Even when the music flags, Smith sings his way through these hillbilly anthems and barroom laments with eerie, unwavering conviction. [Nov 2012, p.111]

Three Wu-Tang MCs join forces; bring the pain. [July 2010, p. 136]

Nothing Important is madcap, abrasive and, at times, laugh-out-loud funny. [Jan 2015, p.124]

Just enough texture and colour to lift his affecting compositions above the neo-classical norm. [May 2020, p.104]

What this collection leaves you wanting--and what Goldfrapp do most wonderfully--is weirdness. [Mar 2012, p.116]

The instrumentals can feel sketchy, but the vocal tracks shine. [Mar 2012, p.106]

The 41-year-old Frenchman's fourth repeats the same formula 12 times: namely, get someone from the world of hip hop/R&B to sing over a pumping house groove. [Oct 2009, p.111]

There's nothing here to suggest either a problem with what he's doing--Heavenly is as heavenly as its title suggests; Middle of Love shows how friendly Sexsmith can be; and the jaunty-sounding Eye Candy is covertly acerbic as they come--or that things will turn around for him. [Apr 2011, p.109]

Finds Zevon reverting to a fuller, plumper, back-to-the-'80s sound. [July 2002, p.122]

The results are serviceable. [Jul 2015, p.111]

With his piano-playing accompanied by Daniel Joseph Dorff's drumming, the arrangements are minimal affairs, placing Moore's voice centre stage and allowing the songs to breathe. [Mar 2011, p.112]

Intriguingly between success and failure, as if occupying a musical hinterland of its own. [Oct 2018, p.118]

At times, it's a frustrating, self-absorbing listen. [Oct 2014, p.110]

A positively unhinged record. [Dec 2006, p.133]

Feels like a sideways step. [Jan 2016, p.113]

It's the same sure-footed, Beatles-inspired pop that made them so popular in the early '90s. [Sep 2007, p.100]

Too aimless for the initiated, the likes of 'Barfuss Durch Gras,' a cacophony of clocks unwinding will have dinner party dilettantes spitting their soup. [Oct 2008, p.142]

The sequel gets off to a spotty start with lightweight songwriting and dated production....The '00 material, however, represents a creative revival. [Mar 2012, p.117]

About as well-rounded and polished as albums get. [Dec 2002, p.100]

Hypnophobia is enjoyably immersive while it lasts, yet like so many dreams it's hard to recall any of the specific details once it's been and gone. [Jun 2015, p.106]

Understated and slightly surreal, this could be dance music's answer to Pink Floyd. [Aug 2002, p.122]

This may not be their greatest album to date, but Universal Truths and Cycles is a charming record that shows the Pollard production line remains in good order. [July 2002, p.114]

Inventive arrangements and a strong supporting cast including Bonnie Raitt and the Blind Boys of Alabama mean these gumbo variations on obscurities and super-club standards come with added spice. [Oct 2014, p.108]

It's undeniably infectious, maddeningly so at times. [Oct 2011, p.120]

Its pleasures lie almost entirely in the storytelling, bolstered by Mueler's between-songs narration. [Dec 2012, p.110]

Fortunately, the game of spot-the-influences swiftly gives way to more complex pleasures. [Apr 2013, p.113]

Their second should eclipse even that [100,000 copies of their first album sold], given the songwriting strides they've taken since. [Apr 2009, p.97]

This impressive follow-up finds him lacing hard-edged techno beats with quirky shifts on tone and texture. [Jun 2009, p.121]