Isn't shy about where it's coming from, and it is assured. But ... It lacks their previous warmth. [Nov 2022, p.93]

Their albums from this period were a little low on magic, but this is the real deal, an organic sound full of strange, shadowy moods and adventurous and melodic playing. [Nov 2022, p.104]

Full of perfect pop, its 10 songs are giddy bursts of optimism and wonderment. [Nov 2022, p.86]

It's bracing, intense stuff, though the bleak wit that runs through Morris's proclamations and Dimitri Coats' brawny riffage ensures the earache is addictive. [Dec 2022, p.90]

Delirious, danceable songs with emotional heft. [Dec 2022, p.89]

This is a more soulful, less arch record than Tranquility Base. Not quite as detached from Monkeys past as it first appears, either. [Dec 2022, p.84]

All told, an uproarious upgrade on the garage bashfest. [Dec 2022, p.86]

With its major keys, funky breakbeats, scorching guitar solos and soothing flutes, here's one Gizzard Magnum opus not to miss in the deluge. [Dec 2022, p.92]

Any sense that the listener is being short-changed is blown away by the sheer quality of the writing and production on offer. [Dec 2022, p.84]

At first spiky and combative, gradually (and ultimately) it is hypnotic and calmative. [Dec 2022, p.89]

James's reputation as one of electronic music's most daring, inquisitive artists grows record by record. [Dec 2022, p.91]

Experimental, but far from intimidating. [Dec 2022, p.94]

Eclectic and even occasionally upbeat. ... His croon remains dizzyingly swoonsome. [Dec 2022, p.94]

There's often an old-world gravitas and a contemporary lightness of touch at play simultaneously, the tangible lineage of these story-rich, often long-form songs reaching deep within you. [Nov 2022, p.89]

None [of the guest artists] crowd out Hitchcock's distinctive songwriting, though, nor his undimmed ability to reach through the existential murk and grasp a revelation or two. [Nov 2022, p.90]

Vivid, touch-sensitive responses to a world unravelling. [Nov 2022, p.90]

With Callahan's romantic certainty comes rare writerly confidence: several tunes bask in this miraculous feeling. ... Outright classic. [Nov 2022, p.86]

Frank and redemptive, it's a journey of small Texas towns and wide open spaces. [Nov 2022, p.89]

It is as timely as it is sobering and, in places, austerely, compellingly beautiful. [Nov 2022, p.90]

Nothing Special sometimes swims so far out of focus that it's difficult to share Sheff's vision, while at other times it surges and soars towards everything that was fascinating about Okkervil River. [Nov 2022, p.84]

An intriguing, stylistic volte-face. [Nov 2022, p.94]

Under The Midnight Sun invests those primal energies with the wisdom of age, creating something fresh and powerful. [Nov 2022, p.85]

As The Moon Rests is thrillingly bleak, but not so bleak there isn't a crack of light visible at all times. [Nov 2022, p.93]

A mind-blowing creation merging the high period Dungen of Ta Det Lugnt with its more straightforward predecessor, 2002's Stadsvandringar. [Nov 2022, p.91]

Lovely vocals from both Mitchell and Johnson and a mellow, timeless mood. [Nov 2022, p.87]

Their first album in eight years finds their bond as strong as ever, Burton scoring Mercer's pocket heartaches for widescreen. [Nov 2022, p.90]

If April's slick Midnight Rockers album was a post Studio One career highlight for reggae legend Horace Andy, then this dubbed-up companion LP even takes it up a notch. [Oct 2022, p.82]

Allen turned 98 this year, yet the fire still burns brightly - his otherworldly creations keeping faith with his Afrofuturist mentor's grand design. [Nov 2022, p.91]