Fearless strides forth from Neil's number one son. [Aug. 2011, p. 119]

As a whole, The Harrow and the Harvest maintains a singular mood and sense of atmosphere -- its terrain, musically and emotionally, is stark and bleak but beautiful. [Aug. 2011, p. 118]

Swedish electro-pop hipsters take understatement to a new high. [Aug. 2011, p. 117]

Unsurprisingly, their music proves equally mysterious, the lava-like bass and shuddering beats suggesting a familiarity with dubstep's experimental margins. [Aug. 2011, p. 116]

Born This Way feels like the first proper Lady Gaga album. [Aug. 2011, p. 114]

A pleasing indulgence, then, rather than a necessity. [Jun 2011, p.117]

They've mastered sounding unhurried but supertight. [August 2011, p. 113]

Safe to say, it's one reassuringly cosmic listening experience. [August 2011, p. 113]

Melodies take shape and dissolve, musical reference points blend unexpectedly but the effect, though disorientating, is always accessible. [Jun 2011, p.110]

It's this kind of unresolved contradiction -- not to mention the flashes of self-deprecating wit -- that makes this return from the brink so fascinating. [August 2011, p. 112]

This 23-track collection of his formative spell with the New York-based Bang label makes a welcome reminder what a top pop tunesmith Neil Diamond was in his younger, Brill Building days. [Jul 2011, p.126]

An album made for judicious online cherry-picking. [Jul 2011, p.126]

Weighty stuff, but tungsten-strength tunes, a lush orchestral feel and Friday's laconic delivery make for a winning combination. [Jun 2011, p.114]

There are meandering moments on Skying--closer Oceans Burning's day-trip into prog palls after a while--but it continues The Horrors' fast-forward evolution from their dark larval form into lepidopterist's delight. [Aug 2011, p.110]

When it's muscular, it can be very good, but too frequently it veers off into more confused, mystical or plain boring territory. [Jul 2011, p.114]

They do succumb to indulgence--most pointedly on bloated eight-minuter Deep Water--but if you're prepared to allow them, they're just about worth it. [Jul 2011, p.116]

Perfect Darkness further reinforces his reputation as the closest there is to a latter-day John Martyn. [Jul 2011, p.102]

Aside from the Flying Lotus-produced curio tucked away at the end, there's little sign here he's willing to attempt a new role. [Jul 2011, p.111]

The music is let down by clunky lyrics. [Feb 2011]

Not much helped by their enervating vocals, debut release Native To is lo-fi '80s-influenced synth-pop that simply comes and goes, serving no discernible purpose at all. [Jul 2011, p.120]

Intricate guitar lines twine tightly and Josh Block's hyperactive drumming keeps the whole rickety enterprise a hair's breadth shy of total collapse. [Jul 2011, p.121]

Twenty-two tracks long, Total is an eclectic joyride through myriad musical styles; the beauty being that none sticks around long enough to get boring. [Jul 2011, p.119]

His second solo effort succeeds largely because its titular novelty never overshadows the bittersweet folk vignettes, driven by his affecting baritone. [Jul 2011, p.119]

Their Macabre storytelling and aura of imminent violence lend themselves well to Twitch's vintage synths, and suspenseful effects. [Jul 2011, p.119]

Their debut is a giant leap in the right direction. [Jul 2011, p.118]

Unsurprisingly, this posthumous album doesn't reach such heights [as a973's Solid Air], and comes with a little too much overlong, incoherent blues whimsy. [Jul 2011, p.114]

The language barrier may prove too much for English-speakers, but the typically sunny, genre-blending production from world-pop maven Manu Chao should win them a place on the summer festival circuit. [Jul 2011, p.111]

Their music now comes wrapped in gauzy textures more reminiscent of local hero Toro Y Moi. [Jul 2011, p.111]

They've lost some of their endearing quirks en route, the songs often slipping into a tuneless mess reminiscent of early-'90s experimentalists Truman's Water at their most challenging. [Jul 2011, p.111]

It's heavy-hitting, but the price paid is the loss of the subtle details that made them unique. [Jul 2011, p.111]

Hexes and such may be the stuff of teenaged girls' diary fantasies, but it's not hard to fall under The Pierces' spell. [Jun 2011, p.120]

Gorgeous, sun-dappled sounds from San Francisco. [July 2011, p. 121]

Tom Vek's charm has lost its spark. [July 2011, p. 121]

Charming but once-paced opener from Denver couple. [July 2011, p. 120]

Speed Of Darkness dishes up more of the same. [July 2011, p. 120]

Monstrously heavy, full of tense, nervous energy. [July 2011, p. 120]

The Felice Brothers return bigger, better and full of surprises on their fourth UK release. [July 2011, p. 120]

While The Double Cross is diverting enough, it is far from essential. [July 2011, p. 119]

Brains and beauty come from the Chicagoan cult-rockers. [July 2011, p. 119]

Sixth album by the artist who won MOJO's Best Breakthrough Act award 2007, aged 66. [July 2011, p. 100]

Disappointing return from orchestral indie types. [July 2011, p. 117]

Despite it's title and Young's Ben Folds-esque vocals, All Things Bright and Beautiful keeps its beliefs at a distance for the most part. [July 2011, p. 117]

She sounds more engaged than she has in years. Not the disgrace it could have been. [July 2011, p. 117]

It's magical stuff. [July 2011, p. 116]

He'll never repeat Play's monumental success, of course, but he's building a might back catalogue. [July 2011, p. 116]

Toronto six-piece deliver a killer concept album. [July 2011, p. 113]

The yearning fluidity of the vocals is checked, unfortunately by guitars that fail to detonate. [Jun 2011, p.114]

Undoubtedly ambitious, drawing on soul, jazz and squalling rock, the best moments keep the focus on Monche's own voice, with Shine's radical poetry reminiscent of veteran firebrands The Last Poets. [May 2011, p.112]

May not be their most ambitious album, but it's one of their finest. [July 2011, p. 113]

Ultimately, My Morning Jacket's diversity proves their partial undoing and Circuital remains a frustratingly hit-and-miss affair. [July 2011, p. 112]

The voice may be more Grandpa Simpson than Grand Ole Opry these days, but the spirit on Ramble At The Ryman live set is unbeatable. [July 2011, p. 106]

An exuberant mash-up of all sounds urban. [July 2011, p. 111]

With her debut, the former member of art-noise cult Gowns sounds like she would quite literally rip out her heart as a sleeve adornment if it served her creative purpose. [July 2011, p. 111]

Kaputt expresses the Vancouverite's fastidious Anglophilia, rustling up '80s pop opulence while maintaining a scruffy bohemian cred. [July 2011, p. 111]

Perhaps Codes And Keys's seemingly illogical sequencing of songs makes sense if they wish to lure their audience into thinking it's as-you-were. But it's not: things are different and better. [July 2011, p. 110]

The Wisconsin outsider stretches horizons on mesmeric second album. [July 2011, p. 108]

Their kooky appeal wanes over the course of an album, reminding you that sometimes cults stay that way for a reason. [July 2011, p. 106]

Not here the gliding elegance of Drive, but an almost self-conscious rewrite of that brilliant debut's mechanical pop rock. [July 2011, p. 106]

The Brooklyn trio rein in the misery. [July 2011, p. 106]

Previously, their appeal was an alien fusion of ferocious single-mindedness and forbidding complexity. Here, Battles often struggle to sound strange enough. [July 2011, p. 107]

There is still plenty to enjoy here, though, especially Little Surprise, which occupies a similar territory to Mystery Jets at their best. [Jun 2011, p.124]

It might not be new, but Wolf's delicate delivery ensures that it's never anything anything less than irresistibly romantic. [Jun 2011, p125]

If Hard Bargain doesn't quite hit a career high, it runs close on tearful eulogies to Gram Parsons and Kate McGarrigle, and the stunning My Name Is Emmett Till, a Cash/Dylan-esque civil rights songs. [Jun 2011, p.116]

Hercules And Love affair team up. Again. Indeed, their debut album as Jessica 6 bears an uncanny resemblance to that of their fellow New York disco hipsters. [July 2011, p. 114]

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]

Ultimately, the accord reached between Mark Ronson and the quartet is that there's nothing wrong with the Black Lips formula; merely that their exuberance sometimes needs a calming hand on the shoulder. [July 2011, p. 115]

At times rapturous, it's the title track's mix of dub effects and PiL-inspired vocals that grabs the ears most effectively. [Jun 2011, p.107]

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

The Eastern motifs on Infinty are trite. Ultimately, it's not enough to derail this engrossing record. [Jun 2011, p.116]

Stelmanis is her own woman and on Lose It and Spellwork there's enough regal clatter to elevate her from being a mere cult concern. [Jun 2011, p.107]

Alexis Taylor teams up with Spiritualized guitarist John Coxon and Charles Hayward, drummer with post-punk originals This Heat, for a charming diversion that draws freely on '70s jazz, Southern rhythm-and-blues and vintage synths. [Jun 2011, p.107]

It still pays dividends, The Notwist adding melody to the fractured electronica of Themselves and gaining rhythmic substance in return. [Jun 2011, p.107]

There is sparkling pop invention in abundance here, and, homage or not, that surely transcends any decade. [Jun 2011, p.106]

Both mysterious and inviting, Helplessness Blues retains and expands what made the debut so special. It's an open door to a private world. [Jun 2011, p.108]

Coming over not unlike Belle & Sebastian with muted horns and liltingly voices, sounds gently ebb and flow. [Jun 2011, p.110]

Vintage soul styles are duly nailed with his coruscating guitar between funk and psychedelic rock. [Jun 2011, p.110]

In every way, it's alive, but mostly, it's alive with possibility. [Jun 2011, p.112]

For the most part, the duo's fourth full-length curbs their indulgent tendencies. [Jun 2011, p.114]

Superb. [Jun 2011, p.114]

This fifth album shouldn't disappoint them [their fans]. [Jun 2011, p.114]

At its best, Cadenza is a thoroughly captivating listen. [Jun 2011, p.114]

No help coming consequently offers a welcome contrast to murder-ballad reciting neo-folkers. [Jun 2011, p.116]

A soul-warming treat. [Jun 2011, p.116]

Bands aren't suppose to peak on their sixth album, but Okkervil Rover are more tortoise than hare and they've been building towards I Am Very Far since they convened back in 1998. [Jun 2011, p.118]

His debut solo LP nods more to the latter [Cracker rather than Camper Van Beethoven]. [Jun 2011, p.119]

The follow-up to 2009's Everything To Nothing crackles with energy. [Jun 2011, p.119]

A Thousand Heys plays so much like the product of a band wigging out in a garage you can almost smell the Castrol GTX. [Jun 2011, p.119]

An effortless marriage of modern dream-pop loops and classical 70s guitar lines, it entertains notions of Thin Lizzy and Steely Dan, while producer Chris Coady lends the whole a steadfastly modern feel. [Jun 2011, p.120]

It's hard work at times, but ultimately adventurous and rewarding. [Jun 2011, p.120]

Its 18 tracks somewhere between the ghostly dancefloor sway of Fever Ray and modern classical composition. [Jun 2011, p.120]

Compelling stuff. [Jun 2011, p.120]

Tasteful and muted, it's one for the connoisseur, not the casual fan. [Jun 2011, p.120]

They've mercifully scraped away some of the abrasiveness on their fifth record--even taking the drastic step of recording in a real studio. It's a move that skillfully exposes their inner charms while preserving their lo-fi cool. [Jun 2011, p.123]

The heart-breakingly poignant cello hum of Opening (White Material) typifies the rightness of the association; when you add Stuart Staples's beguiling baritone, it elevates to another level altogether. [Jun 2011, p.123]

The mood is a celebratory, the vibe relaxed and one-time socially conscious hip hopper Franti makes like he's the happiest guy on the planet. [Jun 2011, p.124]

Their 13th release, Lollipop, continues to rein in their wayward and abrasive tendencies for something more measured. [Jun 2011, p.124]

It's no radical departure, the Canadian chanteuse's sensual croon is still a class apart. [Jun 2011, p.124]

It's early days yet, but right now Twin Atlantic are doing nothing wrong and much that is right--their future looks bright indeed. [Jun 2011, p.124]