Singer and girl-Iggy Jemina Pearl's the star, bringing admirable conviction to her tales of boredom, drug-taking and, in the case of the Perky 'Food Fight,' "extra cheese in your face." [Apr 2008, p.102]

Few singers examine the pathology of heartbreak so expertly. [Nov 2016, p.102]

Pleasant but unremarkable. [Apr 2006, p.116]

It may ultimately be as disposable as dime-store popping candy, its sugar rush still hits the spot. [Nov 2008, p.107]

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

For all its wit and occasional beauty, Passionoia lacks the killer anthem that would make the band genuine subversives rather than cult wags. [Mar 2003, p.102]

The future of pop? Only if you've read too many fashion magazines. [June 2002, p.111]

Something rather lovely with a jittery edge that halts proceedings well before they arrive at saccharine-sweet. [Aug 2003, p.115]

It's all wonderfully sensual, only there's no passion or intensity. [Feb 2004, p.105]

Now more than ever Richard Ashcroft is comfortable with music that strays alarmingly close to the Middle Of The Road.

If this really is a farewell, Bright Eyes is at least going out with an apocalyptic bang. [March 2011, p. 100]

The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here falls from the same mould [as 1992's Dirt]. [Jul 2013, p.99]

Occasionally frustrating and sometimes even a little soapy, Mechanical Bull has its flaws, but it also brims with personality and passion. [Oct 2013, p.104]

A 26-minute tsunami which hurtles by in a Fiery Furnances-esque blur. [Aug 209, p.112]

In places, The Boombox Ballads is too shambling for its own good. [Oct 2015, p.113]

Sketched out over a dozen songs, the idea doesn't quite hang together. [May 2005, p.114]

The result is a return to the giddy highs of their heyday. [Aug 2017, p.107]

It's hard not to feel disappointed by the sense that a band who have raised their game so many times have nowhere new to go. [May 2009, p.114]

Whether anyone would actually buy it is debatable, but certainly everyone should hear it. [Aug 2009, p.110]

With elements of Afrobeat, house and indie rock, E Volo Love is an assured affair, [Feb 2012, p.107]

Swapping The Hold Steady's white-knuckled intensity for skeletal drums and echoing guitar gives Finn's voice more room to manoeuvre. A welcome change of pace. [Mar 2012, p. 100]

Sadly this spirit of renewal doesn't translate to the music. [Sep 2010, p.114]

Lyrically and musically, as remarkable an album as you'll hear all 2014. [Mar 2014, p.119]

DVA's full-length debut Pretty Ugly feels more late night than early morning, cutting a swathe through dubstep, future soul and jittery electronica. [Apr 2012, p.98]

Entrancing. [Mar 2012, p.102]

Unfortunately, the old pop standards--including two popularised by Brenda Lee--are all syrup and no spark. [May 2017, p.107]

The gloomy beats prove best suited to Pusha's own sinister drawl. [Feb 2012, p.104]

It's a confusing affair, where [Urie] foolishly tries to croon like Frank Sinatra on the title track and never quite nails down whatever the big idea was supposed to be. Still, there are moments to cherish. [Feb 2016, p.115]