On too much of The Physical World they sound like a pale imitation of themselves. [Oct 2014, p.108]

For Much of Bashed Out, emotion is shown rather than told, but once the layers have been unpicked, it's obviously special. [May 2015, p.112]

It's an atmospheric and absorbing piece, a deep, dark pool of music. [Mar 2017, p.108]

Their first LP in five years falls well short of greatness, reheating past ideas to the point of cliche. [Sep 2019, p.111]

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]

It all works rather well. [Apr 2015, p.102]

When the quartet let loose, like on the screeching demonic cacophony of Island Epiphany, all hell breaks loose. [Jun 2013, p.96]

A glossy production makes for ear candy, but it's bereft of edge. [Feb 2005, p.102]

If this album is a mixed bag for West the producer, then it's a nadir for West the lyricist. [Jan 2009, p.114]

Hotspot sounds anything but anachronistic and yet, brushing shoulders against, say, the Europop grandeur of Will-O-The-Wisp, the tender intimacies dispensed in Only The Dark or a beautiful existential audit called Burning The Heather, it's also a record on which such classics such as Left To My Own Devices or Rent wouldn't sound especially out of place. [Mar 2020, p.123]

The lesson: it's us who change, not AC/DC, nor indeed rock itself. Our mistake. Rave on, Malcolm. [Jan 2015, p.120]

A record that's been worth the wait, it's the sound of music made by true originals. [Jul 2013, p.109]

It's hard to see it as anything more than another mildly diverting whim. [Apr 2006, p.116]

Koushik has crafted an album that glows like a California sunset, even though he's actually a Canadian now living in Vermont. [Nov 2008, p.118]

The songs themselves, again sung in English, are often cryptic to the point of obscurity.... But the drama here is all in Arnald's delivery. [Oct 2014, p.102]

Nine albums later the sextet's mix of American pop classicism and Khmer-language vocals is ever more indivisible, the melting pot now also including African rhythms. [Apr 2015, p.99]

With Permo, they display a self-starting urgency that keeps them up to speed with the turbulent here and now. [Jan 2018, p.114]

Fever Breaks is sharp and lean. [Jul 2019, p.114]

It takes a while to adjust to the darkness generated by these songs of loss, age and adultery, but once you have, you won't want to leave Shah's night visions behind. [Aug 2013, p.104]

One of the oddest albums you'll hear this year. [Apr 2014, p.113]

The band, however, are a little too gauche to rock out convincingly and fare better on the softer, Beach Boys-influenced psychedelia of Mirror Of Time and Strange World. [Dec 2014, p.118]

Brand New Abyss is alive with twinkly, sometimes childlike soundscapes that occasionally overpower Khaela Maricich's whispery half-spoken word vocals. [May 2018, p.104]

There is a richness and an oddity to Condon's output that deserves continued attention. [Mar 2019, p.112]

Instead of setting alarm bells ringing, One-Arm Bandit manages to be both playful and innovative in a '70s prog-rock kind of way. [Mar 2010, p.110]

While it doesn't measure up to such great break-up albums as Beck's Sea Change or Blur's 13, Social Cues still possesses emotional heft. [June 2019, p.108]

Rush sound like they're slowly but audibly running out of puff. [July 2002, p.118]

Over six albums in nearly 20 years, Connecticut's Hatebreed have yet to deliver a record that sounds different from the last. [Feb 2013, p.107]

Liars' untidy room remains a wonderful place to visit. [Apr 2014, p.113]