Amid these diaries of dissolution, there is defiance - plus a consistent compositional potency that suggests latter-day Damon Albarn. [Dec 2025, p.85]

Teamed, the trio's rich vocal-blend and sometimes sparkling, sometimes scruffed modern country is deeply impressive. [Jan 2025, p.84]

Moments of odd musical cosplay, meanwhile, are outshone by such hits as Silly Love Songs and Let 'Em In. [Jan 2026, p.96]

A glorious snapshot of Silver in his prime. [Dec 2025, p.99]

A complete set from Minneapolis's First Avenue in January 1985, powered by the sulphurous char of Bob Mould's guitar and Grant Hart's heart-attack drumming, showcases their alchemical blend of classic pop melodicism and punk velocity, closing with apocalyptic Beatles and Byrds covers. A second disc of stray recordings previews their 1986 Warners debut and burgeoning maturity. [Nov 2025, p.101]

Elevated by Austra's opera-trained vocal, thrilling fluctuations confirms she's progressed from grief to anger, and with serene finale Good Riddance, acceptance. [Dec 2025, p.84]

The absolute highlight is Dion's magnificently assured live performance of his own King Of The New York Streets. .... New York Minute stands out, with its overt nods to Dion's late-1950s doo wop sides. [Jan 2026, p.89]

The shock of the new has evaporated, but she's subtly evolving and broadening her palette. [Dec 2025, p.78]

["This Is How We Make Our Dreams Come True" is] one misfire in a never-predictable and constantly shapeshifting and imaginative album. [Jan 2026, p.85]

If Melody Nelson had been hit by a car driven by Arthur Vercocai rather than Serge Gainsbourg, this could have been the result. Jan 2025, p.91]

Hard to pin down, harder not to enjoy. [Jan 2026, p.90]

The shadowy melodies of New Case and Forgotten Token, a pulverising meditation on displacement, display a depth and sophistication suggesting greatness in Upchuck's future, if the dystopia doesn't get them first. [Jan 2026, p.84]

Jolting with energy and pitch-black humour, Stardust is a sonic pink'n'mix that finds Brown firmly relocating his psychedelic wildness. [Jan 2026, p.87]

Describe takes time to coalesce, but even through the mists, Jadagu makes her presence felt. [Jan 2026, p.86]

Mostly it's sparse, as a lonesome album should be. [Jan 2026, p.86]

Here the ensemble hangs together a little more coherently. [Jan 2026, p.86]

Everybody scream is both a re-statement of what made her so beguiling and a gentle step forwards. [Jan 2026, p.85]

Snocaps might plan on melting away as quickly as they formed, but here, at least, they've left an indelible mark. [Jan 2026, p.80]

Their trademark bubblegum choruses are all reassuringly present, with a handful of songs here good enough to tough it out with anything on their early revered studio albums. [Dec 2025, p.83]

If Love And Fortune covers messy terrain, the 22-year-old traverses it with cool panache, plus shades of Gen-X touchstone Juliana Hatfield and Eleanor Friedberger's glistening Rebound. [Dec 2025, p.84]

Another songwriting masterclass. Again. [Dec 2025, p.78]

Hooks and choruses still pour out of White Lies, but there's a lack of cohesion that stops Night Light blazing quite as it should. [Dec 2025, p.81]

It's not always easy to get emotional purchase on these songs, but the hint of something moving beneath the immaculate surfaces makes the challenge worthwhile. [Dec 2025, p.86]

A spare, transient, restrained thing. Yet it's that restraint that ultimately defines its brilliance; the sound of a more confident, assured artist realising that it might be better to travel slowly than to arrive. [Dec 2025, p.86]

A bold and beautiful record borne of quiet surety, this is their best since The Trials Of Van Occupanther. [Dec 2025, p.86]

Her reading of Anthem makes Leonard Cohen’s hymn to resilience and resistance feel like a bespoke gift from another writer who knew about life in the shadows. .... It’s as that distant flickering light, illuminating the path to better times, that Staples excels. [Dec 2025, p.76]

Lloyd is joined by pianist Jason Moran and guitarist Marvin Sewell, who prove highly empathetic collaborators, creating delicately nuanced backdrops that are conductive to the saxophonist's poetic storytelling. [Nov 2025, p.82]

An album that's rarely short of lovely. [Dec 2025, p.78]