Gardot mixes jazz and R&B with elegant string arrangements and acoustic guitars to beguiling, small-hour effect. [Mar 2009, p.98]

Ambitious and heartfelt, Music For The People is the sound of a band caught between rock and a hard place. [May 2009, p.111]

His latest spin-off project sees Steele's musical wanderlust pay dividends. [Mar 2009, p.98]

Factor in some amiable but lightweight filler and Yes falls maddeningly short of its glittering promise--a glimpse of pop nirvana when it should be the whole thing. [Apr 2009, p.109]

Playfullly irreverent and magpie-like as ever, and stuffed with inspired pop weirdness and great titles. [May 2009, p.119]

It's hard not to feel disappointed by the sense that a band who have raised their game so many times have nowhere new to go. [May 2009, p.114]

Fizzing with energy and wearing its Pixies hat with pride, Touchdown is a blast of brain-scrambled indie rock that reaches its apogee, of sorts, on the irresisitibly dumb 'Hey, Hey.' [May 2009, p.119]

The results are hyperactive and punky. [Jun 2009, p.117]

A sad waste of everyone's time. [Jun 2009, p.119]

Thir second album is suitably heavy on post-adolescent angst but, for all frontman Andy Hull's best efforts, singularly lacking it's own voice. [Jun 2009, p.134]

Campbell's gorgeous, heartbreaking and--well--maudlin songs deserve to be heard by an audience far wider than Camera Obscura's current cult- indie-pop devoteees. [Jun 2009, p.119]

He's a terrific piano player, a gift put to exquisite use on this collection of old jazz standards. [Jun 2009, p.132]

This follow-up boasts some vibrant garage funk reminiscent of fellow Bostonian, and sometime collaborator, Edan. [Jul 2009, p.122]

Their debut bounces up and down rather a lot, resorting to ska-punk when everything fails. [May 2009, p.119]

Shallow Life finds them adding substance, specifically Evanescence-esque mass-appeal anthems tailor-made for radio. [Jun 2009, p.119]

While the 23-year-old will make more complex music than this, it will be tough to come up with something more fun. [Aug 2008, p.140]

Telepathe appear devoted to doing something utterly different, which cannot help but be exciting. [Feb 2009, p.116]

It's all terribly cute and jaunty, with twee melodies and playground lyrics to the fore. [May 2009, p.107]

The overlong 'Faith/Void' aside, this is another absorbing collection. [Apr 2009, p.100]

Emily Haines remains a commanding frontwoman, but where once she railed against war and consumerism, here she sticks to wishy-washy reflections on love and life. [Jun 2009, p.127]

There's no denying that the darker mood suits them--although with Kevin Shields and co now out of retirement as well, it could be back to the drawing board again. [May 2009, p.119]

Other tracks are a little less memorable, but the experiment's still worthwhile. [Mar 2009, p.98]

Tracks such as the arresting Human League-meets-Georgio-Moroder fusion 'One Day' and the gloriously uninhibited finale 'Happy House' remian an irresistible invitation onto the dancefloor. [May 2009, p.113]

If it sounds oh-so-ironic, it isn't; the Handsomes may exisit on country's oddball fringe, but they're no comedy act. [May 2009, p.112]

The real relevation, though, is guest rapper Sway, who ditches his cheeky pop persona in favour of a prowling delivery perfectly suited to the title track's rolling bass and Eastern-tinged 'Jewels And Gems.' [May 2009, p.113]

The quartet's unhurried groove-based approach makes for a captivating listen. [Jun 2009, p.134]

Two Suns is an intoxicating, addictive album, a step on from "Fur And Gold" a leap into a galaxy of its very own. [May 2009, p.118]

Jewellery is an extraordinary introduction to a unique talent. [Mar 2009, p.101]

Kingdom Of Rust is Doves' defining work, an album of bold adventure. [May 2009, p.108]

Pleasingly, it's much better, not to mention poppier. [May 2009, p.115]

Neil Young sounds like he's up on bricks with his exhaust pipe hanging off. [May 2009, p.106]

Too much of the material is ponderous and plodding. [Jun 2009, p.128]

It's beautifully put together, remarkably so given that it was constructed largely via the internet. [Jun 2009, p.124]

Now in his 78th year, all that know-how has been meaningfully brought to bear on this collection of vintage, Depression-era blues. [May 20009, p.112]

Their third album presents finely wrought, dramatic indie rock, with dexterous vocalist Finn Andrews. [May 2009, p.119]

Crucuially, though, he's lost none of his songwriting skill, with each song here perfectly capturing a mood of reflective melancholy. [May 2009, p.110]

The collaboration between British singer-songwriter Helena Costas and US hip-hop producer Danger Mouse, for a project called Joker's Daughter, seems unlikely, but it works surprisingly well. [Jul 2009, p.124]

If the squelching synths of 'The Original Thought' irritate, the jauntiness elsewhere suggests he's thriving on a lack of commercial pressure. [May 2009, p.119]

This may be some kind of dance music but Play Music is sadly no fun. [Jul 2009, p.133]

While there is plenty here that's impressive, the odd change of gear wouldn't go amiss next time around. [May 2009, p.110]

Their second should eclipse even that [100,000 copies of their first album sold], given the songwriting strides they've taken since. [Apr 2009, p.97]

So let any indie bands planning a trip to the keyboard shop take note: this is how it's done, with a desire to surprise and be surprised. [May 2009, p.104]

While this record might ultimately be a mere palette cleanser for the next stage in PJ Harvey's journey, it suggests her mouthwash tastes sweeter than most others' fine wine. [Apr 2009, p.101]

Living Thing, equally lovely and contrary, is somewhere between the two [albums, "Young Folks" and "Seaside Rock"]. [May 2009, p.116]

The likes of 'Win Park Slope' are pleasant, but also disappontingly unremarkable. [May 2009, p.112]

The result is a marriage of indie pop and dance music, containing a number of tracks that are just a remix away from clubland glory. [Apr 2009, p.111]

It's on the mighty 'Collemboles,' however, that all the angles, time-signature switches and gigantic choruses come togerther, and it's the finest moment on an album packed with delights. [May 2009, p.115]

Truely, a voyage of discovery. [Jan 2009, p.121]

If you ever wondered how Bjork would sound if she was caught in a snowdrift, here's your answer. [May 2009, p.112]

Grace/Wastelands isn't quite the defining statement of his genius that his cheerleaders always insisted was just around the corner, but it demolishes the charge that his talent has been fatally squandered. [Apr 2009, p.98]

His sequel to the quirky, lo-fi assault of 2007's "Spiderman Of The Rings" has a similarly maniac edge, at once mesmerising and unnerving. [Apr 2009, p.102]

Robyn Hitcock, My Morning Jacket's Jim James and, taking the female characters' voices, Becky Stark and Shara Worden, are among those fleshing out the band, but all are no more than support to Colin Meloy and his very singular vision--and what a glorious big, bold and entirely bonkers one it is. [Apr 2009, p.104]

All told, a successful modernisation of an old formula. [May 2009, p.118]

As richly rewarding a work of brilliance as it is, Crack The Skye will nonetheless be beyond the ken of all but those with the most open of minds--or pre--attuned ears. [Apr 2009, p.107]

1990s show more ambition on the follow-up. [May 2009, p.107]

At her best she's thrilling and her hits with Timbaland, 'The Way I Are' and 'Scream,' still cackle brilliantly, but at 70 minutes there's too much flab and the ballads drag horribly. [Jul 2009, p.124]

It's no surprise they've held up so well after all these years. But it's the extra features, spread over four different editions that truly impress. [Apr 2009, p.114]

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

With too much hip hop content to recycle cliches of its own making, it's exhilarating to discover someone out there is still willing to test the limits. [Jun 2009, p.132]

Their third album is another bony bundle of modern neuroses. [Apr 2009, p.108]

While skillfully executed--some songs, notably 'Murderer,' definitely have legs--the whole never rises far above a clever exercise in technique. [Apr 2009, p.105]

This could have all ended in Tears For Fears, but their winning seriousness is matched by a penchant for a grandiose but hummable melody. [Feb 2009, p.119]

Beware displays enough of Oldham's lyrical and musical guile to ensure that if Beware does become wallpaer, it's lead-laced anaglypa. [Apr 2009, p.100]

There's a sense that he's trying to pass off a lack of ability as some kind of artistic statement. [Aug 2009, p.113]

Overall this is splendid nonsense. [Jul 2009, p.128]

Her lived in voice adds new nuance to material as diverse as the traditional Kimbie and Morrissey's 'Dear God Please Help Me.' [Feb 2009, p.113]

When it clicks, as on the exhilarating rush of single 'Family Galaxy' or 'Fortress's' twisted rock operatics, the results glow with all the Technicolor detail of the Roger Dean-gone-digital cover art. [May 2009, p.112]

Their full-length debut doesn't quite justify its lengthy gestation period, being a frustratingly patchy affair with a handful of simply sublime melodic synth-pop numbers. [Apr 2009, p.110]

Never straying far thereafter, it all makes for a heavily addictive, comfortably numbing kind of experience. [Jul 2009, p.131]

Slipway Fires requires more of your time and duly rewards it. [Dec 2008, p.120]

Another way classy set they make. [May 2009, p.118]

New Found Glory's newfound maturity makes for a surprisingly palatable record that will soothe both lovelorn teenagers and their long-suffering parents alike. [Apr 2009, p.108]

His debut album is extraordinary. [Apr 2009, p.110]

Elvis Perkins in Dearland is more than good enough. [May 2009, p.117]

There's plenty of squelching, soaring solos, and drone rock, just the ticket for those turned on by 11-minute epic 'The Rise' from the last album. [Apr 2009, p.97]

So while this collection of singles, B-sides and cover versions might lack the tight focus of previous album Etiquette, there is still flashes of lo-fi pop brillance. [Apr 2009, p.102]

The major surprise is just how on top of their game they sound on this orgy of melody. [Apr 2009, p.110]

So while the agit-prop lyrics say little new, the best tracks--'Barcode,' 'Hit From The Morning Sun,' 'Julian' and the title track--are convincingly atmospheric. [Mar 2009, p.102]

The Prodigy's fifth studio album sounds just like The Prodigy should. Only leaner, harder, and even faster than before. [Apr 2009, p.96]

There's the brisk cover of Sparks's 'Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth,' plus a huanting, piano-inspired run through Harry Nilsson's drunkathon 'Don't Forget Me,' but she blows it at the death with the hideous 'Marais La Nuit,' 31 torturous minutes 38 grisly seconds of forest noises. [Apr 2009, p.102]

Simply, what this amounts to is the best U2 album since "Achtung Baby. [Apr 2009, p.94]

There's plenty of classic rock sodge, but Communion's execution alone feels admirably daring. [Sep 2009, p.95]

It once again showcases just how satisfying a Talking Heads obsession coupled with an ability to craft uncommonly graceful ballads can be. [Apr 2009, p.97]

Despite a few lapses into gross sentimentality, Lucky One sucessfully maintains that allusion [that the past 50 years or so never happened] thanks to some spot-on period arrangements. [Apr 2009, p.107]

Classic lived-in country. [Apr 2009, p.107]

Only the stripped-down electro of 'Here Comes My DJ' shows anything like his old form. [Apr 2009, p.105]

The result is a brilliant rewiring of post-rave sonics. [Mar 2009, p.98]

Since reforming in 1990, founder Jean-Herve Peron and Werner Diermaier have been prolific, touring the world and recording a series of albums that have never quite scaled the heights of those early works. Cest Com... is no exception, though it's best moments provide a showcase for Diermaier's extraordinary percussion. [May 2009, p.112]

So convincing does the Boston-based siren inhabit this cut-off, gothic world that it's hard not to be sucked inside the darkly compelling likes of 'River Of Dirt.' [Apr 2009, p.107]

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]

They tear through 14 tracks in a flicker over 37 minutes without ever going anywhere even vauely new. [Apr 2009, p.100]

Their cult status is unlikely to change, which is good news for those who like their music warts and all. [Apr 2009, p.108]

Pithy stompers such as 'Short Fuse' and 'Drugs' tell their own story, but the spooked death rattle of 'The Drop I Hold' is at least proof that the experimental mind-set of 2007's " Good Bad Not Evil" wasn't a one-off. [May 2009, p.107]

This confident follow-up is rawer, looser and altogether more agressive. [Apr 2009, p.97]

As ever, the subtlety and naturalness of his approach belies a craftman's attention to detail. [May 2009, p.110]

This exquisitely downbeat album of droll heartbreak songs once again confirms that there is a certain knack to creating uplifting musical misery, and spectacularly-named frontman Eeef Barzelay has that knack in spades. [Jun 2009, p.119]

He records on an ancient four-track tape recorder, which lends Her We Go Magic much of its peculiar charm. [Aug 2009, p.106]

This debut shows his skills are undiminished, boasting some A-grade production. [Jun 2009, p.122]