Some rubbishy funk aside, Robinson sounds more energised than he has in ages. [Nov 2002, p.113]

McCabe details a stoner's humdrum city life a touch too convincingly at times, but the spirit of musical adventure is nonetheless commendable. [May 2004, p.111]

Overall this is a deliberately austere affair. [Sep 2014, p.113]

It's Hield's increased confidence as a singer that is most striking. [Jul 2012, p.102]

Compared with the clever appropriations of others who share his historical interests Manual veers close to pastiche. [Dec 2012, p.101]

This is easily her best album in 20 years. [Oct 2007, p.105]

Thankfully, it avoids the easy traps of earnestness or tweeness, and emerges as an intriguing, convincing listen. [Jan 2013, p.108]

'Love Is Free' ambles pleasantly, 'Gasoline' is 'All I Wanna Do' revisted and 'Detours' itself would grace any Best of. [Mar 2008, p.100]

Eitzel's own understated standards, 'All My Love,' 'The Sleeping Beauty' and Who You Are' show signs of a more optimistic, softly rocking side. [Mar 2008, p.100]

Both in the lyrical themes and in its sound, we are floating in familiar space. [May 2017, p.104]

It's good to have them back. [Apr 2008, p.102]

More of the same, then. [Apr 2016, p.117]

It's folk, yes, but with a wickedness instead of a waistcoat. [Feb 2013, p.113]

It was a smart move [to enlist Tim,] Goldsworthy's attention to detail forcing the band up a gear. [July 2008, p.101]

The two have a great dynamic--potentially even a special one--its just not fully realised here. [Jun 2016, p.108]

It hasn't got all the best tunes, but this bullishly self-titled album hits the target like a hair-dyed, tattooed William Tell. [May 2013, p.111]

I Got Your Number is a sexy, snarling glam rocker, Wonder recalls Smashing Pumpkins at their sunniest and Stuck In A Rut has the strut of prime-time Black Crowes. [Dec 2009, p. 110]

It's not all bad, though, as the album possesses a killer repertoire of filthy bass lines and an undeniable pedal-to-the-metal verve. [Aug 2003, p.116]

Such is the electronic murk elsewhere, it feels better to dabble your toes in this record than plunge right in. [May 2011, p.120]

Simon Le Bon's croon oozes with charisma throughout and the elegant, new wave pop hooks of their heyday are revisited. [May 2011, p.126]

Like LCD [Soundsystem], Out Hud spice up electronic grooves with lithe basslines and post-punk guitars, albeit with less finesse. [Apr 2005, p.123]

It's hard not to conclude that it's Rubin's strong tiller hand giving thee 13 songs new-found clarity, focus and energy that too often drifted away from the Stones in a cloud of patchouli when left alone. [Oct 2014, p.120]

It's taut, slick and more transatlantic than its predecessor but they lose some of the quirks that gave their debut much of its charm. [Oct 2012, p.112]

They're much more at ease losing themselves in power-pop harmonies on Lazy Bones and embracing '60s garage on Stop When The Red Lights Flash. [Jan 2013, p.108]

Their 11th LP will remind newcomers of Metallica's buffed-up chugga-chugga, but also, a trifle disappointingly, of late-era Iron Maiden's blanded-out chest-beating anthemics. [Apr 2016, p.101]

Their fourth album proves more than just a trendy daliance, placing them at the cutting edge being honed by Dirty Projectirs and TV On The Radio. [Nov 2008, p.117]

Fever Dream's AOR and folk stylings see Watt picking over the bones of his life, ruminating on such themes of love, loss and family in a wry, wise and unsentimental manner. [Jun 2016, p.117]

Yet the band's mastery of mood often comes at the expense of memorability, with the melodies and refrains of individual tracks tending to merge into a single mass of bittersweet malaise. [Jul 2018, p.112]