There's a grating tweeness that pushes the saccharine levels far into the red. [Jan 2020, p.113]

Ellis taps the pulse of his surroundings in manner akin to Massive Attack's Mezzanine. [Aug 2020, p.111]

Traces of other bands can be heard everywhere, from the scuzzy math-rock of Doom (Battles) to the hard-riffing Exit-Only (Jon Spencer) but with vocalist Satomi Matsuzaki ensuring that they never sound quite like anyone else. [Dec 2014, p.108]

The austerity of the songs occasionally makes the listener feel as though they have stumbled upon some hand-scrawled diary entries. [Aug 2013, p.102]

A thrilling testament to Meredith's seemingly limitless capacity for reinvention. [Jan 2020, p.110]

An astonishing, envelope-pushing vision that mocks the idea of bluegrass being a revival genre. [Apr 2012, p.94]

A little too heavily indebted to fellow Aussies Nick Cave and The Triffids' late David McComb, even if that's not a bad place to be coming form. [Mar 2009, p.105]

Stylish yet raw and angry yet enchanted, Bauer creates a smouldering album with a kooky heart. [Aug 2014, p.86]

The odd lapse into trying to show how clever they are aside, O Shudder is the step up Dutch Uncles needed. [Mar 2015, p.106]

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]

While Finder is as relentless as they come and Intruder punches harder than chase & Status, The Fool details life in a court during the Middle Ages interestingly enough and there's subtle beauty in Eating Hooks. [Jun 2016, p.114]

Their electro-acoustic psych-soundworld can't disguise crisp earwormers. [Oct 2016, p.109]

Warm, understated and authoritative, Day Breaks demands you lean in and listen. [Dec 2016, p.109]

His sequel to the quirky, lo-fi assault of 2007's "Spiderman Of The Rings" has a similarly maniac edge, at once mesmerising and unnerving. [Apr 2009, p.102]

This return proves surprisingly approachable, especially on the four tracks written with French songwriter and producer Woodkid. [Oct 2016, p.105]

An album frontloaded with highlights, and probably too self-consciously cool to charm the mainstream, even when the energy fades there's still enough diversity here for most people to find a favourite. [June 2008, p.146]

The likes of Los Hongos De Marosa glide by in a swirl of subtle beats and understated Spanish vocals, but nothing snags the ear. [Nov 2008, p.118]

[A] blistering debut. [Sep 2015, p.109]

There's a woozy psychedelic spirit behind the gently orchestrated title track and Dream Song's sleepy haze, lending Rault's classicist songwriting an outsider edge. But he never drifts completely free of his moorings. [Sep 2018, p.117]

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

It makes for one of the few Christmas albums that stands repeated listening. [Jan 2009, p.116]

It shows a poetic MVC pursuing catharsis for emotional scars, societal ills and mispent time. [Jul 2009, p.121]

Power has a surprisingly cohesive feel, even as it shifts from the Beach Boys-infused harmonies of On Your Own to Prettiest Ones Fly Highest's hazy, Frank Ocean-like R&B, with only the slinky house beats of Cool Like Me sounding a false note. [Jan 2015, p.125]

Weatherall gleefully proves there's life for house music beyond four-to-the-floor bangers. [Aug 2018, p.114]

Forget the usual, constricting alt-country tag, this is simply a wonderful record. [Mar 2007, p.116]

Four Of Arrows is proof the band can turn on a dime--perhaps they needn't worry about their best songs being ahead of them. [Dec 2019, p.110]

Even at just over 30 minutes, there's a feeling they're running short on new ideas. [Oct 2007, p.98]

If their emergence appears low-key, Everything Ever Written is a quietly triumphant return. [Mar 2015, p.110]

A bewitching, urgent, magical debut. [May 2012, p.103]

The concept might sound dry, but Bertelmann's kinetic approach always sound alive. [Apr 2014, p.110]

The multi-culturally correct Warm Heart Of Africa more than lives up to its title, Nsokoto and infectious Kamphopo being worth a place on anyone's shuffle. [Oct 2009, p.118]

Patchy and sometimes plodding... but that gruff, urgent voice remains a potent instrument in the right setting. [Feb 2002, p.106]

Here, they may have taken self-effacement too far. [May 2003, p.114]

Finds Gough at his most stylistically promiscuous to date. [Nov 2002, p.102]

Cinematic, loaded and decadent. [Sep 2003, p.109]

As lovelorn and jaded as it is unshakeable. [Apr 2006, p.116]

Scouse grump and Philadelphia radicals were made for each other. [Nov 2013, p.104]

Dream Wife may borrow from the best, but are indefatigably joyfully their own. [Aug 2020, p.113]

With much here that could match the chart success of fellow travellers La nd Little Boots, it;s an accomplished first offering. [Feb 2010]

Not for the faint-hearted then, but there's definitely something to enjoy in its sheer bloody-mindlessness. [Mar 2015, p.117]

Against the odds, Norris and Alkan really do possess the magic touch. [Aug 2016, p.108]

A punchy, potent return from one of UK music's most distinctive voices. [Apr 2018, p.115]

This is a set which pushes boundaries with a gripping sense of adventure. [Aug 2016, p.108]

It emerges as its own beguiling, brilliant listen. [Sep 2011, p.106]

It's when she slows down that Wiliamson really shines. [Jul 2018, p.118]

They pare their sound back to delicate guitar work, shimmering ambience and heart-tugging harmonies, making them now as easy to love as admire. [Jun 2010, p.120]

Psychedelic 12th LP from prolific garage rockers. [Aug. 2011, p. 126]

Clocks in at less than 30 minutes, but you still feel you've been somewhere when it finishes. [Oct 2005, p.115]

Sometimes they're studenty when they think they're being menacing, but there's promise and ideas aplenty here. [Sep 2002, p.109]

The folowing eight songs amount to a proper return to formm, with Middleton's always literate eye for trivial detail matched by catchy acoustic pop tunes and an underlying bleakness that is quietly gripping. [Jul 2009, p.128]

It's equally ambitious, forceful and joyous as Courtney Love's high water mark. [Feb 2011, p.118]

He's starting to look like someone who an no longer be held by the confines of his own skull. [Aug 2015, p.109]

Even now, few do it better than Wire. [May 2017, p.112]

There are moments of brilliance--the title track features a stunning guitar section, while Every Little Thing is a powerful reminder of the importance of self-forgiveness--yet First Flower occasionally fails to live up to its predecessor. [Nov 2018, p.102]

Far out stuff indeed, but very listenable. [Oct 2007, p.101]

The result is the album Roots Manuva has always threatened to make; approachable yet with real substance. [Oct. 2010, p. 113]

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

Despite its occasional missteps, this is a highly impressive debut. [May 2019, p.108]

A fitting send-off. [Jul 2019, p.109]

It's pop opulence with the wires sticking out the back, high-end songwriting with a coat of lead paint, but those flaw and fixes give Shitty Hits a compelling outsider edge. [Sep 2017, p.116]

Melancholic, romantic and unashamedly emotional, his loss is our gain. [Oct 2012, p.103]

Too busy and extreme for some tastes, this is still a dizzying proposition. [Mar 2015, p.105]

Razor-sharp songs that do valiant justice to the desperate optimism of gutter-bound dreamers. [Mar 2007, p.115]

The gamble has paid off in a sometimes challenging but constantly rewarding musical odyssey. [July 2008, p.96]

A charming lightness, the airy melodies and dreamy acoustic guitars gently folding into each other. If that makes these tracks sound like they're so breezy they could float away, singer Hollie Fullbrook's way with an arresting hook keeps them grounded. [Mar 2019, p.120]

Simultaneously earthy and ethereal, pieced together in the loft of his house in the village of Cellardyke and left to fly free. [Apr 2019, p.118]

It feels like a step into a brave new world. [Oct 2017, p.108]

It's clear that MacLean and Whang have never sounded better. [Oct 2014, p.112]

Unlike, say, fellow old-time Americana acolytes Mercury Rev, Beachwood Sparks lack sufficient melodic brio and steadfastly refuse to make any concessions to 21st century life. [Nov 2001, p.116]

About as well-rounded and polished as albums get. [Dec 2002, p.100]

Scarecrow's sense of defeat actually makes it a better record. [Jan 2002, p.96]

The album does see them traveling further afield. [Aug 2014, p.110]

At times the '60s girl-group feel can prove grating, but there's enough here to suggest a future beyond the indie ghetto. [Jul 2006, p.112]

Terrific, politically charged covers album from soul's Mr. Nice Guy. [Nov. 2010, p. 107]

Stretching his creative wings has worked for Toledo; there's a sense of him pushing outward as well as forward, even as he questions the point of it all. [Jul 2020, p.106]

Intriguingly between success and failure, as if occupying a musical hinterland of its own. [Oct 2018, p.118]

This doesn't quite match the delirious energy of 2006's "Fishscale," but it's packed with big numbers showcasing his maniacal rhyme style. [Feb 2008, p.95]

As a whole, though, I Never Learn wallows too much. [Jun 2014, p.119]

Pleasingly, this is the Wire's best new music since their glory days in the late '70s. [Aug 2008, p.145]

The result is at once fluid and fractured, with a restless experimental edge that never quite allows the beat to settle into anything approaching a predictable pattern. [Sep 2011, p.104]

Food is grown-up, womanly, but for all the hearth-and-home warmth, it doesn't forget the way to a listener's heart is through their ears. [May 2014, p.109]

An atmosphere of heightened weirdness prevails. [Jun 2020, p.95]

For such a heavenly record, an all-star cast makes perfect sense. [Jan 2020, p.108]

Dido should keep checking over her shoulder. [Feb 2004, p.105]

There are a couple of mildly sludgy moments.... But otherwise, it's a perfectly calibrated record. [Nov 2014, p.113]

If possibly too shiny for some tastes, the spooked '60s folk of Wounded Heart adds a touch of darkness. [Feb 2015, p.117]

The two parts of Everything Not Saved Will be Lost aren't quite the work of radical genius that Foals probably think they are, but they're bolder and more adventurous than a lot of those million other bands could manage. [Nov 2019, p.106]

Their rough edged-folk has been planed a little smoother, and a breakthrough seems feasible. [April 2012, p.90]

This eccentric experiment from indie-dance pioneer Steve Mason sees him embracing the '80s with fervour. [Aug 2008, p.132]

While such single-mindedness doesn't leave much room for light and shade, at its best Pearl Mystic is testament to the power of head-nodding repetition and well-stomped FX pedals. [Apr 2013, p.104]

Altogether, it's a wholly surprising musical development from a criminally overlooked talent. [Sep 2013, p.107]

There's nothing here to suggest Holtkamp should think about giving up his day job anytime soon. [May 2014, p.111]

They sand down their raucous edges for a more playful psych-pop sound. [Jun 2014, p.103]

A must-listen if you know the infield fly rule, but not so essential if you don't. [Jun 2014, p.104]

Music Go Music are talented mimics, but Impressions still makes its own presence felt. [Oct 2014, p.116]

On this fifth album, they are now both a more complex and straightforward version of the thoughtfully serrated quartet of 2002. [Oct 2014, p.106]

Musically adventurous, sonically daring and really rather stunning. [Nov 2014, p.112]

A moving reflection of his own life, family and home, it's the sound of Dave Hause getting to grips with himself. [Mar 2017, p.111]