Season Sun aims to evoke the spirit of travel using the same dream-pop template as The Soundcarriers. Only occasionally, however, do they achieve it. [Sep 2014, p.109]

Tom Burke's voice is perfect for the role of geek Lothario with a dozen clever ways to get the girl, and yet just as convincing when , on the sad-sack swoon of I Wouldn't Want To, heartbreak wipes off the smirk. [Jul 2012, p.97]

As ever... not everything comes off. But the good bits are very good indeed. [Apr 2007, p.116]

As ever, the drawback is a surfeit of earnestness; some of the irreverent humour of their live shows qouln't go amiss. [Aug 2010, p.127]

It's less direct than before, but still strangely, powerfully beautiful. [Jan 2013, p.103]

The fluid blend of tracks makes it more of a single piece than a series of highlights and also-rans. [Feb 2013, p.108]

Two years pm, this follow-up wavers between bouts of overblown, Arcade Fire-aping drama and Pavement slacker rock. [May 2008, p.139]

The Fleetwood Mac-tinged 'Touch Me I'm Going to Scream Part 2' overcomes the overall air of pastiche. [July 2008, p.108]

A murkily enveloping record, but one that occasionally misses its predecessor's gonzo sense of fun. [Mar 2013, p.110]

It's exhausting but charming. [Aug 2009, p.104]

Nothing if not consistent, Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunckel's sixth studio album sounds effortlessly Air-like. [Nov 2009, p.110]

As an album, it is an imposing structure, a statement to their architectural skill. Beneath their grand design, however, Editors exists in a grey area, mistaking the half-light for night. They're not quite masters of darkness yet. [Nov 2009, p.105]

More of the same, then, but such cold-blooded consistency should be commended. [Dec 2009, p. 126]

It's a qualified success, he rocks harder here than he has done for years, but there's still plenty of fat left to trim from the bloated ballads. [May 2010, p.121]

Geographically, one would here have to imagine a borough between The Stills and The Walkmen. [Nov 2004, p.120]

Third album Black Dog Barking can be a lot of fun. [Jul 2013, p.111]

Dillards-quality instrumentals such as Office Supplies keep the whole album zinging along. [Dec 2017, p.106]

The trip's less balls-on this time. [Jan 2017, p.112]

Bish Bosch is an album even fans won't necessarily play often, but on those special occasions, as per title, it very much does the job. [Jan 2013, p.104]

Some tracks will work better live, but consider the experiment a success. [Jun 2017, p.112]

so far, so arty. [Mar 2014, p.108]

As confusing or thought-provoking as ever, depending on how far you want to walk down Costello's mazy career path. [Jul 2009, p.118]

The business can feel overwhelming at times - more straightforwardly enjoyable are the pared-back tunes that leave enough room for Moore's slightly husky and hugely characterful voice to shine. [Aug 2020, p.109]

Along with Johnston's clanging, winningly direct originals, there are contributions from fellow alt-rock comrades such as Eleanor Friedberger and, perhaps more surprisingly, Jake Bugg. [May 2013, p.104]

Now it would seem that the 40-year-old is keen to get back to that place, smashing through extremo rockers such as You Get To Rome and enjoying himself so much that he often audibly breaks into laughter. Sometimes, though, it tips over in to jammy self-indulgence. [Summer 2018, p.110]

Hope delivers the sort of soaring melodies and driving riffs eschewed by their emo contemporaries. [May 2011, p.115]

...Trail of Dead have reached a point where the need for convention outweighs the joy of using guitars as weapons. [Feb 2002, p.104]

At its worst (Jealousy Is A Powerful Emotion), he's overwrought and stodgy. More often, though, Draper is an unceasingly self-lacerating lyricist unafraid to deal with his past. [Oct 2017, p.103]