Sound[s] like Marvin Gaye fronting The Smiths while the London Philharmonic Orchestra has a stab at the Burt Bacharach songbook. [9 Oct 2004, p.55]

Doomed to lurk unplayed at the back of your collection. [2 Oct 2004, p.64]

The first REM album to really disappoint. [2 Oct 2004, p.60]

'Real Gone' is not by any means easy listening. It is, though, possibly a new type of music. [2 Oct 2004, p.64]

Listen once, chuckle lightly, rip 'Together,' then run a fucking mile. [9 Oct 2004, p.57]

This is the sound of the US underground realising that its message is easier to swallow if it has a smile on its face. [9 Oct 2004, p.56]

Half the time, Good Charlotte sound like Blink-182 after the snip, the other half they sound like the Backstreet Boys without the songs. [16 Oct 2004, p.48]

Whether or not you'd want to listen to it more than once depends on your pain threshold, but those 45 minutes will be among the most terrifying of your life, guaranteed. [13 Nov 2004, p.56]

Self-loathing, self-pitying, self-centered, bad-tempered American rock. [6 Nov 2004, p.59]

None of [the guest producers] manage to shift the band far from their roots--an intense punk Elvis growl that's impossible to replicate. [16 Oct 2004, p.49]

An underground delight. [13 Nov 2004, p.57]

What remains is pure, unspoilt guitar-pop genius that demands to be marvelled at. [18 Sep 2004, p.65]

Reasserts what's great about her. [2 Oct 2004, p.64]

At times it sounds like pastiche but when they're themselves... the 'Couture...' club are amazing. [6 Nov 2004, p.59]

An album scored through with a vehement beauty that, with each listen, becomes all the more acute for its unwillingness to shy away from life's bleaker, more painful moments. [25 Sep 2004, p.62]

'Smile' stands up with any of the great music of the 20th century. [25 Sep 2004, p.63]

It's thrillingly obvious that Junior Boys have made one of the year's best albums. [31 Jul 2004, p.41]

VHS Or Beta hit on a candy-coloured disco-funk previously only thought possible by men wearing daft robot masks. [9 Apr 2005, p.58]

An onslaught of varied and marvellously good tunes presented in an unexpectedly inventive way. [18 Sep 2004, p.65]

No great departure, rather 16 more tracks of campfire folk, quivering vocals and a brilliant baby's-eye view of the world. [25 Sep 2004, p.64]

Their preoccupation with '70s British metal finds them wandering dangerously into gobilin-and-ghouls prog-rock territory. [5 Jun 2004, p.54]

One of the most cosmopolitan albums to carry the Giant seal of oddness. [11 Sep 2004, p.55]

An older, wiser, more mature and more accomplished Thrills but -- to be honest -- the heart of 'Let's Bottle Bohemia' could quite easily have been made from the leftovers of 'So Much For The City.' [11 Sep 2004, p.54]

The main thing 'Sweat' has going for it is the fact that it isn't 'Suit.' [2 Oct 2004, p.63]

Will shock conservative punk purists everywhere. [11 Sep 2004, p.57]

Trouble is, although forced to move on, Howlett had nowhere particular to go, and so much of this album sees him squatting on the floors of other acts. [14 Aug 2004, p.47]

Suit represents Nelly going smooth and seductive for an entire LP, and it is about 9,000 times as bad as that sounds. [2 Oct 2004, p.63]

Har Mar's best effort to date. [4 Sep 2004, p.72]