some of their best ever pieces. [May 2013, p.90]

It feels like a reaction to the concise, clear-headed It's Blitz; wild-eyed hoopla, in that spontaneous, occasionally brilliant, occasionally patchy kind of way. [May 2013, p.90]

One of their most consistently impressive releases. [May 2013, p.90]

You can fully imagine The Leisure Society penning another hart-rendering minor classic sooner or later. But for the moment, the waiting must go on. [May 2013, p.88]

The resulting sings--beautifully built around guitar, piano, drums and strings--are as their psycho-geography would suggest, intimate autobiographies, about ruined relationships. [May 2013, p.88]

[Wayne Coyne's] prolix tendencies have been stripped down into sombre considerations of lust, mortality and universal chaos. [May 2013, p.87]

With one million sales, the French quartet can be forgiven for not messing with the formula here. [May 2013, p.86]

Sam Beam has made a commercial record by the simple expedient of making a beautiful one. [May 2013, p.84]

He understands the value of restraint, his meticulously assembled songs slowly giving up their secrets rather than tipping everything out at once. [May 2013, p.82]

Taylor's beseeching voice and invigorating take on gospel is sincere and moving. [May 2013, p.96]

As ever, McClure's everyman persona is the hook that draws you in. [Jul 2012, p.85]

Head Down sounds highly-charged and fresh. [Dec 2012, p.84]

A clear-voiced statement of pop intent. [Apr 2013, p.97]

They are a fuller-sounding group in 2013. [Apr 2013, p.91]

Lapalux has joined the ranks of contemporary electronica's finest, like Flo Lo himself. [Apr 2013, p.95]

[Brian Chippendale] returns for more overcharged neon-Morricone industrial pop onslaughts, drums and vocals hooked up to his evil super-oscillator. [Apr 2013, p.89]

This extended family Sunn))))/Boris supergroup opt for cross-referenced influences. [Apr 2013, p.98]

Simon's songwriting ability is unquestionable, and the similarity with his father's voice is hard to ignore, but his quest to re-imagine Elliot Smith's XO too often gets in the way. [Apr 2013, p.86]

In short, a bafflingly sequenced and rather unlovable record. [Apr 2013, p.91]

An album for anybody who likes rock music to sound angry about something. [Mar 2013, p.89]

He still sings very much from the heart, though, and the result is altogether awesome. [Apr 2013, p.94]

Miami's best tracks remain (twisted) dancefloor friendly. [Apr 2013, p.95]

It feels hemmed in by its own musical limitations. [Apr 2013, p.94]

These fine-spun talents are too frequently suffocated by the album;s production, which ignores the songs' subtler details in favour of something more epic. [Apr 2013, p.89]