The 10 tracks disappear in a brisk 28 minutes, as if to say, ‘Chin up, mate, get on with it’. A heartbreak record--done the British way.

Wrecking Ball [is] a triumph.

It’s not quite picture perfect, but ‘Seeking Thrills’ is Georgia’s jubilant and insightful document of the life that moves under the disco lights.

Here and there, though, it’s a bit of a grind.

Another set of unassuming Americana. [19 Mar 2005, p.59]

‘TILT’ is a record that proves that campness and ridiculousness doesn’t have to come at the expense of real depth.

The Bake Sale is way too good for posturing.

The vibrant ‘Shine’ is filled with languid horns and sweet doo-wop backing vocals. Rolling ragtime piano (‘Flowers’) and hip-shaking melody (‘Better Man’) pick up the pace and there’s bluesy sass in the shape of the upbeat ‘Twistin And Groovin’.

The tightness of ‘First Two Pages…’’s singles like ‘Tropic Morning News’ and ‘Eucalyptus’ are somewhat absent, though the looser structures and decision to allow the songs room to grow, melodically and lyrically pays off.

There's a strange disconnect here, one that might be ironed out by facing the past head-on rather than treating it as a concept.

At times things seem a touch over-produced--something that's always a risk when you spend half a decade working on 11 tracks. But mostly, Marshall's thickly layered studio shenanigans make Sun shine.

This album shows his growth as both an artist, and as aa person who’s had to deal with the most private aspects of their life being publicly dissected. It’s a stellar--if somewhat overlong--artistic statement.

As good as it is, ‘Hackney Diamonds’ does have bad spots. Country honker ‘Dreamy Skies’ would’ve sounded outdated in the ‘70s – and even a cameo from founder bassist Bill Wyman can’t save punk-y cringe-a-thon ‘Live By The Sword’, another victim of Mick’s interminable Johnny Rotten impression. Those low points are thankfully scarce, fewer and farther between than on anything this side of 1981.

His straightest record yet, delving into crunk, rock, drum'n'bass and pop with varying results.

It’s far too long at 67 minutes, but that’s the price of free expression.

It all has an affecting, intimate power.

On her debut album, they all blossomed into a rich, self-reflective record that shows the artist beyond the beats.

A dollop of deliberately sloppy post-grad college rock. [23 Apr 2005, p.51]

Succeeds as a standalone work, regardless of its authors’ statuses in the indie-folk world.

While the album may not fully scale D'Agostino's high bar, in attempting to make that leap Cymbals Eat Guitars have made their best album to date as well as a touching goodbye to a friend.

It’s easy to hear his plaintive songs, full of heartbreak, mountains and fjords, and picture Ásgeir recording in Bon Iver-style isolation.

Presented as a 96-minute opera, his fourth studio album is a haughty gesture weighed down by its own folly, scanning instead as pathos.

When your nightbus home is beset by phantasmagorical drunkards with beady, threatening eyes, when your ears are bashed by mendacious line managers and eyes beset by the violence of news/advert/news, then this incredible album is your passport to a better place.

After the huge success of his second critically-acclaimed album like ‘Pieces Of A Man’, this small EP steps into the big boots it needs to fill before Mick Jenkins’ next outing. ... Delightfully dainty.

Throughout, singer Bid's smooth baritone paints intriguing vignettes ("He was the best thing that you've ever seen in Swansea", goes 'When I Get To Hollywood'), adding colour to an already rich album.

It takes half a dozen listens before the quality of it really sinks in, and is so all over the place that only the most devoted won't find it initially maddening. But throughout is a braveness and naive sense of wonder.

Metronomy Forever is, in many ways, remarkable: the band have proved their longevity and ability to reinvent, retool and still maintain their love and ability to pen stellar pop songs. We’re already looking forward the sequel.

The Saturday Night Live trio pick up where they left off with 2009's Incredibad.