Bristol duo mix up hugely potent psychedelic brew. [March 2011, p. 109]

His personal universe may be smaller, but here Tom Vek opens himself up to a wider world. [Aug 2014, p.114]

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

The overall effect is not dissimilar to a less arch Rufus Wainwright, although the quality of songs does tail off slightly toward the end. [Jul 2012, p.113]

Kelis is blessed with a unique voice. [Nov 2006, p.143]

Techno meets dubstep in this dark twist on electronica. [Dec. 2011, p. 126]

This enthralling, enigmatic statement conjures a mood that's all its own. [May 2015, p.108]

An album that manages to pile on fresh, innovative production without drowning out the frequently spectacular songwriting. [May 2014, p.118]

It would be easy for Exiled to come across as a lame pastiche. That it's quite the opposite is testament to the quality of the songs--most notably C.S.A.M.'s anti-imperialism tirade and Brave New Church's attack on facism's resurgence--and the ferocious delivery. [Aug 2019, p.108]

Worthy of far more than 15 minutes of fame. [Aug 2017, p.110]

Unafraid to be both beautiful and sad. [May 2012, p.95]

He fashions an album that's playful and dewy-eyed, without being juvenile. [May 2011, p.109]

Haunting debut from post-dubstep pioneer. [March 2011, p. 113]

This push 'n' pull between pop and rock, sweet and sour, is a motif throughout but, crucially, Suck It And See also comes with a spacedust kick. [July 2011, p. 104]

Furman's collage approach and his Joanthan Richman-styled variations are charming, full with both life and with tunes. [Aug 2015, p.106]

A heartening set of high speed melody, humanism and pessimism.

They need to do this again. [Mar 2017, p.112]

They offset their cosmic silliness with molten rock surges and spacey interludes. [Dec 2012, p.99]

An awe-inspiring experience. [Sep 2012, p.100]

The Deconstruction doesn't deviate wildly from his trusty blueprint, being a mix of rattling '60s-ish pop songs and lovely, aching ballads. ... As ever, these sweeten the sadness and hard truths of the lyrics. [May 2018, p.108]

The electro-inspired beats and declamatory rhymes are just as uncompromising and unorthodox as before. [Oct 2013, p.107]

It's hugely impressive stuff, and in the midst of all the musical pyrotechnics, there's still room for standout melodies. [Jun 2018, p.114]

Understated is a great album, but that's what we've come to expect from Edwyn Collins. [Apr 2013, p.97]

These considered songs are slow to blossom but, like Junip, they're worth the wait. [May 2013, p.104]

Stellar fifth album is a determined attempt to push back the genre's long-established boundaries, folding in everything from glitchy electronica and lysergic Americana to gnarled pop into their full-frontal noise. [Aug 2019, p.108]

This lean, tightly structured follow-up ramps up the intensity. Built around raw, electronic productions, it also showcases his ability to rhyme with devastating candour over wildly varying beats. [Aug 2017, p.111]

Once I Was An Eagle is entirely Laura Marling's trip--beautiful, heartfelt, searching, sublime, and thrillingly open-ended. [Jun 2013, p.92]

A white guy singing "de" instead "the" might reek uncomfortably of minstrelsy for some, but if you can get past that, any fan of Tom Waits or Dr. John ought to get a kick out of Gon' Boogaloo. Cracking. [Aug 2016, p.117]

Starcrawler might be known as a great live band, with de Wilde spitting, screaming and high-kicking her way through their confrontational gigs, but with Devour You prove they're every bit as impressive on record too. [Nov 2019, p.116]

It's a real showcase for their strengths. [Dec 2016, p.115]

Television Themes is entertaining on every count. [Nov 2018, p.102]

A welcome surprise. [Jul 2012, p.113]

This is essential listening. [Mar 2017, p.112]

At 25 minutes, Minotaur is slight but still a fine distillation of the band's deceptive charms and retains the sense of something very unsettling lurking at its core. [Oct 2010, p.105]

A sweet and heartfelt love letter to his own adolescence, mining a long-gone era of poodle hair and shiny Spandex for inspiration. ... Aficionados will have fun spotting the references, but there's emotional heft beneath the screaming solos. [Jul 2020, p.112]

His creative fires still showing no signs of dimming, David Byrne remains as playful and brilliant as ever. [Apr 2018, p.114]

Grown Up is a personal diary magnified to the scale of an IMAX screen. [May 2017, p.103]

McMahon has found new ways to expand his wild-eyed sound, thickening the psychic murk with electronic textures but keeping the emotional edges bright. [May 2018, p.104]

It's a good album. [Apr 2014, p.122]

Change Is Coming is piled high with Beastie trademarks.

The settings are spacious, the rhythms stately and Stuart Staples croons woozily about how it's all gone horribly wrong.

Twisty and characterful, this is frequently dazzling stuff. [May 2014, p.118]

Transcends its hackneyed backstory on account of its sheer quality. [Aug 2019, p.108]

Whatever she's doing, it's working. [Aug 2015, p.109]

Its brilliance lies in sifting the wheat from the enormous quantity of thenameless movement's chaff. [Aug 2003, p.119]

Killer tunes. The hyperventilating Buccaneers Of Hispaniola is as cheesily brilliant as it sounds. [Nov 2017, p.107]

It's [his] spin on social commentary that singles Drew out. [Jul 2006, p.116]

In short, electrifying. [Mar 2017, p.115]

A profoundly, if unexpectedly, moving record. [Dec 2014, p.109]

Here comes Motorhead, oblivious, oddly unpredictable, deliciously bluesy, punky and rocking--simply magnificent. [Jan 2014, p.126]

It's a beautifully dark album. [May 2016, p.107]

A classy return. [Summer 2019, p.108]

His best since 1995s Is The Actor Happy? [May 2003, p.100]

Highly charged without being mawkish. [July 2002, p.115]

An album that is very much more than the sum of its parts. [Aug 2019, p.108]

Throughout this masterclass in artful self-scrutiny, that tightrope is Mitski's domain. [Sep 2018, p.115]

Fans of Fleet Foxes will find much to enjoy on his seventh album: there's a backwoods feel to much of his material and no shortage of sublime melodies. [Jun 2012, p.101]

This is a complex record, full of bleak lyrical themes, but it's also riveting, hypnotic and really very good indeed.

It is by turns funny, dark, ridiculous, exhilarating and -- most strikingly of all -- relentlessly personal. [Apr 2004, p.104]

As entertaining as it is impressive. [Mar 2017, p.115]

While he's lost more of his craft, he's rarely sounded so at ease with himself. [Dec 2014, p.109]

The real delights are the dreamily sinister instrumental sections. [Dec 2012, p.100]

It may be oversimplifying to invoke the spirit of Radiohead, but this could be Phoenix's "Ok Computer" and "Kid A" rolled into one. [Jun 2009, p.130]

Jaar has struck gold here. [Apr 2011, p.104]

SOHN is partial to sampling his own voice to augment the wounded confessionals. They stutter rhythmically and mix with a patchwork of minimal yet intricate electronics and low end beats to spine-tingling effect. [May 2014, p.118]

As haunting as it is enchanting. [Aug 2019, p.111]

Simple, yet irresistible. [May 2010, p.118]

The defining album of his career, Wasting Light is the sound of Dave Grohl putting his whole life in context. [May 2011, p.110]

The instrumentals stay restlessly creative too, this time absorbing hip-hop cadences, wistful fiddles and dreamy post-punk. [Sep 2020, p.108]

[Co-producer Richard Hawley] takes Texas deep into their rock-soul roots without sacrificing their strengths or wearily re-treading past glories. [Jul 2013, p.110]

Most of the music here finds Earle in admirable form. [Oct 2002, p.106]

Pawn Shoppe Heart is a party album, albeit soundtracking the sort of party where too much alcohol causes lifelong friends to come to blows. [Feb 2004, p.96]

A charming record. [Aug 2014, p.115]

Silencio! really soars when Sadier rails loudly against the injustices of our austerity era, as on Auscultation To The Nation. [Aug 2012, p.109]

Precise, tough, tuneful, ambitious and sexy as hell. [Apr 2005, p.112]

British rapper ups the stakes with boundary-stretching pop turn. [Oct 2011, p.94]

Shears is now too smart a lyricist to need this sort of cartoonish carry-on. And, bar a smattering of filler, the tunes are unstoppable. [Jul 2010, p.124]

Where Grinderman 2 does possess unique ace is its skillfully employed shot of psychedelia. [Oct 2010, p.102]

A downright joyous debut. [Feb. 2012 p. 101]

It's a record that announces its creator as a true force. [Feb 2015, p.113]

My Finest Work is definitely a high watermark, and one that deserves to reach a bigger audience. [May 2019, p.117]

Live At The Cellar Door is the sound of a man enjoying his self-imposed set of limitations. [Feb 2014, p.121]

It's a beautiful piece of work. [June 2009]

They still sound confident and all-conquering. [May 2015, p.103]

With its bright shiny sonics buffed by Blur/Smiths producer Stephen Street, it ranks up there with the best of the early Pretenders albums. [Aug 2020, p.111]

Possibly The Flaming Lips' most upliftingly utopian work since Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots. [Aug 2019, p.111]

Bold and uncompromising, Transmission is Death In Vegas' most coherent and compelling record yet. [Jul 2016, p.110]

Here Lies Love stacks up as an oddly entertaining, off-beat treat. [May 2010, p.126]

Eerie, exotic and utterly enchanting. [Mar 2002, p.116]

It's been a rocky road, but maybe he's finally home. [Dec 2014, p.109]

Unusually welcoming entry point. [May 2020, p.92]

Even the most flint-hearted cynic will struggle not to get caught up in his swivel-eyed lust for life. [Apr 2018, p.116]

Shackles' Gift can sound grandly expansive, yet it's also locked into its own little world, thinking global, acting loco. [Feb 2015, p.117]

This, though, is accessible without compromise. [July 2008, p.106]

They sound revitalised by the radiance of these songs, liberated from the heavy burden of being the Manic Street Preachers. [May 2018, p.102]

Nihilistic Glamour Shots is a 35-minute burst of frustration and cynicism ... Not subtle, but then it doesn't need to be. [May 2018, p.104]

There's a lot going on here. [Apr 2015, p.111]

Thier first albun of entirely self-penned instrumentals should finally see an end of [the world music tag], the fluid yet percussive tunes also impossibly nimble. [Oct 2009, p.116]