In Europe, Manu Chao shifts albums by the millions, but there is little here to make one think Britain is missing out. [Oct 2007, p.104]

Oodles of unashamed, unabashed fun, Going Way Out is perfect music to sculpt pompadours to. [Oct 2007, p.99]

Scialfa's writing wipes away any celeb-gossip patina through the universality of convincing detail. [Oct 2007, p.92]

'Leather Prowler' is as dank and industrial as you'd hope--but the emphasis is now on songwriting. [Sep 2007, p.112]

more ambitious and more accessible than the sonic paranoia of 2005's "Burner." [Dec 2007, p.109]

'Mother May I?' and AdRock's 'Oooh Girl' are the most engaging and enetertaining of a solid selection. [Oct 2007, p.106]

Lifeline is a classy record that never outstays its welcome. [Sep 2008, p.98]

Gira's seventh solo outing finds his sardonic-toned vocals little changed however, and lyrically, if he's not "walking through fire," he's asserting the "the scars still remain." So no change there. [Nov 2007, p.104]

Defiant cosmopolitanism doesn't come much more feisty, or compelling than this. [Sep 2007, p.104]

Challengers ultimately proves to be the group's finest hour. [Sep 2007, p.112]

This band brings a grubby beauty to a sound imbued with the insidious durability of the Buckingham-Nicks Fleetwood Mac. [Sep 2007, p.105]

Andorra arrives in reverberant, sun-drenched spumes of falsetto vocals, crunching guitars, pulsating drums, jingling sleigh bells and fluttering flutes. [Sep 2007, p.109]

Ear Drum confirms Kweli's position as an icon. [Oct 2007, p.106]

Three decades on, the Mekons are a veritable institution, but as Natural proves they're a still-evolving and effective one. [Sep 2007, p.105]

HIs essential charm flows through raise-a-glass choruses tinged with melancholy. [Oct 2007, p.91]

The superb Ditherer belies its title with head-on immediacy even if it giddily ignores the confines of triangular rock. [Sep 2007, p.108]

John B Sheff's wavering, sometimes overwrought, vocal takes getting used to, but it's worth it for songs like these. [Mar 2008, p.108]

Molina devotes will yearn to bask in this full bloom of Magnolia. [Oct 2007, p.91]

The Pretties turn in a brand new album of mostly original material recorded the righteous way on analogue gear, displaying considerably more energy and invention than most what's around today. [Nov 2007, p.108]

Just a quick read of the titles on this 12th album shows Chuck has lost none of his sloganeering, rebal-rousing wit. [Oct 2007, p.106]

They have emerged with identity still intact, marrying melodic '60s songwriting to Doorsian melodrama and garage rock mentality. [sEP 2007, P.110]

Prince's 26th album will be remembered more for its method of distribution--a reactionary tabloid's covermount CD--than for being tighter and more tuneful than 2004's "Musicology" and last year's "3121." [Sep 2007, p.113]

The Con rockets beyond even their own high standards. [Mar 2008, p.103]

This would be a strong set if they culled three tracks, shortened a few others and rearranged the sequencing. As it is, this record suffers from a distinct mid-album crisis. [Dec 2006, p.103]

The result is an unusual and likeable mix of country rock, rockabilly and excellent ballads. [Nov 2007, p.102]

He sometimes gets it right: the rare restraint of Positively 4th Street and Gates Of Eden hints at the fine album this might have been had Ferry and co given us more Dylan and less esque. [Apr 2007, p.108]

This is a shape-shifting beast, its classic pop sensibilities leavened with occasional samples or stretched into epic, groove-based jams. [Apr 2007, p.96]

Flute and horn fight for breath alongside swampy vocals, and a heavy-handed rock bombast doesn't hide a dearth of hooks or memorable pop melody. [Sep 2007, p.110]