What Paul Weller uniquely manages to do to the 12 songs... is to make every one sound exactly like a Paul Weller song. [11 Sep 2004, p.55]

For those of us who still believe in music's power to redeem, 'Funeral' feels like detox, the most cathartic album of the year. [5 Mar 2005, p.49]

The Faint continue to ensure that across the pond there's an infinitely sexier state of dance-rock affairs. [11 Sep 2004, p.55]

They sound like they actually mean it. [11 Sep 2004, p.57]

While Mandarin certainly rock, they do so at a pedestrian amble. [11 Sep 2004, p.53]

This Bronx rapper-producer makes genuine party bangers out of dustbin scraps. [18 Sep 2004, p.65]

It's just a shame that quieter moments such as 'The Lengths' sound a little weedy in comparison. [4 Sep 2004, p.72]

It seems Shaddix still writes most of his songs in purple ink in diaries with little locks on. [28 Aug 2004, p.56]

Poetic lyrics, tender guitars, tortured synths and Olivier's heavenly vocals. [29 Jan 2005, p.59]

What you have here is the most agonisingly voyeuristic listening experience in rock, ever. It's also some of the most exhilarating and brilliant rock'n'roll of the past 20 years. [7 Aug 2004, p.46]

Crisp, rolling rap beats and lush instrumentation. Lyrically, ... she's brutally honest about sex and her failings with men. [11 Sep 2004, p.55]

A notch below the genius of 'Debut' or 'Homogenic' but precious nonetheless. [4 Sep 2004, p.73]

A miniature classic. [14 Aug 2004, p.49]

They can still write the most incredibly beautiful songs. [23 Oct 2004, p.49]

Like the enraged hormones of Iggy Pop slugging it out with the grandiose pomp of Queen. [28 Aug 2004, p.57]

The best Guided By Voices album yet. [28 Aug 2004, p.57]

Music as taut, spare and ominous as The Bad Seeds at their most malevolent. [21 Aug 2004, p.49]

On first listen sound[s] like someone taking the piss out of The Rapture. [11 Sep 2004, p.57]

Triumphantly succeeds in underlining Dulli's deft touch in understanding the magic woven into the fabric of great pop. [4 Sep 2004, p.73]

Stultifying moroseness and a constant furrowing of the brow permeate from start to finish. [21 Aug 2004, p.49]

It's relentless, occasionally breathless but always absorbing. [4 Sep 2004, p.73]

Exquisite, state-of-the-art beats, rhymes and vocal hooks. [25 Sep 2004, p.65]

'Ariels,' which never raises above shuffling pace, is beautiful in places. [28 Aug 2004, p.56]

Listening to 'Blue' is like meeting your first girlfriend ten years on, and realising that the things you fell in love [with] are long gone. [19 Jun 2004, p.56]

The beats may be basic and the quality fuzzy... but there are diamonds among the dirt. [21 Aug 2004, p.49]

Album of the year? It's definitely a contender. [7 Aug 2004, p.49]

A record filled with such emotional scope and range that it's tailor-made to showcase Lanegan's world weary roar. [24 Jul 2004, p.47]

With only three 'songs' to speak of here, 'All Watched Over...' smacks of another great British songwriter having their melodic nous chewed away by electro-moths. [7 Aug 2004, p.49]