These are his silkiest arrangements yet, but shadowy undercurrents ensure the tension never lets up. [Jun 2011, p.104]

2 is the sound of war, famine and pestilence wiith a spoonful of sexual frustration; often silly but always fun. [Jul 2011, p.106]

For this album she as worked with a breathtaking array of collaborators, with varied results. [Jul 2011, p.115]

Imelda May can voice rockin' blues, slap-bass rockabilly and smoky torch jazz and she can do it incredibly well. [Nov. 2010, p. 102]

They've fleshed out the colourful sketches that make up the bulk of their last album. [Feb 2011, p.96]

It's difficult to ignore Total's hoovering synths, filtered drums, glam rock rhythms and punkish snarl, such is its fizzing energy. [Jul 2011, p.115]

A sameness about these developments diminishes the album's appeal, but given a presence in the ether, airwaves, clouds and such, the Pierces' obsession could become addictive. [Jul 2011, p.114]

Reaching a jubilant, freak-flag waving climax with the garage sloppiness of Where We Go, what's left is a quieter set of herbal spirituals that continue to link strands of country, folk and blues with the group's own beautifully wayward sense of direction. [Jul 2011, p.105]

EAR PWR have concocted a gorgeous chillwave gem. [Jul 2011, p.115]

They only operate in one gear but it;s a sound that's full of passion, piss and vinegar. [Jul 2011, p.115]

The resulting record is one that softens with repeated listens, even if it's so full of bad juju you may initially feel compelled to burn it at the stake. [Jul 29011, p.112]

There's less jamming than on earlier NMA releases, more insistence on songwriting. [Jul 2011, p.108]

If Bruce Springsteen or Steve Earle had created these blue-collar character sketches Here We Rest would be a return to their very best. At 32, however, Isbell seems to be just warming up. [Jul 2011, p.107]

Intense and moving. [Jul 2011, p.105]

Genre-hopping in style with one-woman band Merrill Garbus. [July 2011, p. 114]

Hotly tipped Ipswich rapper's expansive debut. [July 2011, p. 112]

Those who've found White Denim's previous albums a little too cluttered and clattery for comfort should find that D is a good deal more accessible, yet it also ends up being their most thrillingly off-kilter record to date. [July 2011, p. 112]

Austin's "newgrass" prodigy moves ever onwards. [July 2011, p. 108]

Canadian indie-songsmith producer, illustrator comes blinking into the sunlight. [July 2011, p. 108]

The New York boy-girl duo make sweet love to a musical memory. [July 2011, p. 107]

Nelson sounds edgy while Ali Jackson's percussion solo probably looks good on TV but bores aurally. [July 2011, p. 107]

Pearl Jam grungemeister reveals self to be shameless romantic. {July 2011, p. 106]

Dan Bejar's surprising mix of slinky '80s soft rock and sophisticated disco. [July 2011, p. 106]

Air Museum sees the Brooklyn duo largely trade computer manipulation for the studio, processing instruments using analogue gear. [July 2011, p. 105]

Certainly, these times demand an earnest folk-punk poet of the poeple, but Turner's tracts are a little too woolly to truly connect. [July 2011, p. 105]

The Lou Reed-approved alt-country band's sixth album. [July 2011, p. 105]

Peripatetic post-Americana quintet release their Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. [July 2011, p. 104]

What he does less of these days, regrettably, is production, upon which his outside-the-box reputation rightly rests. [July 2011, p. 103]