Her peculiar melodies weave their way around rugged pirate radio house/grime grooves in a manner that flirts with silliness but manages to stay intriguing and enticing instead. [Sep 2013, p.104]

It's a very strange album indeed. Happily, it's also a very good one. [Nov 2005, p.131]

It follows the million-dollar formula laid down on 2017's Evolve a little too closely. ... But as emotional Trojan Horses go, few do it better. [Jan 2019, p.110]

There are traces of Bjork and in the childlike voice exploring its surroundings, Yoko Ono, but the fantastical world Xeno creates is entirely her own. [Feb 2018, p.116]

At 41 minutes, Blackstar is a more concise statement than The Next Day and a a far, far more intriguing one, enticing you to follow Bowie further down this freshly-rediscovered, individualistic path where sonic surprises lurk around every corner--a journey that, at times, is not for the faint of heart. [Jan 2016, p.104]

Each of Stray's tracks bring with it a sense of foreboding, from the eerie short-story-style lyrics to the reveryb-y guitars, which land between Echo & The Bunnymen and Ennio Morricone. [Apr 2020, p.105]

The best record he's [Saul Adamczewski's] done. [Apr 2018, p.111]

On most of Patch The Sky, Mould expresses his darkest emotions in way that make you want to shout along. [Jun 2016, p.114]

[Common] delivers something fresh and vibrant by applying his seasoned skills to old-school breaks, classic hooks and a measure of eclecticism. [April 2012, p.104]

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

A lovely collection of blue-eyed soul that sets out its stall right from 'Take A Chance's' opening parry. [Nov 2009, p.104]

While unmistakably Scottish leader Scott Hutchison has taken a great songwriting leap forward, the more ingredients his group throws in, the more effecctive and more inspiring the Selkirkers are. [Mar 2010, p.102]

It's a stride towards true excellence. Although likely to remain a cult item, The Beta Band are now easier to embrace than ever, less pastoral and more direc, courtesy of a clear, sharp, intensely rhythmic new sound... [#180, p.97]

Lostprophets inhabit that old-fashioned place where the young are alright and must overcome the cynicism of the jaded oldster at all costs. [Feb 2004, p.104]

At 10 tracks, it's a concise and perfectly paced record, veering between subtlety and stampede. [Oct 2015, p.100]

It's addictively brilliant. [Nov 2019, p.108]

17 years on, Liquid Swords represents hard-nosed hip-hop at its peak. [Oct 2012, p.117

Fans of his early output will continue to wonder why he's forsaken immaculate prog house so completely: those up for the trip, conversely, will just be keen to know where he's headed next. [Dec 2017, p.108]

Smart, affecting and rich in melody, Krystal reveals Maltese to be very much the full ticket. [Jan 2020, p.110]

There's nothing here that's conventional-sounding enough to take... CocoRosie beyond cult status, just shard after shard of fractured melody that burrows deep into the subconscious. [Oct 2005, p.121]

A rousing debut. [Aug 2005, p.123]

Scouse grump and Philadelphia radicals were made for each other. [Nov 2013, p.104]

With Oczy Mlody, they remind us once again that they're also great songwriters. [Feb 2017, p.110]

Abrasive and addictive, the duo have together discovered a chemistry that not only excites themselves, but almost anyone else who experiences it. [Aug 2010, p.122]

[Sisters Rachel and Becky Unthank] are adept at finding new connections, new paths. [Mar 2015, p.118]

Keeping hold of their past while seizing the present, Suede are still capable of taking you over. [Apr 2013, p.98]

Forget diminishing returns, The Something Rain keeps Tindersticks' value high. [April 2012, p.105]

Kacy & Clayton's ability to enchant remains potent on The Siren's Song. [Jul 2018, p.112]

Surf's up, and deservedly so. [May 2015, p.112]

Why? always had the brains, now they've located their heart. [Nov 2009, p.115]

Lemonade hits hard. Beyonce has chosen to portray herself like this, and those choices are bold, powerful and at times, properly shocking. [#361, p.110]

It all makes for a remarkable second album. [Jul 2016, p.110]

The title's maths may not add up, but he's onto a winning formula. [Feb. 2011, p. 115]

Steadman sounds totally at home. [Aug 2017, p.109]

First Taste is a record exploding with ideas and interesting twists. [Sep 2019, p.109]

It's the laziest of comparisons, but their harmonies--and they do it expertly live, so fear not--do have the ring of The Beach Boys. [May 2003, p.99]

This is a wonderful record--involving and irresistible. [Sep 2016, p.105]

The pint pot-rattling To The Pub reflects on disappointment, while the spine-chilling Melting Man is a horrific account of putrefaction and dying alone. [Aug 2017, p.106]

As on Tramp, Van Etten's lyrics remain similarly frank. [Jul 2014, p.117]

It's another masterwork from a group of no peers. [Sep 2020, p.113]

Charming without being cloying, Paradise is the work of a band beginning to stretch their wings.

A thrilling testament to Meredith's seemingly limitless capacity for reinvention. [Jan 2020, p.110]

Ditch square ideas of substance and solidity, though, and Hamburg Demonstrations is studded with wonderful moments, even some grander stretches. [Jan 2016, p.102]

There's only 22 minutes of material here, including skits--but his edge has never been sharper. [Jan 2019, p.113]

Utterly distinctive, this excellent, effortlessly surprising record is the perfect cleanser for even the most jaded musical palette. [Jan 2016, p.106]

This won't make them stars, but that's not the point: it's lovely and they should pursue further. [Mar 2018, p.113]

A new fraught kind of soul music. [Mar 2019, p.115]

A boot-stomping blast from start to finish. [Feb 2016, p.110]

Their fifth album together since 2002 maintains an astonishing standard comparable even to that of original legends like Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding. [Jan 2014, p.122]

Despite th[e] bleakness, Pure Comedy is delivered with wit and warmth, and redeemed by the tiniest twinkle of light. [May 2017, p.110]

There's always something clever going on over the rhythmic chug. [Mar 2013, p.102]

A slow-burning but deeply impressive debut. [Sep 2002, p.109]

His debut album isn't quite as off the wall [as his mixtape], but taps an irrepressible post-Kanye West mood. [Jun 2010, p.133]

Despite the rollercoaster ride, there are intense moments of pop wonder and cartoon hilarity. [Sep 2004, p.120]

Sure, it sails close to novelty record territory but Folds demonstrates exceptional skill in marrying wryly observational lyrics to upbeat piano-driven craziness.

The result is an inspired collection of songs from a consistently surprising and creative artist. [Jun 2014, p.110]

If many tracks sound like the back-half of an extended mix, the effect is never short of mesmerising. [Sep 2016, p.106]

[Has] a sunnier, jangly guitar pop backdrop. [Jul 2003, p.102]

It's not settling down as anyone else might know it, but Revelation is the unlikely but lovely sound of a plan coming together. [Jul 2014, p.119]

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]

It's a rap record for rap people. [Oct 2015, p.106]

An album that is one of 2018's gems. [Nov 2018, p.102]

Impassioned, thoughtful, chock-a-block with great tunes, this rich mix of vibrancy and gloom does what all great rock should--lift the spirits. [Oct 2014, p.107]

Morrison languidly strolls though the light and dark of his past stylistic glories over 14 entirely new self-penned songs. [Jan 2020, p.110]

There's serious craftmanship here. [Feb 2018, p.108]

Imagine David Axelrod producing The Beatles, and you get an idea of The Earlies' ambition and musicality. [Mar 2007, p.111]

They artfully balance soaring interference-cloaked anthems with dreamier My Bloody-style FX investigations. [Mar 2018, p.113]

This enjoyably jumbled set could be their London Calling. [Mar 2019, p.115]

It coats its spiritualism in an optimism that is never less than radiant. [May 2020, p.113]

It's undoubtedly her strongest record yet. [Mar 2016, p.111]

These songs sound as if they could have echoed around soot-stained ports and roadside taverns for generations and can still cast 21st-century listeners under their spell. [Mar 2018, p.117]

It feels as if they are making music for the sheer pleasure of it, and it's this that proves the record's abiding charm. [Aug 2008, p.143]

Self-consciously clever yet compelling, thanks in part to singer Jonathan Higg's hyperactive falsetto and garbled surrealism. [Sep 2010, p.116]

The album's joy lies in being whisked seat-of-pants through moods, styles and tempos by a band always with pop glory in their sights. [Summer 2020, p.105]

[When Paloma] revert to classicism, she proves there's more than one way to skin the "vintage" cat by adopting the persona of an exuberant disco diva, invoking the spirit of '70s glitter ball goddesses such as Teena Marie or Alicia Bridges. She wears it surprisingly well. [Apr 2014, p.108]

Even when they do go a bit hippy-dippy, it's rarely at the expense of something you can hum along to. [Summer 2019, p.115]

The middle section boast a tougher, truculent edge reminiscent of last year's mixtape If You're Reading This It's Too Late. But it's during the final sequence that everything clicks. [#361, p.114]

With Valhalla Dancehall, it's time to laud British Sea Power for attaining greatness strictly on their own terms. [Feb. 2011, p. 116]

A more than a welcome return, Painted Ruins is the album you suspect Grizzly Bear didn't think they'd ever make. [Sep 2017, p.111]

It's a graceful exhibition of light melody over dark mood. [Jun 2014, p.110]

A very impressive debut. [May 2005, p.117]

Poison Season sounds like a restless musical intellect stretching out with new confidence. [Oct 2015, p.106]

A second take on [Cellar Door], hollowing out its blissful balearica to create echo-y somnambulant disco-dub. [Oct 2015, p.110]

Saturn isn't afraid to show her playful side. [Dec 2018, p.105]

At its best you're reminded of Yorke's eminent skill: a fluency in dark, otherworldly romance that makes the alien sound familiar. [Dec 2018, p.106]

While the sense of danger that characterised 1997's Mogwai Young Team or 2001's Rock Action might have abated, Mr Beast shows a band who have lost none of their bark or their bite. [Mar 2006, p.108]

Shine On is "new old rock" at its finest. [Nov 2006, p.136]

It's not perfect, but there's enough of their magic here to see even Harry Potter fall back under their spell. [Jan 2016, p.106]

Dreamy and heartaching, its appearance is actually deceptive. ... A gorgeous record. [Mar 2019, p.115]

In The Future has enough ideas to last several albums. Mostly, they work. [Feb 2008, p.98]

That Godrich is a master at harnessing restless energy should be no surprise. Here is further proof. [May 2020, p.112]

Direct, alert, questing, it's a record that powerfully refuses to settle down. [Summer 2020, p.107]

This is a compelling debut throughout. [Sep 2020, p.113]

Truely, there's no one like them. [Dec 2009, p.127]

Post-punk quartet's first all-new record since 1995. [Feb. 2011, p. 117]

At its best she sounds like St. Vincent with finger cymbals and a kaftan, a talent blooming on her own terms. [Oct 2015, p.106]

Anyone wanting more of the multilayered sense of foreboding afforded by 2016's The Glowing Man, Meanwhile, will be delighted by the pulverising Sunfucker and The Hanging Man. [Jan 2020, p.114]

In other words: quintessential Squeeze. [Dec 2015, p.114]