Their former group's artful exuberance and awkward edges may have been sawn off to create a more grungy rasp, but there's still plenty of angst on show. [Oct 2002, p.117]

Largely they hit the sweet spot by turning these songs into tunes that could be straight off their own LPs. [Sep 2015, p.110]

The mood is still bossa nova night at the Marxist reading group, but that's not entirely a bad thing. [Apr 2005, p.123]

The propulsive Fast Forward proves there's still a shard of emo in their hearts, but mostly this feels like a bold reboot. [Dec 2018, p.114]

Such willful awkwardness means they're never likely to rise above cult status, but this is still a very welcome form. [Jan 2013, p.105]

An occasional over-eagerness for approval, though, can allow attention to wander. [Jan 2013, p.111]

At its best, it makes for exhilarating listening, as on 'Crimewave' and the bleep-funk soundclash that drives 'Air War' and the unexpectedly tender 'Courtship dating.' [June 2008, p.138]

Replacing buoyant guitars and boy-girl dilemmas with dark themes of religion, parenthood and death, this [album] is a bridge to grittier material, albeit that with a glittering pop-rock handrail. [Nov 2011, p. 143]

It might feel too in thrall to their heroes at times. ... But Bdrmm's world of noise is so artfully constructed it's hard to not find yourself lost within it. [Aug 2020, p.102]

[The soundtrack is paring] the sound down for wistful and occasionally beautiful miniatures. [May 2013, p.106]

Fading Love is hard to fault on its own terms, but in a world where there's just so much music, sometimes being decent isn't enough. A bit of nastiness wouldn't go amiss. [May 2015, p.105]

White it can still sound like samples waiting to be made into songs, on It's Not Me and Six Pack they reveal a canny knack with almost Motown-esque pop hooks. [Oct 2002, p.107]

Not all the tracks have the same impact, however, and a certain sameness in tone saps thrills. [Jun 2013, p.95]

The celestial keys and brooding bass of Lesson From The Darkness could be straight from the early '80s, but The Faint's mastery of their influences ensures Doom Abuse is defiantly their own creation. [Jun 2014, p.108]

Where Marilyn Manson is dark and introspective, Godhead are much more outgoing.

The results are pleasantly bouncy rather than riotously fun. [Aug 2018, p.114]

The glacial tones and chimes that the Velvet Underground modelled on Sunday Morning are invoked once too often. But, beyond this, Sandoval's sedated, spellbound voice remains a remarkable presence. [Nov 2001]

Their weak spots (feyness, smugness, shallowness) remain. [Nov 2003, p.104]

Momentary Masters is a big beast with swagger in its bones and craft in its soul. [Sep 2015, p.110]

Like his debut, From Every Sphere chokes on moments of indigestible excess. [Mar 2003, p.108]

No great leap forward. [Jul 2006, p.113]

It loses its way from time to time and the eagerly anticipated Hal noodles when it should inspire. But when strings soar against clattering drums on Dax, the effect is mesmerising. [Jan 2016, p.113]

It won't dethrone his great works, but there's heart in abundance. [Nove. 2010, p. 117]

More an EP than an album, it's possibly not for the unwitting. [Apr 2015, p.102]

As predictable as rain in February. [Mar 2002, p.123]

Continues to adhere firmly to the rootsy rock of fellow travellers Matchbox Twenty and Counting Crows, while their earnest musicianship and hard work will delight fans of that sort of thing. [Aug 2003, p.115]

It might lack originality, but its freewheeling spirit will definitely keep you listening. [Nov 2013, p.109]

Their music is a similarly odd hybrid [as the Bray Road Beast that their first track references], its great dreamy prog head gazing down at its shoes. [Feb 2016, p.108]

Drew's little-boy-lost whine on the likes of 'Gangbang Suicide' occasionally grates, but the supreme soft-rock anthemics on 'Lucky Ones' more than compensates. [Oct 2007, p.94]

Buffalo Tom remain a very fine shoulder to cry on, warm, steady and strong. [Apr 2018, p.106]

A montage of brief yet expansive instrumentals, it veers from the richly choral to the dissonant, from busy polyrhythms to spare, awestruck synth-symphonies. [May 2020, p.112]

It's a mess, but it's never less than an absorbing one. [May 2016, p.107]

The Deserters produces a gently psychedelic kind of romantic chamber-pop. [Jan 2013, p.113]

Wild Things is as likeable as it is cutting edge. [Aug 2016, p.113]

Kozelek's less-than-euphoric vocals become wearying after a few tracks, though the band shuffle basic resources with some brio. Worth the wait, but only just.

If Emika's voice lets her down a bit in places, as a producer she knows how to mould it into strange and interesting shapes. [Jul 2013, p.103]

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]

When she does go heavier, the results are tepid. Happily, it doesn't happen very often. [Aug 2011, p.119]

Thicke's record is wonderfully, brilliantly uncool, a ties-round-the-head, Grandma-friendly wedding reception anthem; and there's more where that came from. [Sep 2013, p.101]

What we are left with is a sense of something not quite finished... It makes Ringleader Of The Tormentors feel like a transitional album. [Apr 2006, p.108]

Unashamedly retro, yes, but delivered with out irony--and at ear-ringing volume. [Dec 2012, p.105]

Last Night is a welcome return to the dancefloor following 2005's patchy rock-dance experiment "Hotel," though it still feels as if Moby is struggling to live down the 10 million-selling "Play." [Apr 2008, p.112]

[A] coolly unnerving full-length debut. [Apr 2015, p.102]

It's bold and gimmick-free--proof there's no shame in covering old ground. [May 2009, p.116]

If Not Now, When? sounds like a band operating admirably in the present tense. ;[May 2015, p.100]

His stentorian baritone adds emotional depth and there's a world-weary rue to the lyrics. [Jun 2014, p.114]

Surrounding themselves with wise old heads clearly helps, but The Days Run Away shows Frankie & Co have plenty ideas of their own. [Jul 2013, p.103]

Sticking largely to the budget yacht rock, hazy indie sounds of its predecessor, Another One finds our hero circling the plughole of heartbreak, with stop-offs into anguish, pique and confusion. [Sep 2015, p.110]

A wildly inventive, often sprawling opus, comprising a multitude of styles from boisterous guitar rock to psychedelic nonsense.

It's on the quieter moments--the lovely Wild, closer I Tried--that Champion finds its emotional sweet spot. [Jan 2020, p.106]

It lacks variety, but with a debut this clear-eyed they earn enough musical credit to stay in the black until next time. [Nov 2013, p.111]

It works best when these elements are brought to the fore--the shadowy-voyage-into-the-unknown atmosphere of opener Rising or Rain's floating, dream-like synths--creating an eerie, retro-futurist soundworld to get lost in. [Feb 2019, p.112]

This 11-song Lp is less freak folk than freak scene, as the trio balances lo-fi guitar crunch with Chris Weisman's adenoidal vocals. [Jul 20120, p.93]

Stylistically, it's all over the place, but he doesn't deserve to fall this time round. [June 2008, p.145]

Deviations aren't needed when you can enjoy Hidden City for what it is: a Cult record. [Mar 2016, p.108]

It's a finely textured, quietly hypnotic collection showcasing her guitar chops inside mellifluous, complex songs. [Aug 2008, p.139]

The first few tracks are like The Black Crowes without the cosmic sophistication. [Apr 2015, p.104]

The melodies running through City People, City Things and Julie, with their hints of Paul Simon at his most wistful, are the measure of anything from Rouse's 2002 purple patch. The rest is charming if sometimes sugar-sweet and a little too inoffensive. [May 2013, p.109]

While there are some fine original songs, it's Harvey's choice of covers and collaborations that are most telling. [Jun 2013, p.98]

If there's nothing on Lovers Rock as naggingly memorable as past triumphs Diamond Life or Your Love Is King, then the refined ache and minimalist chic of By Your Side and Somebody Already Broke My Heart are persuasive enough.

While opener C'est La Vie's French title is as experimental as it gets, there's still plenty to savour. [Oct 2015, p.114]

A dense sci-fi metropolis, rich in atmosphere, but light in the edge and unpredictability of urban life. [Nov 2013, p.111]

Hence the London outfit's second album is an all-acoustic, bucolic affair. [Aug 2010, p.116]

These songs' surfaces are fastidiously arranged - but in his delicate vocals and allusive, nervy lyrics, Westerman still stirs up darker, less elegantly curated depths. [Summer 2020, p.107]

The results are mixed. [Apr 2013, p.94]

["Cadillac Walk" is] a refreshing change of pace on an album whose smoothness palls just a little over 12 songs. [May 2013, p.110]

[Fat John's] hyper-literate, cosmically inclined stylings can't help but humanise -- and eventually soften -- the hard burn of circuitry. [Aug 2003, p.111]

Whatever Port O'Brien went through over the last 12 months was evidently painful, yet it's upped their game considerably. [Nov 2009, p.111]

It was produced by Blink-182's Mark Hoppus, a fact evident within five seconds of opener, "Worker Bee." [May 2010, p.126]

Savages are still best viewed in the wild, then, but Silence Yourself documents a spirit and passion that could never be background music. [Jun 2013, p.98]

Lyrically, they may not be Pulitzer Prize contenders and sometimes--well, a lot of the time--you yearn for a little more musical adventurism, but there's good work here. [Jun 2011, p.123]

This narrative of self-empowerment might be superficially uplifting but it can also be rather inane, recalling the tween-friendly messages of positivity spread by pop powerhouses like Little Mix. That lightweight lyricism is in contrast to Mahalia's sophisticated sonic palate. [Oct 2019, p.109]

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

It's raised a notch by the seductive combination of just-grimy-enough production and smooth vocals. [Jun 2003, p.96]

At times it verges on beautiful classical pop. At others, it's like listening to a taxing piece of modernist musical theatre. [Aug 2013, p.105]

The mood is largely one of milky wistfulness, but the clever textural detail means these songs are more than stylistic cloning. [Sep 2014, p.108]

[Disc 1] is impressive stuff--the sound of a muse regained. Pity the acoustic disc is nowhere near as good. [Jul 2005, p.109]

This is music precision-built for vast stadiums. [Aug 2006, p.112]

Their jittery new-wave revivalism isn't unique, but their sparse rock attack still yields rewards. [May 2006, p.130]

The most impressive moments are when he shifts away from his comfort zone. [Jan 2013, p.111]

The quieter songs that follow are more hit-and-miss. [Apr 2016, p.101]

The two 40-minute "acts" open with cinematic flair, building from atmospheric, Mark Lanegan-assisted opener Requiem (When You Talk Of love) to the Massive Attack-like turbulence of Nothing To Give. The second act proves less assured. [May 2019, p.116]

It's a record that opens the door with its's robe falling to the floor: louche, suggestive clammy in places. [Jun 2017, p.104]

They up the anthem count and resemble a lo-fi Dire Straits. [May 2013, p.112]

While at times this debut with The Best-Ofs still portrays him as apotty-mouthed cynic who regards romance as black farce, it seems that a light of commitment and imminent parenthood has been turned on. [Mar 2009, p.102]

Destroyer attempts to shoehorn more incongruous elements into an already busy mix. [Summer 2019, p.108]

Strangely engaging.

It's liable to tail off in trippier moments, but Kazuashita is magical enough to reward its hyperactive ambition. [Summer 2018, p.109]

A song cycle that ruminates on his condition and travails to an orch-pop soundtrack of piano, strings and voice. [#361, p.111]

Impressive though it is, however, there's a lurking feeling that it could have been released any time in the past 10 years. [Mar 2010, p.97]

As the album goes on, however, Marks To Prove It becomes a heavy dose of reflection upon reflection and a similarity of pace means the songs begins to merge into one another. [Sep 2015, p.108]

White Glue departs little from the scratchy template of La Spark but sounds more confident, if still just as nasty. [Nov 2016, p.114]

M.I.A.'s style mag-cool pop-rap doesn't have the substance to carry the dark subtext of the title. [May 2005, p.107]

Over 17 similarly sounding tracks it becomes slightly more soporific. [Mar 2016, p.109]

They've deployed four singers, reined in their more cinematic flourishes and gone for a punchier approach. Those four singers inevitably mean a lack of cohesion. [Feb 2015, p.105]

Frustratingly, the tricksy production and Auto-Tuned vocals of the fragmented second-half tend to overwhelm the songs rather than enhance them. [Mar 2016, p.109]

Lyrics veer from the pessimism of relationship failure to the optimism of new love, underpinned by the worldliness of a woman moving forwards after so many steps backwards. [Jun 2017, p.105]

Clocking in at 23 minutes, they're never in danger of outstaying their welcome, even if raucous blasts such as Misery Factory implode too quickly to become actual songs. [Apr 2015, p.108]