It pushes many of the same buttons as DFA/LCD Soundsystem, but with a sensuous Gallic cool missing from the more angular Anglo-Americans. [Jul 2005, p.112]

Tightly controlled melodic songs reminiscent of R.E.M. or The Velvet Underground. [Oct 2006, p.120]

Shuttles between nerdy and mesmeric. [Oct 2005, p.119]

Punk funk can be a prickly thing, but they never overdo the art-rocking, always placing the emphasis on melody. [Feb 2005, p.101]

Less lush than their previous affairs, but still rich in Beach Boys-like vocal harmonies. [Jul 2005, p.120]

This shows they've lost little of their sonic clout. [Jun 2004, p.103]

Exhibits a grace and richness that is sometimes absent from Case's self-regarding live shows. [Apr 2006, p.112]

Whatever it lacks in cohesive identity it more than makes up for in chaotic invention. [Feb 2003, p.107]

Votolato invokes real empathy with the drifters, losers and hard-done-by who populate his songs, not unlike a more folky Elliott Smith. [Mar 2006, p.110]

Heath's high-octane hoedown riffs achieve the expected levels of raucousness. [Oct 2004, p.129]

A fine showcase for simmering, ethereal pop music. [Oct 2003, p.111]

Devoid of Hannon's penchant for the smugly esoteric, this is by far his most approachable album. [Aug 2006, p.111]

He sings with surprising forthrightness yet these 10 electronic daydreams are not songs in any conventional sense. [May 2003, p.100]

While a generic indie rock sound is flirted with, an amicable relationship deelops between that and their trademark hush. [Mar 2005, p.100]

[Her] reinvention, no matter how calculated, has worked wonders. [Aug 2005, p.127]

Their most focused album to date. [Apr 2006, p.118]

There's less of Califone's rootsy side here and more floaty mood-pieces or doomy dance grooves. [Feb 2004, p.98]

A very respectable pop-punk debut. [Oct 2005, p.121]

One thing that hasn't changed is Thorn's voice, which is as warming and mellow as ever. [Apr 2007, p.122]

An exquisite addition to the canon. [Apr 2003, p.104]

Proof positive that you can post-rock and still have a smile on your face. [May 2007, p.124]

Ambitiously wide-ranging. [Apr 2005, p.118]

This is laregly classic pastoral English whimsy at its best. [Apr 2007, p.119]

For newcomers to Smith's wonderful and frightening world it's a good introduction. [Mar 2007, p.111]

At times, the sugary vocals do become a little sickly; mostly, though, Universal Audio is a mastercalss in harmonious guitar pop. [Oct 2004, p.122]

They appear to have found their level: one of rock's best-kept secrets. [May 2007, p.124]

There's little new stylistically... but the results are remarkably strong. [Feb 2004, p.98]

Some of the shorter tracks feel like distractions, but when the fragile mixture of field recordings, samples from radio broadcasts and twanging folk instruments comes into focus, the results are quietly fascinating. [Dec 2003, p.120]

Mclusky are unique and getting better. [Jul 2004, p.118]

The Great Western is arguably stronger than either of the last two Manics albums. [Aug 2006, p.116]

A wildly energetic record. [Jul 2005, p.120]

He's found some endearing and unexpectedly affecting songs. [Oct 2005, p.120]

Doom's bizarre raps prove a good match for Danger Mouse's eclectic approach. [Nov 2005, p.123]

A superbly consistent R&B collection. [May 2007, p.123]

A stoned gas. [Dec 2003, p.123]

Bristling with invention. [Dec 2005, p.156]

Genuinely ear-popping... utterly mesmeric. [Apr 2006, p.119]

Hard work but worth the effort. [Oct 2005, p.117]

Crosseyed Heart sounds fantastic and beautifully put together. [Oct 2015, p.110]

Here the diverse mix of everything from jazz funk to Pink Floyd seems better realised. [Mar 2005, p.101]

The songwriting here is less striking than that showcased on recent best of. [Dec 2003, p.130]

A winning combination. [Jun 2005, p.120]

With a too-clean production job and some filler... Origin (Phase 1) falls short of the categoric statement of greatness needed to install the group in the major league. [Nov 2004, p.122]

Despite [their] obsession with the everyday... The Rakes are never mundane. [Sep 2005, p.118]

A long, sometimes hard, often inspired haul, this could easily have been pared down to a uniformly excellent double disc. [Dec 2006, p.138]

As admirable as Radiohead's quest ongoing quest to ignore expectations, tear up the manual and proudly rebel against the limitations of 4/4 time seems, some of Hail To The Thief comes dangerously close to being all experimentalism and precious little substance. [Jul 2003, p.98]

Here, they are hitting their stride. [Feb 2005, p.98]

A stark record that showcases her unsettlingly direct vocals. [Dec 2003, p.132]

A fine souvenir of DiFranco's recent jazzy excursions. [May 2003, p.102]

Intricate yet funky, it mostly comes together to mesmeric effect. [Mar 2006, p.111]

The beautiful lap steel and accordion arrangement of Beneath The Rose, majestic duet I Still Remember and lilting waltz Stand In My Way only make the roaring violence of On My Way more startling. [Sep 2004, p.126]

His best since 2001's Here Be Monsters. [Jul 2006, p.114]

Of the 11 tracks, five are lovely, three are makeweights and an equal number excellent. [Dec 2006, p.133]

Swinging, scratchy indie-pop, with see-sawing melodies, emotive vocals and frustrated tales. [Jul 2004, p.127]

All very creditable though, for a man who once oozed vitriol, a tad bloodless. [Oct 2003, p.103]

It sounds a bit like a female Elliott Smith and certainly more than the sum of its genes. [Aug 2006, p.112]

She's just as full of herself, but she now has a voice brimming with womanly promise. [Nov 2006, p.149]

He finally seems to be getting the hang of things. [Oct 2006, p.122]

Once you've bequeathed them your synapses, the rewards are great. [Aug 2004, p.116]

Morbid, maybe, but she handles it all with dignity. [Mar 2006, p.106]

As unique as ever. [Jun 2003, p.102]

Maybe not as consistent as previous efforts, but when Beam harmonises with his sister Sarah, in particular, Woman King is really a very lovely thing indeed. [Mar 2005, p.104]

Jim O'Rourke's solo work comes to mind on tracks like Leaders, but there's more emotional depth here. [Feb 2005, p.102]

Uneasy, strangely compelling listening. [Mar 2003, p.111]

A confident return. [Jul 2006, p.115]

Given time and a little effort, [his songs] begin to cast their own rewarding chamber-pop spell. [Mar 2005, p.98]

Insane, but in a good way. [Nov 2005, p.123]

Their poppiest album to date. [Feb 2003, p.107]

[His] gravel-like vocals envelop the album, while his well-travelled eyes ensure the lyrics are filled with knowing experience. [Mar 2004, p.109]

A fine album, offering quality tunes, if not clever punches. [May 2003, p.100]

Intriguing, unpredictable and far from ordinary. [Mar 2007, p.110]

Essential listening for mall rats everywhere. [Aug 2006, p.113]

Anyone expecting a lot of happy-clappy Bible-thumping best rethink. [Mar 2007, p.112]

Finds GBV playing to their long-standing strengths. [Oct 2004, p.124]

Three albums in the air of quirky, mad-scientific investigation is now a constant. [May 2005, p.121]

A fine start. [Mar 2004, p.113]

Showcase[s] a band revelling in their powers, in thrilling control of their screeching rock 'n' roll abandon. [Mar 2006, p.107]

It is, triumphantly, among the most camp mainstream pop records ever made. [Mar 2007, p.113]

A career highlight. [Sep 2006, p.109]

Costa's capable of holding her own, making the most of [Prince's and Lenny Kravitz's] skills while imposing her identity. [Sep 2005, p.115]

As complex and remarkable as everything that preceded it. [Jun 2003, p.92]

A wry and considered thing. [Oct 2004, p.128]

There's not much to tie it to the present day, but when the template is this well tuned that's no great problem. [Oct 2004, p.129]

Contains more than its fair share of exquisite melancholy and careering abandon. [Nov 2005, p.123]

A modish conflation of acoustic guitars, violins, subtle electronics and artfully detached vocals, located somewhere near Amnesiac-era Radiohead. [Feb 2005, p.104]

This is a very minor-chord affair. [Feb 2004, p.104]

Yet for all the nostalgia, the lurching strut of tracks such as Boom Ditty and Breaktime remains undeniably potent and contemporary. [Dec 2005, p.156]

They're talented then, but also lucky that the strength of the decent songs outweighs the inclusion of the odd rough sketch, a studio jam, and an outright Chas & Dave-style stinker. [Dec 2002, p.103]

For those prepared to dig in, it's another reliably rewarding listen. [Oct 2006, p.125]

Think Mogwai at their loudest or a less willfully awkward Godspeed You! Black Emperor. [Apr 2007, p.118]

There's... plenty for the merely curious to enjoy. [Aug 2005, p.142]

The pair are so full of ideas, there's scarcely a dull moment. [Apr 2007, p.119]

Such is the man's zest and pinballing musical imagination that it's hard not to be wildly entertained. [Mar 2007, p.115]

A record of jerky, twilit, hard-edged electro.... But for all its experiment and inconsistency, Black Cherry is still a thoroughly likeable album. [May 2003, p.101]

There's a bolder choice of material.... Her playing has loosened up too. [Jun 2004, p.100]

A familiarly kaleidoscopic whirl of retro-futuristic sounds. [May 2005, p.111]

Fusing strange, arresting rhythms with gothic atmospheres, these surprisingly modern-sounding soundscapes should earn Korn a deserved second wind. [Jan 2006, p.127]

A heroic performance. [Nov 2006, p.147]