A lot happens on Eleven Eleven -- all of it good. [Sept. 2011, p. 106]

Track by track, these are nuggets of brilliance. As a whole, it's baffingly eclectic. [Sept. 2011, p. 106]

Stranger Me is accurately titled. It's both intriguing and entertaining throughout. [Sept. 2011, p. 106]

The long, swirling guitar patterns remain, as the bandleader enjoys letting a groove stretch right out before demonstrating his blues-rock credentials. [Sept. 2011, p. 104]

California five-piece coming soon to a stadium near you. [Sept. 2011, p. 100]

Everything you could want from a wizard, a true non-star. [Sept. 2011, p. 100]

In the end, caution and Horn's glossy production smother the early Yes's spirit of oddball experiment. [Sept. 2011, p. 98]

Metheny returns with a beautifully understated acoustic album whose virtue is its bare-boned simplicity. [Sept. 2011, p. 98]

Third album proper for San Fran psych quartet. [Sept. 2011, p. 98]

The reference points suggest Cerebral Ballzy care little for innovation, but they've nevertheless created the best US punk debut for some time. [Sept. 2011, p. 98]

Hearts is meta-shoegazing, a melody-driven dive into mist, where focus is difficult. [Sept. 2011, p. 97]

It's music for dreaming, the keyboard equivalent to shoegaze, reinforced by its song titles and vocals mostly mixed beneath the waves to gorgeously woozy effect. [Sept. 2011, p. 97]

Reliably familiar punk pop by enduring Japanese trio. [Sept. 2011, p. 96]

Viva Brother lack much of Blur's charming artyness and all of the Gallaghers' battering rock immensity and football terrace touch. [Sept. 2011, p. 96]

Two Of Everything is a sure-footed progression from 2009's self-titled debut, thanks to the warm co-production of Dan Auerbach (Black Keys) and the pair's willingness to push the sonic envelope into the outre zone, even embracing bagpipes. [Sept. 2011, p. 96]

For a record about a lonely planet, it makes all the right connections. [Sept. 2011, p. 96]

Fab follow-up to 2009's Tomorrow Is Alright from the San Franciscan collective. [Sept. 2011, p. 95]

A striking mix of rock and electronics on Philadelphia group's second record. [Sept. 2011, p. 94]

Canadian power-poppers celebrate hyper-melodic 20th birthday. [Sept. 2011, p. 94]

She's got soul all right. [Sept. 2011, p. 94]

Where the previous LP put them on a higher plane and widened their audience, this broadens the palette and consolidates their status. [Sept. 2011, p. 92]

The boy done good, again. [Jun 2011, p.100]

Duets with Stevie Nicks and the latest country sensation, Colbie Caillat, lift the proceedings--but the tracks that stand out are those where he sings with more personal reflection. [Jul 2011, p.114

In less accomplished hands it could have spiraled into pastiche. Instead, by being so dedicated to the past, Wilson has shaped a delicious future. [Aug 2011]

It's sometimes easy to lose sight of the humanity in Randy Newman's songwriting. Some redress is afforded by an album which--as with its 2003 predecessor--sees 67-year-old Newman pare back songs spanning four decades to voice and piano. [Jun 2011, p.92]

The tone is wistful and serene more than sad and heavy, but principal singer Nona Marie Invie still sounds like a femme fatale, with a coiled, spectral charm that suits the band's name. [Jun 2011, p.104]

On first impression If By Yes sound floaty and melodic. Ideal for backdrop sounds at classy fashion outlets. Yet it;s more than that. [May 2011, p.109]

Young set up a tour with a fine country band playing at state fairs and rodeos. This set includes live, countrified version of Re-actor, Old Ways, Harvest, even Buffalo Springfield and five previously unreleased songs. [Jul 2011, p.120]