Chronological sequencing would have painted a more coherent picture of how she developed over the decades and although fine in themselves, a bunch of remixes belong to an album of their own. [Jan 2016, p.120]

The sound of a band running on empty. [Jan 2016, p.115]

Some of it is beautiful, but perhaps they should've enlisted the help of their offbeat brother Rufus to add a bit more colour to the canvas. [Jan 2016, p.115]

While a creditable effort, it's unlikely to be a record that drags their heads too far above the parapet. [Jan 2016, p.114]

As a band no one lays down a heavier groove right now. [Jan 2016, p.114]

While there are a few pops and crackles of magic--it's often dead air. [Jan 2016, p.114]

Feels like a sideways step. [Jan 2016, p.113]

They're back to their trouser-soiling best here, genre-hopping like mad and avidly playing the "long game." [Jan 2016, p.113]

Unlikely to win any new converts then, Pylon still remains a triumph of wilful perversity. [Jan 2016, p.113]

It could have been full steam ahead here, but Pure Mood instead chugs forward gently. [Jan 2016, p.112]

They manage to be thrilling and unsettling throughout. [Jan 2016, p.112]

The fun and fake snow does wear off after a few songs though. [Jan 2016, p.112]

Ultimately, only the flintiest hearted won't respond. [Jan 2016, p.111]

A true craftman's album. [Jan 2016, p.111]

II is propelled by Segall's forceful energy. [Jan 2016, p.111]

[There are] some great songs lurking in the darkness of their debut. [Jan 2016, p.111]

Their self-indulgent scrawl is writ so large it would be impossibly cloying when if it were all as good. Which it isn't, not by a long shot. [Jan 2016, p.109]

His debut LP has tunes aplenty, though he toys with them, unwilling to commit to on sound, still less one hook, when he can duck behind twitchy beats, fleeting effects or double-tracked vocals. [Jan 2016, p.108]

It's only on lightweight tracks Army and Devotions that Delirium drags. [Jan 2016, p.107]

It loses its way from time to time and the eagerly anticipated Hal noodles when it should inspire. But when strings soar against clattering drums on Dax, the effect is mesmerising. [Jan 2016, p.113]

Matt Shultz has never sung more convincingly, but these are big, ideas-drenched songs, packed with beguiling twists and turns. [Jan 2016, p.108]

This box set may be a dizzying experience at times, but it shows a superstar-in-the-making working out where he wants to go, and contains all the excitement that promises within. [Jan 2016, p.116]

Hearing these set whole makes a difference: sparse yet hypnotic; with Lou on commanding form. [Jan 2016, p.120]

It works as an excellent overview of his career. [Jan 2016, p.118]

It's not perfect, but there's enough of their magic here to see even Harry Potter fall back under their spell. [Jan 2016, p.106]

Utterly distinctive, this excellent, effortlessly surprising record is the perfect cleanser for even the most jaded musical palette. [Jan 2016, p.106]

At 41 minutes, Blackstar is a more concise statement than The Next Day and a a far, far more intriguing one, enticing you to follow Bowie further down this freshly-rediscovered, individualistic path where sonic surprises lurk around every corner--a journey that, at times, is not for the faint of heart. [Jan 2016, p.104]

Lindberg is dedicated to atmosphere, and if these songs are disconcertingly hazy as they move through the dry ice, they just about hold a twisted shape of their own. [Jan 2016, p.111]

This warm and busy album pursues pop as a democratic ideal. The uplift isn't subtle--the tracklisting looks like something you'd come up with after a wrap of MDMA-- but it's infectious. [Jan 2016, p.110]

Baroness have confidently produced one of the year's best metal albums. [Jan 2016, p.106]

Heroically in-depth liner notes tell the full warty story of a label whose output still stimulates. [Dec 2015, p.119]

Often inspiring, sometimes challenging, but, crucially, never dull. [Dec 2015, p.118]

If the songs themselves sometimes seem to float by without fully grabbing the attention, when the melodies rise above the textures, as in The Blue Nile-style ache of Send Me Home, Lanterns On The Lake give us a glimpse of what might make them truly special. [Dec 2015, p.109]

Its delicately observed song cycle unfolds like a novella or short film, with tracks that might seem slight isolation gaining resonance in situ. [Dec 2015, p.108]

Compared to the rapid evolution happening elsewhere (not least from his old rival James Blake), Woon here sounds like he's performing with the safety-catch on. [Dec 2015, p.110]

This is great music for driving. In a hovercraft. With someone chasing you. [Dec 2015, p.111]

Using multiple, often unsystematic rhythmic modes, this alien mood is sustained, though when Kode9's late lyrical foil The Spaceape makes a spectral appearance in the fleeting Third Ear Transmission, you're reminded of how much he contributed. [Dec 2015, p.109]

The further you get into Mythologies, the further off-piste Cheatahs go. [Nov 2015, p.106]

Life lived close to home, outside any metropolitan notions of centre, is continually apparent in these intimate melodic reveries, which mull romantic vicissitudes via folk-influenced acoustic and sometimes molten electric rock. [Dec 2015, p.113]

While it may be too easy to reach for the word "cinematic," it can't be avoided. [Dec 2015, p.104]

Second time around their disco shtick remains paramount but they've added traditional songwriting craft. [Dec 2015, p.106]

A swinging selection ranging from Lonnie Johnson to The Milk Carton Kids, from folk, country and blues to rollicking R&B, stripped down, hot and sweaty. [Dec 2015, p.108]

Alone In The Universe is warm-hearted, consummate, just about perfect. [Dec 2015, p.110]

The paper-thin arrangements ensure there's little here to give psych-rock peers such as Tame Impala and Temples any sleepless nights. [Dec 2015, p.109]

Perfectamundo explodes into glorious Technicolor. [Dec 2015, p.107]

An astonishing cohesive record. [Dec 2015, p.107]

Panhandle Rambler sounds more inspired than anything the 68-year-old's produced in 20 years. [Dec 2015, p.106]

It strips away their epic rock to reveal something more direct and emotionally satisfying. [Dec 2015, p.115]

Clearly le maestro hasn't lost his touch. [Dec 2015, p.114]

In other words: quintessential Squeeze. [Dec 2015, p.114]

[Sey] struggles to find a style that's truly her own on an album that see-saws between brooding electronic blues and expansive pop ballads. [Dec 2015, p.113]

There's talent here and with a slight upping of the serotonin levels next time round, Real Lies could yet be onto something. [Dec 2015, p.112]

All We Need is a lot more powerful, and a heap more fun, when it aims for transcendence. [Dec 2015, p.112]

It's all a disarmingly easy listen, even if their sugar-spun harmonies at times prove a touch too sweet. [Dec 2015, p.112]

Amid the shiny licks, the hallmarks of his previous work remain. [Dec 2015, p.111]

If there's one gripe, it's that the quality control becomes a little more relaxed as For The Company progresses. [Dec 2015, p.110]

Too often, when Janet needs Jam & Lewis to "gimme a beat," they don't. [Dec 2015, p.108]

Intricate and precise, Be Small doesn't demand attention--but slowly and very smartly, it secures it just the same. [Dec 2015, p.108]

This feels like a flying visit through an impromptu victory party. [Dec 2015, p.107]

This is music to get lost in. [Dec 2015, p.106]

Old dogs, old tricks, but when the tricks are this good why would you want new ones? [Dec 2015, p.106]

An exhilarating workout for mind and soul. [Dec 2015, p.103]

This second effort even has the edge on 2012's The Light The Dead See, with an extra-dazzling cinematic sweep to its orchestration, a poleaxing depth to its existential sorrows and a fabulously redemptive uplift in the climatic My Sun. [Dec 2015, p.107]

At 65-plus minutes' duration, Honeymoon's submarine/somnambulant vibe does rather overstay its welcome. [Dec 2015, p.115]

There's plenty of schmaltzy cobblers on Another Country, too, but the good bits are just about worth hanging in there for. [Dec 2015, p.114]

Musically, it sticks to bardic folk ramble or--as on the brilliantly bilious Have A baby--bubblepunk aggro, but lyrically, Lewis is still finds new paths zig-zagging through his familiar patch. [Dec 2015, p.109]

Funny, provocative and concise at 10 tracks, Bleed is the sound of a powerful and unique voice back on peak form. [Dec 2015, p.105]

Liberated from Elbow's obligation to write at least a few songs big enough for arena stages and radio playlists, Garvey revels in lovingly crafted intimacy. [Dec 2015, p.102]

This is one of those albums you can leave to steep. [Nov 2015, p.

The voice and their lyrics sit differently, somehow, against Knopf's arrangements, which can be by turns delicate, mischievous and furious. [Nov 2015, p.105]

The songs struggle to cause any real emotional damage. [Nov 2015, p.108]

[The album] works best when vocal-free, telling its story through tone, not text. [Nov 2015, p.111]

There's no shortage of good ideas, and Brettin clearly doesn't take himself too seriously, but next time he'd be advised to leave the bong at the studio door. [Nov 2015, p.112]

Big, major-chord jams and subtly political messages abound. [Nov 2015, p.113]

The follow-up mostly reverts to the synth-oriented dream-poppiness of 2010's Halcyon Digest. [Nov 21015, p.107]

If there's a weakness it's Hutchcraft's florid vocal style. [Nov 2015, p.111]

Even when HitNRun improves, it implies creative drought. [Nov 2015, p.102]

Hopefully they'll focus on [their country roots] next time. [Nov 2015, p.104]

That's The Spirit will make them mainstream stars, no question. [Nov 2015, p.104]

He shows off his instrumental chops. [Nov 2015, p.106]

The whole thing is one long hazy delight. [Nov 2015, p.115]

The effect is brilliantly female and forceful. [Nov 2015, p.115]

Folk and indie-pop influences are as prevalent as prog's darker hue, making Allas Sak far less challenging than it might have been in less thoughtful hands. [Nov 2015, p.109]

The hardest-working slacker in rock goes from strength to strength. [Nov 2015, p.108]

Everything here sounds like a happy accident and that's part of the appeal. [Nov 2015, p.108]

It doesn't always work.... But when they hit their hypnotic stride on the pulsating title track and the languidly poppy Talk, there's loveliness and invention to spare. [Nov 2015, p.104]

At times mesmerising, at others merely patience-testing, it nevertheless stays true to Darko's vision of himself as a man apart. [Nov 2015, p.103]

It's a glum, muted collection of songs, but Giannascoli knows how to party like it's 1994: alone in the kitchen, feeling miserable. [Nov 2015, p.110]

The follow-up reins in some of the chaos and the songs are stronger for it. [Nov 2015, p.115]

For all the familiar qualities, the songs here never fall into pastiche or predictability. [Nov 2015, p.112]

Foam Island again trashes the template as the duo attempt an ambitious quasi-documentary approach. [Nov 2015, p.106]

There are unexpected pleasures in the margins. [Oct 2015, p.105]

Reassuringly, Gilmour's cool and composed vocal delivery and liquid guitar solos dominate throughout. [Nov 2015, p.113]

Rub reboots the elements that made The Teaches Of Peaches the essential electroclash album back in 2000. [Nov 2015, p.113]

When Every Eye Opens grabs you by the lapels, on the pulsating "Keep You On My Side" and the Knife-like "Never Ending Circles," it's stunning. When it fades into aural wallpaper, at least it does it prettily. [Nov 2015, p.110]

A quiet storm of a record. [Nov 2015, p.111]

An album that repeatedly pulls you back in to try and decipher its charms. [Nov 2015, p.111]

There's a real craftman at work here. [Nov 2015, p.111]