Anything approaching a tune seems to have been muffled under a duvet of drowsiness. [May 2006, p.122]

Possibly The Flaming Lips' most upliftingly utopian work since Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots. [Aug 2019, p.111]

Live At The Olympia more than stands up as a vital, vibrant document in its own right. [Dec 2009, p.118]

Teeth offers more upbeat songs about downwardly mobile characters, complete with Springsteen-scale musical drama and clever lyrics about dive bars. [May 2014, p.111]

Their third album reins in the sonic restlessness with impressive results, making it easily their most coherent and melodically enjoyable record to date. [Nov 2013, p.105]

The results are spellbinding. [#361, p.111]

It's worth having--just don't expect the act of possession to be all one way. [Feb 2014, p.110]

See You In Magic happily throws in every hoary old cliche in the book. [June 2008, p.149]

The language barrier may prove too much for English-speakers, but the typically sunny, genre-blending production from world-pop maven Manu Chao should win them a place on the summer festival circuit. [Jul 2011, p.111]

If last year's Spanish El Turista was Josh Rouse embracing his new European home with a vengeance, this time around he's deployed his resources with more subtlety and made a better record. [Nov. 2011, p. 140]

This sequel to 2011's Interplay again taps a renewed interest in minimal wave's glacial harmonies and pattering beats... though it's the man who triumphs over the machines. [Jun 2012, p.101]

The players' energy and instrumental prowess are captured intact, even if some of the analogue grit that makes the '70s originals so compelling has been sacrificed. [Aug 2012, p.102]

The baroque embellishments of Nowhere To Go and Blind Eye are a perfect dressing for the emotions that created them. [Mar 2013, p.104]

This follow-up is a return to the dullsville rock of old. [May 2013, p.99]

A dark well of frustration, anger and guilt illuminated by just the smallest crack of redemptive light. [Dec 2013, p.106]

Exotic, hip and exuding an effortless charm, Costa Blanca is a sophisticated treat from start to finish. [Jan 2014, p.120]

Shadow finds a band who can do more than just roar. [Jun 2014, p.114]

Glam folk never sounded such a good idea. [Mar 2015, p.105]

It could have been full steam ahead here, but Pure Mood instead chugs forward gently. [Jan 2016, p.112]

Music that strives for knitted-brow intensity. [Jan 2018, p.110]

The propulsive Fast Forward proves there's still a shard of emo in their hearts, but mostly this feels like a bold reboot. [Dec 2018, p.114]

More often than not, the discordant swamp of cacophony Leonard has long brought to his work threatens to overwhelm the freeform joy of his compositions. [Dec 2018, p.111]

High drama in every molecule. [Jan 2019, p.114]

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

This irresistibly funky makeover feels like the emergence of a major new talent. [Aug 2017, p.108]

Combining the brittle emotion of Bob Mould with Dave Grohl's understanding of rock dynamics, My Vitriol are robust enough for the moshpit while also providing the perfect soundtrack for those dark nights when the only company you need is a wine bottle.

A marvellous, surprising comeback from a forgotten talent. [Mar 2003, p.103]

Few bands epitomise so well the virtues of not fixing that which isn't broken.