A welcome change of pace.

[Rjd2] has moved away from sample-based instrumental hip-hop, throwing in gently psychedelic Beatles-y songcraft and live instruments to achieve a jack-of-all-trades sound that, while perfectly pleasant, is done better by Beck.

Taylor's attraction lies in her ability to switch herself effortlessly between vastly different styles.

Half great and half pointless.

We find exquisite Beatles-indebted pop, moments of effortless lyrical and melodic brilliance and a few tunes which drift dangerously close to easy listening.

The moments of dark introspection still linger in the album's secluded corners, but overall, 'A Brighter Beat' is exactly that.

Each winding soundscape sounds like it was made for those big budget nature documentaries with David Attenborough.

The best Levi since 501s.

Sparse, directionless and half-formed, Trans AM's eighth LP is nowhere near the radical transformation its title suggests.

It's guiltily satisfying in a bearded, nodding sort of way, but there's little to grab on to in such an ironic hall of mirrors.

Prepare to lose your heart to him.

Moments of beauty cut through the bleakness.

Tracks like 'Bacaroo' and 'Sailing Bells' deploy the sort of lovely string arrangements that sweep you off your feet and have your knickers on the floor before you even notice your cold bits.

They're a band who are defiantly British and who haven't sold their soul to current trends--and they're all the better for it. [20 Jan 2007, p.29]

The real achievement of 'A Weekend In The City' is its path to this conclusion, pulling hard-won moments of contentment from a maelstrom of anger and confusion.

Not likely to appeal to your common or garden new raver, but perfect with a nice cup of tea.

It's nothing if not infectious.

An oddball pleasure.

By turns brooding and effervescent, but always outrageous fun, 'Writer's Block' is a compact minor classic.

An album that sounds like it was written as a soundtrack to the best film never made. [20 Jan 2007, p.31]

If the pop dreams get slightly tarnished by the graffiti put-downs of 'Not Big' (her ex has a 'size problem') and 'Alfie' (her brother smokes too much dope) then that's not too worrying. With a personality this size, this isn't the last time you'll be hearing from her.

There's the odd good song... but these are rare moments from a band wallowing in coarse experimentalism. [20 Jan 2007, p.31]

The gulf between Barrie's obvious talent and the quality of his recorded output is disappointingly huge. [27 Jan 2007, p.29]

A stunning return to form. [14 Oct 2006, p.35]

Unfathomable brilliance from start to finish.

For all its weird beauty, this is very much Damon's record - much more so than Gorillaz. Or indeed, Blur.

Their best yet.

This Athens, Georgia collective have blossomed from winsome indie-pop virgins to frocked-up future pop stars, beaming their febrile college rock through a kaleidoscope of sleazy funk, electronica jitters, and 'Fear Of Music'-style Talking Heads ethno-beat.

Where the songs were once floaty-light, 'The Enemy Chorus' is anchored in electronic menace and murky krautrock undercurrents that make it throb as much as shimmer. [20 Jan 2007, p.31]

As usual, if you scratch the surface there's a lot more going on than you'd initially realised. [20 Jan 2007, p.31]

You hear a band capable of genuine prettiness as well as arch cleverness. [6 Jan 2007, p.26]

Identity is everything in pop, but the majority of this record serves only to bury what made Gwen Stefani unique in the first place.

Listen to the beats and you'll find The Neptunes' best work in years. [27 Jan 2007, p.31]

'Light Grenades' offers little change to Incubus' formula of having Brandon Boyd perform his brand of strained vocal gymnastics. [2 Dec 2006, p.30]

The resulting remixes and medleys, as heard on equipment that probably costs more than your house at Abbey Road, could make you weep with joy. It may not sound as good on a common-or-garden stereo, but you'll still mist up a bit.

Genius. [18 Nov 2006, p.33]

A compelling record that bears more resemblance to the indie of Bright Eyes or Modest Mouse than anything found on 2003's 'Deja Entendu'. [18 Nov 2006, p.33]

There's a good single album here in need of editing.

Josef K's candy-striped take on post-punk isolationism sounds both ancient and modern. [18 Nov 2006, p.31]

Newsom has managed to lessen the twee factor of her last record... in the process crafting an album as bewitching as it is odd.

They do propulsive pop-rock better than anyone. [11 Nov 2006, p.43]

He's terribly earnest. [4 Nov 2006, p.35]

The only person this record would ever appeal to is the man who made it--Jack Black. [11 Nov 2006, p.43]

There are more ideas here than Blink-182 had in their entire career; it's just that they're the same ideas that Jimmy Eat World had on their last LP. [11 Nov 2006, p.41]

Even the most hardcore disciple is likely to get something they might have missed before. [21 Oct 2006, p.35]

A vital trans-Atlantic concern, the point where Dizzee meets Jay-Z. [3 Feb 2007, p.33]

['Wrist'] sees [Deftones] continue to explore that hazy hinterland, where The Smiths' sensitivity and Sepultura's sledgehammer riffs overlap. [28 Oct 2006, p.35]

'Endless Wire' isn't quite as awful as it should be. [28 Oct 2006, p.33]

Sadly, he only briefly reaches the heights of his best Gorky's work. [18 Feb 2006, p.36]

This is one to file alongside 'American Idiot', 'Doolittle' and 'Nevermind' on your greatest US rock albums shelf.

If Sparta have been damned thus far as the weaker of ATDI's progeny, let it be so no longer.

Each tune is utterly lovely in its own right, but--my God--are they depressing. [7 Oct 2006, p.39]

The Pirate's Gospel is a campfire folk gem perfect for the summer festivals.

'Rudebox' is not 'Robbie Williams the serious artiste', but it is an amazing pop album.

Cleaned up but never pared-down, it's his most wholesome collection since 'The Hour Of Bewilderbeast'. [21 Oct 2006, p.35]

There's still signs of the nutso techno loony who prompted NME to invent the term 'drill'n'bass' back in the mid-'90s. [14 Oct 2006, p.35]

We say: just give in, it'll be the best vomit of your life. [20 Jan 2007, p.29]

A dark, beautiful collection. [26 Aug 2006, p.43]

For the most part it's clear that the New Zealanders have lost what sense of direction or purpose they had left. [7 Oct 2006, p.39]

An eclectic but thoroughly satisfying record. [21 Jan 2006, p.35]

If Beck gets better as he gets madder, this is definitely his best since 'Midnite Vultures' - maybe even since 'Odelay'.

The Killers are still as flashy, unintentionally funny, and flagrantly affected as ever.

Almost cinematic in feel, much of The Hold Steady's genius lies in Finn's ability to craft songs that tell stories as wise, textured and three-dimensional as the nearest old oak tree. [13 Jan 2007, p.30]

Sometimes you wish Meloy would just put away his studied thesp-schlock and say, "Man, I'm sick of singing about Victorian peasants. I got dumped once. I want to write about that..." [27 Jan 2007, p.31]

If you get a kick out of glorious, ragged old rock'n'roll, then you'll consider it essential.

A bittersweet second album of gentle strumming and washed-out summer sun. [30 Sep 2006, p.37]

Adem mirrors the ambitious approach of Sufjan Stevens. [13 May 2006, p.41]

Dando is in spiky, Buzzcocks-esque form. [23 Sep 2006, p.31]

Scissor Sisters sound under so much pressure to follow up a monster hit that they're not actually having any fun.

Superb stuff. [23 Sep 2006, p.33]

The lows are low for sure, but the highs are largely absent.

The only downside? You don't get to see the band's plentiful hair thrashing about. [30 Sep 2006, p.39]

'Tired Of Hanging Around' is one seriously pissed-off, paranoid, twitchy record.

Here, ultimately, the DJ remains resolutely in the background. ANd that was never the point. [16 Sep 2006, p.35]

The whiff of soft-rock schmaltz is occasionally close to overpowering. [16 Sep 2006, p.36]

An excellent third album. [23 Sep 2006, p.31]

There's going to be a hearty scrap between this lot, Muse and the Monkeys when album of the year time comes round.

All in all, this is merely promising rather than masterful. [14 Oct 2006, p.35]

Odd, addictive, unsettling and beautiful. [8 Jul 2006, p.41]

There are bits of 'Amputechture' that sail perilously away from good honest prog into the realms of free jazz. [9 Sep 2006, p.37]

It's easy enough to ignore until a real stinker passes by. [2 Sep 2006, p.21]

Whereas his 2002 solo debut shot a glance back to Michael Jackson's 'Off The Wall', this is more indebted to 'Smooth Criminal', early '80s Prince and on its ballads, Stevie Wonder. [9 Sep 2006, p.37]

This is Yo La tengo on snug autopilot. [2 Sep 2006, p.21]

They wisely avoid toying with any Darkness-style irony, but the Keys' insistence on authenticity does leave the album a little flat and humourless. [2 Sep 2006, p.21]

In turns, it's searingly honest and brutal... with interludes where everything turns fluffy. [19 Aug 2006, p.35]

The perfect entwining of brain and brawn. [9 Sep 2006, p.37]

Unfortunately, despite some nice tunes, the formula seems a little, well, formulaic. [11 Nov 2006, p.43]

Excruciating fret wankery... appalling metal funk... and Chris Cornell 'singing' like a castrated gibbon throughout. [2 Sep 2006, p.21]

Occasionally... she does hint at her past genius. [2 Sep 2006, p.21]

Dylan's voice is the star. [26 Aug 2006, p.43]

It's essentially more of the same kickabout beach-pop that Brian Wilson might have sounded like if he'd listened obsessively to '80s indie legends Felt while he was plaing in his sandpit. [1 Jul 2006, p.36]

At its best 'Riot City Blues' is dumb, fun and silly. [3 Jun 2006, p.33]

In any other hands this would have been a total disaster, but yes, things are never quite that simple with these two.

It's a soulful, romantic album about what happens when the lights come up at the end of the night and life smacks you in the face.

Timeless. [19 Aug 2006, p.35]

Even more subdued than usual. [12 Aug 2006, p.32]

They're a confident band, but the tragedy is they're at the top of someone else's game.

Awesome.