Still, it remains a challenge to crack their ice-cool exterior, to really feel things as they feel - but does that matter? The Strokes are, and have always been, a band that looks great at arm's length - and consequently, 'First Impressions Of Earth' remains, in the best way, untouchable: the first - indeed, maybe the last - word in New York City cool.

Adams has stripped most of '29''s tracks down to spare, brittle bones.

Mary J draws on an eventful life to reach new levels of feeling. [7 Jan 2006, p.29]

Will... have you oiling your joints and gearing up for a bit of robobooty gyration. [21 Jan 2006, p.33]

If you scratch below the surface of 'See You On The Other Side' you'll find little of substance. [3 Dec 2005, p.43]

This perpetual desire to show off is Hawkins' weakness and 'One Way Ticket..."s ultimate downfall. [26 Nov 2005, p.44]

This is pedestrian, derivative twaddle of the lowest order that embarasses both the '60s and the recent revival fad. [21 Jan 2006, p.33]

A masterclass in why Galaxie were such a great band. [18 Feb 2006, p.36]

The spontaneous nature of this album isn't quite the asset it could be. [26 Nov 2005, p.45]

Believe the hype, this is even better than 'Ray Of Light.' [12 Nov 2005, p.45]

This is a rare and wonderful joy: a live album that even non-obsessives should embrace. [12 Nov 2005, p.45

'Aerial' has more than its share of static, but the highs are more than worth the lows. [12 Nov 2005, p.45]

Unlike Cash, the ego on display here still sounds like it's got the whip hand on the talent and you never really start to like him. [4 Mar 2006, p.31]

Marvellous. [5 Nov 2005, p.45]

A disorientatingly great mess of free-jazz, space-rock and voodoo swamp music. [10 Dec 2005, p.37]

Sublime stuff. [11 Feb 2006, p.33]

This music is the electronic, Warp-inspired answer to Brian Wilson's 'Smile.' [31 Jul 2004, p.41]

A good debut, if strangely restrained. [2 Apr 2005, p.50]

Dry, controlled music. [11 Jun 2005, p.67]

Despite the air of musical schizophrenia, 'Intensive Care' is OK in a sort of karaoke way. [22 Oct 2005, p.43]

'Sung Tongs' brought a smattering of organization to the band's chaos, and now 'Feels' finally sees them emerge, blinking, into the sunlight. [15 Oct 2005, p.35]

The likes of 'Chromakey Dreamcoat' sound like they were made on a potter's wheel rather than an iBook. [15 Oct 2005, p.36]

Far from bad... but so much of it sounds like a museum piece, the glum-pop self-harmings of another time. [12 Nov 2005, p.45]

Slightly less lo-fi than previous efforts--although as it blends together Slayer, Japanese noisecore and warp-speed prog intricacy, sound recording fidelity is a relative concept. [5 Nov 2005, p.45]

A rhinestone-tipped treat. [22 Oct 2005, p.41]

The sound of a pioneer who refuses to stop innovating. [8 Oct 2005, p.45]

You won't listen to it again and again; yet the time you do, it'll be a blast. [4 Feb 2006, p.29]

Its tales of fleeting love begin with a swagger... [and] the next seven tracks represent a complete emotional collapse. [8 Oct 2005, p.43]