American Life is revealing and diverting -- no bad things in a record -- but in the end the brow-beating, finger-wagging and psycho-babbling take their toll. [May 2003, p.86]

She breathes the vocals as if she were drifting in and out of death's door. [May 2003, p.95]

Despite being accessible like an electricity pylon, this trio of art-punk hysterics are as righteous as they are ridiculous. [Jul 2003, p.108]

The result is laidback and chilled. [Apr 2003, p.104]

Sound[s] like a typical Elephant 6-related band--absolutely fantastic. [May 2003, p.108]

Mesmerising stuff. [Mar 2003, p.109]

If you think The Rutles' Double Back Alley is better than Penny Lane, then this just-over-35-minute's worth of semi-reverential fun is for you. [Aug 2003, p.95]

There are times... when the stripping-down of The Jayhawks' aesthetic reveals [Gary Louris'] designs to be uncomfortably slight. [Apr 2003, p.92]

Adult. add unflinching aggression to the razor-sharp beats and vaguely sinister lyrics first mapped out on 2001's Resuscitation. [May 2003, p.104]

The pleasure... is in hearing it unravel. [Aug 2003, p.98]

A dozen simple, beautiful dirges. [May 2003, p.108]

A set of busy beautiful whispers, 62 minutes of exquisite suspended animation. [Apr 2003, p.87]

It is all heart, it is truth and it is beautiful. [Jun 2003, p.94]

A claustrophobic, mesmeric soundscape akin to My Bloody Valentine and Spacemen 3's early work. [Apr 2003, p.114]

A rich, compelling album. [Jun 2003, p.93]

Diego Garcia has fallen hard for Interpol's diagonal guitar/bass chimes, but his band's debut also suggests The Cure's pop-conscious first album rather than Joy Division. [Jan 2005, p.102]

Where Elephant does differ from what has gone before is in terms of quality. It's just better all round. [Apr 2003, p.88]

A record of substance, one that stands head and shoulders above today's garage bashers. [May 2003, p.89]

There's some terrific and accessible stuff here.... but the result is still an album that retreads old Placebo themes. [Apr 2003, p.110]

These 10 tracks positively bristle with feral, street fighter 'tude. [May 2003, p.97]

The failing voice at its core would clearly be happier in the privacy of lo-fi. [Mar 2003, p.106]

Full and lush, yet somehow homey and direct. [May 2003, p.97]

Their atmospheric twist'n'drone merits more acclaim than they've received so far. [Mar 2003, p.112]

A compelling blend of 21st Century world music. [May 2003, p.106]

Sounding assured and triumphant, Scotland's finest finally have realised their true potential. [Aug 2002, p.112]

There's a moving intimacy and improvisational feel to the wistful, late night, piano songs. [Apr 2003, p.108]

Bold, stirring and so unfashionable it just might work. [Mar 2003, p.114]

While the comparisons to Springsteen's Nebraska and Gillian Welch's Time (The Revelator) are obvious, they don't do justice to Jurado's wholly original craft. [Jun 2003, p.98]