Idles and Tom Morello score highly by taking an edgy staccato approach, faithful to the original songs, but La Roux's synthy take on Damaged Goods teases out an unexpected amount of melody. [Jul 2021, p.83]

Gibbons' gnarly guitars and sand-blasted voice are impeachable. [Jul 2021, p.80]

Dreamers Are waiting is possibly the most Crowded House-sounding album crowded House have made since their Crowded debut. [Jul 2021, p.83]

It's his most moving writing of his career. [Jul 2021, p.83]

From experimental to twisted pop, drill to R&B, techno to Ambient, James draws a precise and brilliant musical Venn diagram. [Jul 2021, p.87]

A mixed bag then, but a welcome return that promises much. [Jul 2021, p.80]

It moves sedately and seductively, a brooding mass of reverb, drone and throb, all counter-pointed by Trappes' gossamer-light vocals. [Jul 2021, p.87]

A breathy soundworld throbs with chillout opportunity and toggles toothache-sweet grunge buzz, Laurel canyon lilt and skyward soundtrack The Last man On Earth. Alive with confessional ideas. [Jul 2021, p.80]

Sustaining a dreamworld mood throughout, Changephobia is a quiet beauty. [Jul 2021, p.87]

Humanity's end sounds grim; but beautifully rendered. [Jul 2021, p.90]

The gigantic lokombe (slit drum) and buzz drums no longer shock in the way they used to, although the synths suggest one route forward, and the guitars and harmonies look to South Africa for inspiration. [Jul 2021, p.88]

VWETO III occasionally struggles to transcend its origins as a collection of essentially unfinished pieces. ... More often, however, her lop-sided rhythms, offbeat electronics and uncanny sense of mood are compelling in their own right. [Jul 2021, p.82]

Clara is neither ostentatiously glitchy, nor overburdened by its conceptual heft. [Jul 2021, p.87]

Tge Waves Pt 1's ebb-and-flow is closer to Phillip Glass's pulsing minimalism than anything calming or restorative. [Jul 2021, p.87]

The music swings again, even if Currie's damning viewpoint hasn't lightened. [Jun 2021, p.87]

The frankness of yore remains intact, but his focus has shifted, and the intimacy that once sometimes made Barlow's solo work a white knuckle ride now amplifies the tranquility of these strums. [Jul 2021, p.81]

Deep into side two You Hear Georgia starts to drag a little as they ditch the choogle and attempt to foray into the cosmic Americana territory of My Morning Jacket. [Jul 2021, p.82]

For all its lofty subject matter, Lost In The Cedar Wood is the raucous sound of modern-day sea shanties. [Jul 2021, p.82]

Cavalcade harbours considerable thrills for those up to its challenges. [Jun 2021, p.83]

The music - a little Lumineers, a little Fleet Foxes - stands up for itself. [Jul 2021, p.88]

For all the grown-up entanglements and era-specific worries, it's championship-winning stuff. [Jul 2021, p.85]

Over time and repeated plays, Showtunes weaves its magic, maintaining its mysterious atmosphere throughout, along with a welcome sense of stillness amid life's ongoing dramas. [Jun 2021, p.81]

Clark and Squarepusher's more radical deconstructions expose deeper enigmas at play in GGP's source material. [Jul 2021, p.90]

What we get more of are melodies that stick. [Jul 2021, p.87]

Rhys excels at holding anxiety and unease up to the light without becoming harsh; Seeking New Gods keeps that balance beautifully. [Jun 2021, p.83]

Make Me Feel Alright is a joyous call and response; Souled Out On You a heartbreaker with deep feeling; Country Child, meanwhile, is pure Hill Country hypnotic boogie. [Jun 2021, p.89]

From the gentle breeze of the Tala Tannam to the howling gale of lead single Chismiten, the little clumps of ambient sound - village chatter, footsteps, maybe a cockerel - hold their ground against every new gust of virtuoso fretwork. [Jul 2021, p.89]

It's packed tight with wayward ideas. [Jul 2021, p.89]