Though Blank's album is full of hits and misses, it's rarely dull. [Aug 2009, p.103]

The album is a pleasing companion in its own right. [Nov 2009, p.111]

A high-gloss, vocally gymnastic collection of '80s-referencing dance pop concerned with love and love gone wrong, can be a little full-on. [Aug 2009, p.107]

[The new sound] works well on single 'Cities Burning Down,' which glides by catchily with a curious mix of muscle and lethargy, but it's less welcome on the cod-psychedlic 'Let's Be Kids' or the trite 'Golden Web,' both which are cosmetically seemless, but lack depth. [Apr 2009, p.105]

Seemingly made with the camper kind of dancefloors in mind is the self-titled first album of surging Euro synth-pop from Sweden writer/producer, Kleerup. [Jun 2009, p.134]

At a safe distance from Britpop's glare, Midlife justly represents Blur as national treasures, as emotionally rich and hungry for progress as ardiohead, only catchier. [Aug 2009, p.116]

The likes of Umbrella Beach, Cave In and Vanillla Twilight blend bittersweet longing, wintry elemental imagery and melodies that worm their way into your consciousness with effortless aplomb. [Apr 2010, p.119]

They're better when they throw off the straightjacket of cool. [Oct 2009, p.107]

It's not essential, but it is a sunny delight. [Oct 2009, p.117]

It's tempting to say that Groves makes music mature beyond her tender years, but tha's wrong. It would be stunning no matter how old she was. [Jun 2009, p.117]

An album that spins and lurches with impressive dexterity. [Aug 2009, p.104]

Horehound's strengths are also its weaknesses--the rush with which it came together, the sense that it amounts to Jack White playing to type. But like Jack White, too, when it's good, it's very, very good. [Aug 2009, p.102]

Freakonomics proves they still pack a punch, though. [Aug 2009, p.101]

To reach this pop sophistication after four albums would be admirable. In two, it's awe-inspiring. [Aug 2009, p.105]

This is a better than promising start. [Jul 2009, p.118]

This record is like a pale version of their biggest fan in its shoe-shuffling awkwardness, and though each track sounds far too timid for single release, that is perhaps Upper Air's defining charm. [Aug 2009, p.103]

Though the quality rarely dips, at almost 2 hours long it does get rather wearing. [Aug 2009, p.110]

Reflective, humourous and romantic, Catacombs is perfect for those long summer nights ahead. [Jul 2009, p.133]

This is an assured solo debut from the MC. [Oct 2009, p.111]

Jack Steadman's shaky voice does scant justice to a dozen songs that, in more adept hands, might have not been squashed at birth. [Aug 2009, p.103]

Pete Wareham's group balances playfulness and tunes with rhythmic invention and experiementalism, arriving somewhere between punk and prog. [Aug 2009, p.101]

Everything here delivers the predominant warmth "Sky Blue Sky" lacked and betrays a sharp ear for melody that has often been obscured by sonic theatrics. [Aug 2009, p.1000]

There's stirring emotion to 'Pale Horses' restrained mournfulness and the soulful vocals on the minimal 'Walk With Me,' though it can sound as if has a button on his laptiop that wafts this stuff out automatically. [Aug 2009, p.108]

The addition of Southern-fried sludge makes this album almost the complete New Wave Of American Heavy Metal package. [Aug 2009, p.101]

This brilliant, OutKast-like fusion of synthetic electro beats and surreal rhymes form a skewd tribute to the US state of Georgia. [Aug 2009, p.107]

From sterling ballads to punchy rockers, it's a classy set. But the initail post-Obama musings of Welcome To The Future already seem dated and, as ever, it's hard to know where the buyer will come from. [Aug 2010, p.124]

Varshons succeeds thanks to an inspired breadth of material. [Jul 2009, p.125]

Here Mascis's guitar playing remains as distorted--and dextrous--as ever, but here his songcraft burns as brightly as his fretwork. [Jul 2009, p.121]

Octahedron bucks the band's trend for obfuscation, though; conventional song structures are very much in evidence, while its relatively trim 49-minute running time is on par with some of Mars Volta's more involved live jams. [Jul 2009, p.127]

It almost inevitably fails to live up to those lofty aspirations. [Nov 2009, p.114]

She's making a bid for the mainstream, even recruiting ex-ELO mainman Jeff Lyne to her corner on five tracks, including grandiose highlight 'Human Of The Year,' a three-minute distillation of the album's overriding facination with religion. [Aug 2009, p.104]

It sounds like the album Courtney Love might have made had she not spent periods of the past decade blitzed to the back teeth. Which is a (very) good thing, by the way. [Jul 2009, p.132]

Sadly, their own sixth album lacks the drive of either Battles or Mogwai. [Aug 2009, p.113]

His alt-country songs bristle with classic influences form Gram Parsons to John Fogerty to Steve Eerle. New dog, old tricks. [Jan 2010, p. 122]

Nearly, but not quite. [Jul 2009, p.117]

Trying to find a sense of humour amidst the walloping woe is exhausting. [Aug 2009, p.107]

They rarely threaten to run out of steam. [Aug 2009, p.101]

His remarkable Warp debut follows a series of effective "folktronica" albums on the US independent Mush. [Jul 2009, p.117]

An exhilarating melange of '60s-style close harmonies, unashamedly funky guitars and psychedelia. [Aug 2009, p.112]

If there is a criticism, it's that they lack thier own, unique sound, but this is still a breezily pleasing summer-evoking effort. [Jul 2009, p.122]

The result is a vibrant hybrid of bass-heavy beats and ragga toasting that echoes the digital dub revolution that swept through reggae in the mid '80s. [Aug 2009, p.109]

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

Refreshingly, nothing outstays its welcome, not even nine-minute closer 'Massage The History.' [Jul 2009, p.124]

The bulk is what Placebo term "hard pop": lean, muscular movers shot through with melody. As unfashionable as it may be to say so, there aren't many bands that do it better. [July 2009]

What Kasabian lack in orginality they more than compensate for attitude and exhilarating hysteria. [Jul 2009, p.112]

Their packed schedule has finally allowed space for this lavish eponymous debut. [Sep 2009, p.95]

They're intriguingly ambivalent, but the conundrums are so beautifully and hauntingly put, you'll want to revisit them. [Jul 2009, p.125]

Much of the incidental music fulfils its purpose by occupying the background, but the band manage to inject real drama into the majestically discordant, Sonic Youth-influenced 'Spearing The Sunfish,' while the peaks and troughs of 'Boy Vertiginous' should appeal to Mogwai fans. [Jul 2009, p.117]

Best In Town adheres to its authors' trademarked, if confused, formula of generic metalcore verses, gratingly incongruous pop choruses, borderline misogynistic lyrics and gags that presumably sounded far funnier in the studio. [Jun 2009, p.119]

Forty years after The Stooges' debut album, Iggy Pop is still heading blindly into the unknown. [Jul 2009, p.116]

As confusing or thought-provoking as ever, depending on how far you want to walk down Costello's mazy career path. [Jul 2009, p.118]

This record will quicken the pulse of no one, but then chin-stroking does require a certain musical mellowness. [Jul 2009, p.127]

The result is an impressive but super slick collection of post-hardcore floor-fillers that's increasingly more "post" than "hardcore." [Jul 2009, p.117]

Vol. 1 is long on quality, variety and versatility, whatever format you choose. [Aug 2009, p.114]

Certainly the reverb/echo-drenched deconstructions of 'No You Girls' and 'Ulysses' pack a punch, but elsewhere it feels merely like an exercise in bolstering beats, amping basslines, then adding some beeps and FX. Pointless, really. [Jul 2009, p.122]

By growing a personality, he's conjured up a low-key gem and a minor revelation. [Jul 2009, p.119]

It's exhausting but charming. [Aug 2009, p.104]

It's a beautiful piece of work. [June 2009]

It may be oversimplifying to invoke the spirit of Radiohead, but this could be Phoenix's "Ok Computer" and "Kid A" rolled into one. [Jun 2009, p.130]

Manson the man at least seems re-energised here....The same cannot always be said for his band; their limp glam metal consistently threatens to undermine the performance. [Jul 2009, p.127]

Eating Us has a more cohesive sound than its lo-fi predecessor, but still radioates weird and wonderful vibrations. [Jul 2009, p.117]

There's no doubting her sonic ambitions, the glowing multitracked vocals and eclectic instrumentation here resembling a kind of lo-fi, one-woman version of Animal Collective. [Jun 2009, p.117]

Sounds like everyone has a ball. [Jun 2009, p.117]

Angular and unpredictable, their intricate interplay makes for enthralling listening. [Aug 2009, p.107]

What she lacks in lyrical maturity, she makes up for in heartful conviction, channelled through a voice that's by turns sweet, savage and gut-wrenchingly vulnerable. [Apr 2009, p.110]

Building a forthright sound on upfront drums, piano and Stephen Patterson's angsty vocals, tracks including Burundi-drumming lead single Percussion gun and the suspenseful groover Right Where They Left are a winning balance of art-indie mope and pop energy. [Feb 2010, p. 113]

At times--'Little Secrets,' despite its kiddie choir, 'The Reeling' and 'Moth's Wings'--it's a little too cloneishly Jake Shears for comfort. At other, though, they soar with MGMT-esque widescreen vitality. [Jun 2009, p.130]

Abnormally Attracted To Sin is a long haul, but among these 18 songs ate some of the best Amos has written. [Jun 2009, p.123]

The home recordings, however, insist this is probably for fans only. [Jul 2009, p.138]

It's all overly familiar in the most reassuring way. [Jun 2009, p.125]

It's a flinty rock record that lets Cocker's inner guitar beast out. [Jun 2009, p.118]

A unique, if impenetrable artists, Vanderslice deserves a wider audience. [Jun 2009, p.132]

There's an intimacy to these songs that makes it feel like you're intruding on some private sorrow, but there's no denying their ability to sustain a mood. [Jun 2009, p.117]

'La Llama' and Carajillo's clinking percussion, two moments of clarity on an album strong on atmosphere but sometimes short on focus. [Jul 2009, p.131]

They veer with a refreshing lack of caution from toytown techno and smart-alec wordplay t the squeaky space-hopper electro of 'Discover Your Colors.' [Aug 2009, p.104]

This impressive follow-up finds him lacing hard-edged techno beats with quirky shifts on tone and texture. [Jun 2009, p.121]

Bold, ambitious and revelling in the chaos of the age, 21st Century Breakdown is another perfect document of our times. [Jun 2009, p.114]

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

Essentially, the Hollywood sunshine hasn't changed them. This is probably best, as Smith's eccentricities still elevate Maximo Park above the guitar-pop herd. [Jun 2009, p.128]

They have shed their gormless, drifting amateurism and turned themselves into a classic American pop band. [Aug 2009, p.109]

Too many of Coxon's conceptual songs are crucified on the cross of his man-child voice, neither weird enough to beguile nor strong enough to hold your attention. [Jun 2009, p.124]

Occasionally it drifts a little too aimlessly, as if recorded under the dulling influence of Prozac, but when she gets it right, she can be entirely, weirdly riveting. [Jun 2009, p.131]

She might be too rude for mainstream fame, but the synthesis of blood and electricity is bracing, even if the title's far less funny than previous albums. [Jun 2009, p.130]

It remains to be seen whether this is a long-term diversion for Oberst. But if the Mystic Valley Band is just a brief stop, it's a hugely enjoyable one all the same. [Jun 2009, p.129]

Seriously good stuff. [Jun 20009, p.134]

This is a record so drenched in Vietnam War-era blues rock you can all but smell the patchouli and napalm, and though 'Why Must You Always Dress In Black' may be his most shameless Hendrix-rip-off to date, it is nevertheless a convincing one. [Jun 2009, p.124]

Things tail off towards the end--'Infidels Of The World Unite' is a clumsy stab at politics, but is so vague it might be about anything-but overall this is impressive enough. [Jun 2009, p.122]

It seems they've raised their game in hallucinogenic style. [Jun 2009, p.135]

Outside Love presents a collection of dramatic, heart-on-sleeve love songs. [Jun 2009, p.130]

Roadsinger is an improvement on his patchy 2006 comeback "An Other Cup." [Jun 2009, p.135]

Only the very dedicated need apply. [Jun 2009, p.119]

Grey Britain is at once more accessible than its chaotic predecessor, "Orchestra Of Wolves." but also harder hitting. [Jun 2009, p.122]

Tellingly, they're at their most beguiling when taking chances. [Jun 2009, p.134]

This still shows renewed ambition, broadening the cool, Eno-inspired palette of his previous work. [Jun 2009, p.124]

They're fine when doing the burbling, instrumental stuff, only to lose marks for a couple duff guest vocals and over-reliance on vocoders. [Jun 2010, p.132]

It's too easy to mistake them for any number of other bands--Editors, Maximo Park, The Futureheads all spring to mind--but if it's not original, it's still done weell. [Jun 2009, p.125]

On this debut LP they layer Britpop cheer with glam, funk, electro and Beach Boys harmonies, in a manner that's both tuneful and arch. [Jun 2009, p.123]

THe lush '60s pop arrangements are scuppered by overly introspective lyrics. [Mar 2009, p.93]