Songs is uplifting, his clever wordplay and minor chord piano and guitar ballads reminiscent of his hero Townes Van Zandt. [Aug 2014, p.106]

The sound of him working with a lean combo is so refreshing, and a welcome first in his mammoth catalogue. [Nov 2014, p.107]

Lurking beneath are the electronic pulses of post-rock and the occasional ripple of slip-slide jazz, ensuring that while Runner is approachable, it's always one step ahead. [Nov 2012, p.104]

The arrangements here are written specifically with a touring quartet in mind, adding ever greater layers of haunting melancholy and soaring grace. [Sep 2006, p.109]

Everything's in flux, subject to change, but Xen is still a record of mood-altering substance. [Jan 2015, p.120]

It shows the music, too, is undergoing rapid evolution. [Jan 2012, p.123]

Wyatt continues to be full of delightful surprises. [Nov 2010, p.117]

The vocals are more textural than Blake's, and Stefanski's electronic textures are as distinctive as his instrumental releases, giving this a strong personality all of its own. [Oct 2013, p.110]

Those same giddy vocals, rusticated, old-timey arrangements and lyrics combine childlike reverie with an ancient sense of wisdom and dread make it equally magical and rewarding. [mar 2012, p.106]

Morby's songs move from the grandiose to hushed confessionals and by the time it ends with Dylan-like O Behold the entire journey feels like a revelation. [Jun 2019, p.115]

Everything here sounds how Jehnny Beth is meant to sound, making To Love Is To Live a record as masterful as its creator is complicated. [Summer 2020, p.99]

If you like Sufjan Steven's lushly orchestrated reveries, you'll love this canadian eight-piece, who come across on their ambitious second album like an indie-folk Arcade Fire. [Mar 2009, p.105]

Many may not have the patience to follow its somersaults. Those who do will be richly rewarded. [Jul 2009, p.121]

Massiveness should be assured. [Summer 2018, p.114]

Alabama Shakes' nods to vocal giants past never overshadow the fact that their music has a raw, aggressive style that is completely their own. [May 2012, p.90]

As mesmerising as it is innovative, Swim is a record you want to dive in to. [May 2010, p.120]

Though his voice remains vintage, his creative spirit has been rejuvenated. [Jul 2010, p.127]

[An] absorbing, multi-layered debut. [Sep 2016, p.112]

Echoes of early Pink Floyd, Saint Etienne and a tougher Vashti Bunyan prevail, but this is an original and haunting collection. [Sep 2017, p.109]

When he departs from the template, Foreverland truly excels. [Oct 2016, p.107]

While the wheel remains un-reinvented, The Invisible Band finds its mark with unerring accuracy.

A fascinating insight into Joe's mind and the last days of The Clash. [Nov 2018, p.115]

Her third album is as intimate as music can be. [Nov 2014, p.108]

While the mix of influences could produce self-indulgent noodling, songwriter Kevin Parker's ear for a tune keeps the songs focused. [Nov 2012, p.106]

Electronic music is seldom this engaging or characterful. [Apr 2007, p.121]

Natural Selection is a triumph of style and content. [Jan 2015, p.120]

None of this would work, of course, if there wasn't pop-rock nous at the core of this band whose opening shot is relentlessly, exhilaratingly effective. [Dec 2008, p.123]

Leithauser's voice is its usual delicious scuffed-up howl, the music covers a broad indie-rock sprawl, but the focus here is the stories. [Jun 2020, p.102]

Willfully schlocky, surprising witty. [Sep 2010, p.113]

It's ridiculous and a lot of fun. [Apr 2013, p.100]

It's some indication of Feast of Wire's accomplished evocation of Arizona's old weirdness that it makes you want to go to Tucson. [Mar 2003, p.104]

It is a track or two too long. ... But that aside, Why Me? Why Not. is a triumph, one that proves As You Were was no fluke and that Lia Gallagher is well and truly back on track. [Oct 2019, p.104]

An LP that strikes a perfect balance between desparate sides of Jamie T's personality. [Oct 2016, p.108]

Carr retains enough left-field eccentricities, such as the Casiotone keyboard of I Don't Think I'll Make It, to make The Breaks a true indie-rock gem. [Nov 2014, p.108]

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

Leonard Cohen sounds like a performer at the peak of his game. [Mar 2012, p.107]

The results is unusually heavy, even by FOTL standards. [May 2016, p.108]

Earle believes this is one of his best albums; he's not wrong. [Jun 2009, p.132]

Ditto's one-of-a-kind voice still bestrides everything, sometimes gutsy and soulful, sometimes oddly sweet. [Jul 2009, p.130]

Through its trippy ballads and spacey funk, Childqueen is quite a sonic journey. [Summer 2018, p.106]

Whatever she make you feel, it's a ferociously sensual work. [Summer 2018, p.117]

This is an album which manages the rare trick of being accessible and head-warpingly barmy both at the same time. [Nov 2002, p.96]

Rome has a fascination all of its own. [Jun 2011, p.121]

Set the controls for the heart of somewhere very uneasy, but rather beautiful. [Sep 2019, p.112]

[The] debut is a blast from start to finish. [Aug 2015, p.104]

The hit rate's impressive. [Oct 2016, p.109]

An album of great craft, emotion and warmth. [Apr 2005, p.125]

His seventh album sees Vile cement his place as an artist following his own lead. [Nov 2018, p.103]

His finest collection of material for 10 years (at least). [Nov 2005, p.118]

His voice remains charming, devilish-yet-wise, and his delivery as beguiling as ever. [Nov 2014, p.109]

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

Cape God might be an awful place to visit, but the tunes are great. [Apr 2020, p.114]

The bonus material on both albums offer up further evidence that this was the Pumpkins' purple path. [Jan 2012, p.130]

Trux life feels more brilliantly warped than ever. [Apr 2019, p.114]

A sparkling record whose polished exterior barely masks the turmoil at its heart. [Jul 2018, p.116]

Combining the brittle emotion of Bob Mould with Dave Grohl's understanding of rock dynamics, My Vitriol are robust enough for the moshpit while also providing the perfect soundtrack for those dark nights when the only company you need is a wine bottle.

It might be out of time, but it's worth tuning out modern life and falling in with its curious beat. [Jan 2011, p.140]

It's a musically diverse set of songs, drawing together folk, gospel, R&B, a collaboration with Kwabs, a cover of Elliott Smith's Twilight, and reintroducing Moore's remarkable voice. [Aug 2017, p.107]

Murky depths, glittering enchantment, and the swell of heightened grandeur. [Summer 2018, p.109]

Incredibly, it works. [Nov 2009, p.104]

For sheer bravado and imagination it's something that few bands will top this year. [Oct 2003, p.109]

When Harvey stretches herself things really become interesting. [Jun 2004, p.100]

The songs are low-key, personal tales with quiet hooks, grabbing what energy they can from the production's sudden lurches. [Oct 2016, p.109]

Small, perfectly formed and wonderfully refreshing. [Jun 2004, p.105]

A sprawling, ambitious 18-track behemoth, its size and constant stylistic shifts belies its cohesiveness. [Nov 2018, p.106]

If The Killers hadn't got there first with Hot Fuss, The Bravery's debut would have been revolutionary. Instead it is merely a brilliant pop record. [Apr 2005, p.115]

An album where technological trickery frequently delivers real magic. [Jan 2018, p.110]

Syro is an album that instantly connects. [Nov 2014, p.109]

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

Their songs retain a Scandinavian feel, at once exuberant and enigmatic on the soaring Fountain and cellophane-wrapped Vista, while pulsing, M83-like synth rush of Chasing Kites shows they've set their sights well beyond the Nordic margins. [Jan 2015, p.126]

This collections reveals that you can make music as clever or as conceptual as you like, but back it up with magnificent songs, and the people will flock. [Jan 2012, p.132]

Supported by appearances from My Morning Jacket's Jim James, Neko Case and kd lang, Veirs still manages to find the magic and wonder in the big bad world. [Oct 2013, p.112]

Opener Into the Night sets the tine with its robotic glitterball soul music, while Undecided fantastically tweaks the Roland 303 to Olympian levels of ecstasy. [Mar 2012, p.111]

Fans of Four Tet and Jon Hopkins are advised to check out this master at work. [Summer 2018, p.110]

This isn't just a new Faith No More record. It's one of their very best. [Jun 2015, p.113]

By avoiding a quick fix, The Vaccines have made their most complete album yet. [Jun 2015, p.113]

[The] dub deconstruction of second LP Con Todo El Mundo illustrates the trio's virtuosity at sculpting pleasingly languorous, stripped-down soundscapes. [Aug 2019, p.113]

The presence of more filler than is comfortable does not detract from the creative health in evidence on the better songs. [Feb 2006, p.100]

An instantly loveable collection of sky-punching, new wave pop glory. [May 2005, p.117]

Far less commercial, but also far richer. [Aug 2005, p.129]

An intelligent, well-crafted and catchy mix of funk, rap, soul and right-on sloganeering. [Jul 2003, p.104]

Wareham is in fine, sardonic form throughout. [Nov 2004, p.130]

He may not have Mos [Def's] lyrical depth, but his vocal style is assured and refreshingly direct. [Apr 2005, p.121]

An oddly affecting collage. [Dec 2006, p.132]

At 14 tracks Versions is too long... At its best, though, it's a blast. [May 2007, p.124]

Immediately satisfying. [Jun 2005, p.120]

An unexpected treat. [Apr 2007, p.122]

Smart and occasionally even danceable, if not quite as cool as they think. [May 2005, p.111]

It's a place where sweet harmony vocals and extreme rock meet, like Crosby, Stills & Nash through an art-punk shredder. [Dec 2005, p.148]

A welcome return to form. [Jan 2004, p.114]

A diverting synthesis of analogue old-schoolery and modern genre-hopping. [Nov 2004, p.117]

Finds them revelling in bursts of noise and awkwardness, but more surprisingly perhaps, taking as much comfort in sweet melody. [Jul 2004, p.124]

Reveal[s] a finely tuned pop ear setting them apart from the noisier kids in the punk playground. [Feb 2004, p.98]

A too-well-buried treasure. [Aug 2005, p.129]

Stuffed with little revelations. [Jun 2005, p.113]

A laid-back affair clouded with melancholy. [Sep 2006, p.109]

Darnielle's striking way with a phrase makes songs about Milky Ways for breakfast and smelly flats into things of quiet wonder. [Mar 2004, p.107]

He's still in lovely voice... and he deploys it on a selection of material that revels in past glories while showcasing his current triumphs. [May 2005, p.104]