It still has its winning moments. [Jan 2011, p.142]

This is an unusually sentimental record, co-written by the man himself, in which many songs bravely cast him as the old man he is. [Jan 2009, p.118]

A Certain Pleasure, nods to Sonic Youth's twisty-turny Daydream Nation, and Natural Vision is pure Dinosaur Jr, circa '86-87. They need a whole lot more of that relative light to offset their predominant, brutal darkness. [May 2015, p.105]

The mix of therapy sessions and swooning love songs make for a slightly confused LP but not an unenjoyable one. [May 2018, p.108]

It's real, it's challenging, and at times even funny. [Apr 2005, p.126]

The melancholic croon of frontman Will Daunt, a man who sounds as if he's caressing a broken heart rather than nursing it, give these ever-so-now songs an old-world charisma. [Jun 2012, p.115]

Hardly groundbreaking, but heartfelt all the same. [May 2011, p.116]

His humour counteracts the widely held assumption that Americans don't do irony. Folds does little else, and he never sounds less than terribly pleased with himself. [Oct 2008, p.142]

Not all the songs are as well-defined as the skittish pop of Our Eyes, however, and while beautifully enunciated melancholy is her default setting, this record could do with more sharp edges. [Aug 2015, p.111]

Having survived some rough patches, they've made adjustments and becomes as warm, robust and satisfying as a cuddle in front of the TV. [Dec 2016, p.111]

These ever-changing moods don't make MGMT an easy listen. [Oct 2013, p.105]

US singer Grey Reverend lends a bluesy warmth to Silent Fall's heavyweight electro, but Swedish vocalist Cornelia Dahlgren sounds merely decorative on the Massive Attack-like Vivid. [Oct 2014, p.107]

While Nightfreak... is not spattered with great songs, it does have its moments. [Feb 2004, p.101]

Booming basslines, clubby beats, high production values and a guest list that includes Brazil's Seu Jorge, sitar lady Anushka Shankar and Afrobear star Femi Kuti make it a safe backdrop for just about any bar anywhere in the world. [Nov 2008, p.121]

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]

Imagine the grumpy Northern bastard child of BBC Radiophonic workshop wonk Delia Derbyshire and horror-proggers Goblin. [Nov 2012, p.94]

While the songs remain wonderful, Mr. Blue Sky feels like Lynne righting imaginary wrongs. [Dec 2012, p.111]

In time-honoured, do-it-yourself fashion, their debut Introducing breathlessly races through 10 buzzy tracks in a shade over 23 minutes, by which time they've long since run out of puff. [Feb 2010, p. 112]

An over-thought approach, however leaves Schifino's drumming feeling restrained while Johnson's nasal, perma-positive vocals are overzealous. [May 2011, p.119]

Goddess In The Doorway is the work of a man who is generally interested and occasionally inspired. [#184, p.135]

The album heats up nicely, with songs like Line It Up far easier to warm to than former Pavement buddy Steven Malkmus' solo work. [Feb 2004, p.105]

Even at their most acerbic or delicately downplayed extremes, Incubus are compelling. [#184, p.137]

From any conceivable angle, it is an indulgence...

Most of these versions bear only the scantest similarity to the originals. [Jun 2016, p.116]

Dense swirls of electronic noise, baleful, twanging gothic country guitars, lyrics that never quite reveal some horrifying secret - fans of Lynch's films with find themselves on familiar ground. [Dec. 2011 p. 129]

Any promise it shows [early on], howeever, soon gives way to yet another album of baroque rock and Beach Boys harmonies that strives towards being some lost Brian Wilson opus. [Feb 2008, p.95]

Confirms her as the most compelling new pop star around: half doomed romantic, half mordant cynic, with a distinctively conflicted vision of how love, fame and America work. [Mar 2012, p.94]

There are moments of genuine wonder. [Jan 2012, p.120]

Without breaking any new ground, Glowing Mouth shows there's a bit more of them than that [sounding like Coldplay's Chris Martin]. [Mar 2012, p.112]

With each mid-tempo riff swamped by syrupy harmonies and machine-tooled strings, this is metal with the edges filed down and all the soul sucked out. [May 2006, p.128]

The arrival of J Mascis for Giving It All Away lightens the mood, but it's impossible to shake the sense Sugar is the sound of a band in transition. [Oct 2010, p.107]

It sounds exactly the same as the first record... Another solid, unremarkable effort. [Oct 2004, p.116]

It's heavy-duty stuff, and all the better for it. [Mar 2007, p.115]

But, alternating between the laughable and listenable, it's safe to say there's never been anything quite like the sound of him jollily croaking his way through Her Comes Santa Claus or Hark The Herald Angles Sing. [Jan 2010, p. 119]

There's nothing new here. [May 2006, p.131]

The record is righteously dominated by Gray's larger-than-life presence. [May 2007, p.127]

The attentions of trendsetting producer Dave Kelly ensure the music is tight where it matters. [Dec 2002, p.112]

Their shift towards a more traditional heavy metal aesthetic seems more a natural progression than an act of desperation. [Nov 2002, p.100]

A revelation. [Apr 2004, p.107]

Proves that there is still a place for bands playing short, noisy pop songs about girls and being young, regardless of where they come from. [Feb. 2012 p. 100]

Willfully meandering yes, but it's an enjoyable shambolic ride that bottles early Pink Floyd, Skip Spence's cracked psych-folk and the ragged majesty of the Stones' own magnum opus. [Nov 2014, p.111]

Their fifth long-player finds them back at their corrosive best. [Apr 2011, p.102]

What comes across is a band still in love with music, not necessarily their own. [Jun 2012, p.99]

The Connection is a stylistic leap, that shows surprising restraint, and--whisper it--maturity. [Nov 2012, p.102]

While cleverly mocking late-20s thwarted ambitions and McJob drudgery, Wolf offers little by way of an alternative, his lyrics ultimately as hollow as the cynical Generation X irony of the '90s. [Nov 2012, p.112]

Not quite a greatest hits then, but not short of a few crowd-pleasers either. [Jun 2018, p.106]

A record that is a highly-concentrated shot of sound. You might lose your mind, but Black Dice never lose the plot. [May 2012, p.91]

While there's lots to admire in this clearing of the creative pipes, 48:13 is ultimately proof that great albums are all about the numbers. [Jul 2014, p.98]

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]

Differs markedly from 2003's Radio Blackout... with vocals and punk-pop structures replacing the glam-tecnho clunk of yore. [Sep 2005, p.120]

There are enough decent moments here for this to represent a step back in the right direction. [Apr 2016, p.117]

An album with dirgeful ballads, though they do at least let her show off her excellent voice. [Dec 2017, p.109]

Now they are finally more punchy than punchable. [Nov 2006, p.140]

It's the interplay of textures and surfaces that facinates, only faltering on the choice of guest vocalists. [Jun 2010, p.120]

Giant "woooaaahhs" abound but as with anything frantically chasing arena singalongs, Love Lust Faith + Dreams feels empty in the extreme. [Jul 2013, p.111]

While Josh Davis has valiantly refused to photocopy his pioneering 1996 debut Endtroducing, this fourth album could use its mystery and cohesion. [Nov. 2011, p. 139]

Meteora is less an artistic endeavour than an exercise in target marketing. [May 2003, p.104]

A bit relentless at times, but Chemical Brothers fans should give it a spin.

Half-written, overproduced songs collide with grandiose ideas, and the self-indulgence is astonishing as sounds and samples appear with little grace. [Aug 2004, p.116]

The over-sauced, finger-wagging Naughty might take the joyful retribution to far in the panto direction but I Will Survive update Me Without You and joyful dancefloor rebirth Rare prove that Stefani has lost none of her pop spirit. [Jun 2016, p.117]

The slower numbers dawdle. [Mar 2006, p.110]

We're All Somebody does at times feel like three different albums simultaneously vying for supremacy, but, in an age of dwindling rock royalty, it makes a good case for Tyler's stack-heeled versatility. [Sep 2016, p.114]

Slower tracks such as 'Just Say Yes' and 'Blush' veer too close to blandness, though the power chords of 'Sex Without Love' and humorous idolatry of 'What Would Jay-Z Do?' revitalise. [Nov 2007, p.141]

Too Much Information is a brisk and accessible record. [Apr 2014, p.114]

Ultimately, the outlook remains lucuratively overcast. [Dec 2009, p.137]

Beautiful Imperfection is never less than easy on the ear, but equally never more than that either. [Apr 2011, p.110]

Killer Sounds feels like a missed opportunity. [Oct 2011, p.120]

By recreating Britpop's also-runs so faithfully, Superfood run the risk of becoming one themselves. [Dec 2014, p.116]

It's not the third coming many Stone Roses fans may have hoped for, but Ripples marks the welcome return of a solo artist who never rested on his laurels or allowed himself to be overshadowed by past glories. [Mar 2019, p.110]

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]

A funk-driven return to familiar ground, laced with dark imagery, beefy hooks and sharp vocal trading. [Jun 2004, p.97]

While it's genuinely marvellous to hear one of pop's most underrated voices back, you do long to hear material suited to the modern era. [Jun 2013, p.94]

Quirky and clever--even slightly sinister with in the murky darkness of Dragonslayer--rather than pioneering. [June 2008, p.146]

It's the songs which seal The Isness's fate. [Sep 2002, p.100]

Imaginative. [May 2004, p.101]

A willfully dumb concoction of crotch-grabbing Southern rock workouts and boneheaded strip-joint anthems. [Dec 2007, p.121]

The Spinto Band offer a softer, watered-down version of '90s US indie-rock--their influences include Pavement but now also Prefab Sprout. [Oct 2008, p.150]

He's getting more interesting with each release. [Sept. 2010, p. 116]

A breezy 75-minute exploration of the lighter side of their vision. [Nov 2013, p.105]

Despite a few too many sanitised, lounge-y moments, overall this is an enjoyable first effort. [Oct 2015, p.102]

Arbez keeps things interesting by twisting the formula. [Jan 2013, p.113]

For all their winning ways they lack the songwriting dexterity of the truly great. [Sep 2004, p.119]

Eyes Wide, Tongue Tied is a leap forward. [Oct 2015, p.108]

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

As tourism, fine, but it's no trip. [Jul 2012, p.103]

This is ultimately comfortable listening, befitting folk sounds of a resolutely un-freak variety. [Oct 2012, p.96]

All the chest-thumping overwhelms the more interesting diversions. [Jun 2015, p.112]

Is Indie Cindy good enough for the Pixies to keep going? Pretty much. [Jun 2014, p.113]

Jessie, "The Devil" Hughes merges tub-thumping keyboards, '70s glam stomp and the sense that music making is a bit of a hoot on his solo debut. [Nov. 2011, p. 128]

There's nothing fatally wrong with Trails & Truths--and fans of bearded cosmic Americana will find much right with it. What Horse Thief really need to rustle up, though, is their own distinct identity. [Feb 2017, p.115]

In The Lonely Hour starts promisingly.... The second half declines into self-pity, windy balladry and squeaky-strings-as-authenticity cliche. [Aug 2014, p.110]

But for some off-key warbling, they might have slapped some crowd noise over the fantastically bonkers original. [May 2011, p.115]

Thoughtfully conceived and carefully executed, it's a record worth braving. [Dec 2012, p.122]

More than ever, they can be summed up by the epithet "The Brand New Heavies, only a bit more hip hop", peddling a soft kind of soul that fuses old-school influences with feelgood philosophy of the "believe in yourself" variety.

A remarkable record. [Feb 2003, p.96]

They've delivered their weakest set of songs to date. [Oct 2007, p.98]

[She] sticks to the formula of soft-spoken polemical raps and gritty lo-fi beats. [Mar 2012, p. 97]

As unique as ever. [Jun 2003, p.102]