While they chug along merrily, they lack the great songs that would distinguish them from the herd. [April 2012, p.98]

There are moments when their balance is perfect and the Fleetwood Mac tumble of Feel It Coming Near or the parting-mists of the title track keep their undoubted talents in sharp focus. [Jun 2012, p.111]

No flame then, but her light shows no sign of going out. [Jan 2013, p.112]

Functional yet uninspiring, Optica is pop as Ikea catalog. [Jun 2013, p.104]

They're mysterious but persuasive sonic realities. [Apr 2019, p.118]

They still sound a bit like a millennial Fleetwood Mac with a love of En Vogue--and they've retained a bit of sonic weirdness. [Aug 2017, p.104]

Ditto's one-of-a-kind voice still bestrides everything, sometimes gutsy and soulful, sometimes oddly sweet. [Jul 2009, p.130]

Beautifully low-key, gently life-affirming. [Sep 2018, p.110]

This is Elton's best album since, well, Captain Fantastic. [Oct 2006, p.118]

There are songs here that are terrific.... But 3121 wouldn't be a Prince album if it wasn't also full of filler. [May 2006, p.119]

They run short on tunes during the album's second half, but by powering through 10 songs in 33 minutes they at least opt to burn-out rather than fade away. [Oct 2013, p.110]

If there is a sense that this is The Strokes' last chance to carve an enduring career for themselves, then it's a challenge they've decided to tackle without any reinvention of their trademark sound. [Feb 2006, p.96]

Adamson's not abandoned the scary swing tunes that made David Lynch a fan... merely added another gear. [Oct 2002, p.100]

The thing about prog rock is that it is supposed to progress. [Mar 2002, p.122]

At their worst, Pearl Jam witter on pointlessly.... When Pearl Jam gel, though, it's close to special.

Wisely, Bloodflowers is every crotchet a Cure album. True, there's no blatant hit single - one of those sudden shifts into gloriously barmy pop frenzy - but there's still ample compensation to be had...

Contains a clutch of crowd-pleasingly brutal anthems...

There's a welcome freshness here. [June 2008, p.137]

We're All Alright! has admirably little truck with nostalgia. [Aug 2017, p.102]

Bloc Party remain a band with the greatness they seek still hovering somewhere on the horizons. [Nov 2008, p.112]

MU.ZZ.LE is more crackly, lo-fi trip-hop, like something beamed in from another planet. [Feb 2012, p.110]

Different is Gender's newfound falsetto, but what Throws truly brims with is a freshly cleansed palate. [Sep 2016, p.113]

Quirky nods to power pop, jazz, and even sci-fi dub suggest a restless, Beck-like future. [April 2012, p.107]

A grand vision is hard to discern, but when it comes to bringing the party, Culture II delivers with a scale and swagger that's hard to resist. [Apr 2018, p.117]

Award-winning country from the school of hard knocks. [Oct. 2010, p. 103]

As ever, the gravel-voiced Lightburn sounds as if singing for his life rather than his supper yet, without sacrificing that epic feel that always set this band apart, he's broadening his horizons. [Apr 2011, p.101]

[Sey] struggles to find a style that's truly her own on an album that see-saws between brooding electronic blues and expansive pop ballads. [Dec 2015, p.113]

There are only so many ways to do deep, woozy bass overlaid with gentle harmonies and a clipped beat, and Haelos exhaust them around track seven. [May 2016, p.109]