A true craftman's album. [Jan 2016, p.111]

Hardcore aficionados might doggedly stick to the original but for new fans, it's a treat. [Mar 2018, p.107]

Richer and more rewarding than their Mercury-nominated breakthrough, Isla still has jazz running through it's veins, based as it is largely around sax and double bass, but the London band have broader ambitions. [Nov 2009, p.111]

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

Her directness about the experience of falling in and out of love with women is both refreshing and literal. [Apr 2019, p.113]

Fusion of nerdiness and fun. [Summer 2018, p.109]

Angles fits 10 songs into a brisk 34 minutes and doesn't waste time gunning for gravitas. [Apr 2011, p.92]

Ash have turned in a bullish and cocksure fifth studio album to delight the faithful. [Jun 2004, p.95]

Her debut skips frrom glam-disco and bubblegum punk, to quavering piano laments and cabaret ditties. All the while, her imaginative reach is complemented by a winning pop savviness. [Mar 2010, p.105]

These are controlled, tempered, well-steered songs, capable of navigating genres. [Oct 2016, p.104]

Songs is uplifting, his clever wordplay and minor chord piano and guitar ballads reminiscent of his hero Townes Van Zandt. [Aug 2014, p.106]

The sound of him working with a lean combo is so refreshing, and a welcome first in his mammoth catalogue. [Nov 2014, p.107]

Lurking beneath are the electronic pulses of post-rock and the occasional ripple of slip-slide jazz, ensuring that while Runner is approachable, it's always one step ahead. [Nov 2012, p.104]

The arrangements here are written specifically with a touring quartet in mind, adding ever greater layers of haunting melancholy and soaring grace. [Sep 2006, p.109]

Everything's in flux, subject to change, but Xen is still a record of mood-altering substance. [Jan 2015, p.120]

It shows the music, too, is undergoing rapid evolution. [Jan 2012, p.123]

Wyatt continues to be full of delightful surprises. [Nov 2010, p.117]

The vocals are more textural than Blake's, and Stefanski's electronic textures are as distinctive as his instrumental releases, giving this a strong personality all of its own. [Oct 2013, p.110]

Those same giddy vocals, rusticated, old-timey arrangements and lyrics combine childlike reverie with an ancient sense of wisdom and dread make it equally magical and rewarding. [mar 2012, p.106]

Morby's songs move from the grandiose to hushed confessionals and by the time it ends with Dylan-like O Behold the entire journey feels like a revelation. [Jun 2019, p.115]

Everything here sounds how Jehnny Beth is meant to sound, making To Love Is To Live a record as masterful as its creator is complicated. [Summer 2020, p.99]

If you like Sufjan Steven's lushly orchestrated reveries, you'll love this canadian eight-piece, who come across on their ambitious second album like an indie-folk Arcade Fire. [Mar 2009, p.105]

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

Massiveness should be assured. [Summer 2018, p.114]

Alabama Shakes' nods to vocal giants past never overshadow the fact that their music has a raw, aggressive style that is completely their own. [May 2012, p.90]

As mesmerising as it is innovative, Swim is a record you want to dive in to. [May 2010, p.120]

Though his voice remains vintage, his creative spirit has been rejuvenated. [Jul 2010, p.127]

[An] absorbing, multi-layered debut. [Sep 2016, p.112]