Damogen Furies is one of his more consistent efforts. [May 2015, p.111]

The high proportion of psychedelic plods make this record feel like a missed opportunity--elegantly wasted, but wasted all the same. [May 2016, p.104]

It's as if, in the very best sense, they don't care any more. [June 2008, p.138]

Inspired by New York's Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, The BQE is an ambitious orchestration to accompany the film of the same name. [Dec 2009 p. 127]

At Glastonbury she dazzled; here she plays it safe. [Sept. 2011, p. 105]

They are still capable of arrestingly brilliant pop songs, but, judged against past achievements, Velocifero is a step backwards. [July 2008, p.102]

A roster of guest vocalists elevate his noir-shaded take in Detroit techno and '80s "dark-wave" synth-pop. [Dec 2017, p.102]

A frustratingly dull affair. [May 2012, p.109]

A few pop-soul cliches creep into the album's cluttered middle section. But the rest is 21-st-century electronic pop delivered with style and ambition. [Aug 2013, p.106]

Their songs retain a Scandinavian feel, at once exuberant and enigmatic on the soaring Fountain and cellophane-wrapped Vista, while pulsing, M83-like synth rush of Chasing Kites shows they've set their sights well beyond the Nordic margins. [Jan 2015, p.126]

The laser-guided synth-pop of The Natural World, hip-thrusting disco epic Like An Animal and Erosion's Invocation of early New order all pulsate with the excitement of a band discovering new capabilities, even if Cleverly's somewhat histrionic vocal style can take some getting used to. [Feb 2014, p.115]

A perfect distillation of creatively experimental folk music in the UK today. [May 2008, p.126]

Reggae-rap soundclash fails to catch fire. [July 2010, p. 136]

Love Is Dead's songs, however, don't so much burrow into your brain as thwack you over the head, and the band's tendency to fashion refrains from little more than the song titles means some tracks are memorable simply by dint of merciless repetition. [Jul 2018, p.114]

There's always been a wistful strain to [Cook's music]. Youth's contribution is to amp up the dreaminess in a way that perfectly suits songs such as Lunar Addiction and Ghostly fading. [Apr 2018, p.108]

Everyone will say this sounds like Beck, but at the last count Beck would be lucky to sound like Eels.

While Cuttin' Heads hardly stretches him, Mellencamp dresses up his old tricks beautifully. [Mar 2002, p.125]

Halos & Horns has Dolly reaching fever pitch with Hello God and, with Not For Me, singing as beautifully as she has ever done. [Aug 2002, p.131]

She avoids excessive sugariness via edgy, sensual lyrics and Timbaland's superlative production. [June 2002, p.123]

An adult rock record in which nuance succeeds over bombast. [Dec 2002, p.108]

Looking for fresh inspiration, he relocated to Los Angeles for this third album, embarking on some musical revisions that will surprise even long-time fans.

Trouble is, they're often only half-good songs. [Feb 2003, p.94]

Chill-out with substance. [May 2010, p.117]

The likes of Once and Now That I Found You suit the stripped-back aesthetic perfectly but it's the strings-assisted version of Sad Song that is the real showstopper here. [Jun 2020, p.100]

All too often the joy is forgettable. [Feb 2013, p.106]

James has surprisingly reunited for this equally surprisingly strong comeback album. [May 2008, p.135]

The whole thing might be like travelling back to a nightclub in Leeds in 1983 but it's executed with a gloomy elan that allows you to forgive its occasional silliness. [May 2018, p.112]

Black Bubblegum has a more amiable feel, assembling DIY jams inspired by Afrobeat and reggae, not to mention the fringes of Animal Collective's back Catalogue and Texan outlier Sun Araw. [Aug 2016, p.110]