When it works, it works brilliantly. [Dec 2001, p.120]

A return to form have they made. [Oct 2018, p.115]

Like its predecessor, In The Mode is a sprawling tour-de-force, and its 80 minutes contain much that is breathtaking alongside the pleasant if perfunctory. [Nov 2000, p. 112]

That [metal] grind is almost gone from Mutt in favor of a more mellowed mainstream sound, but his storytelling style has become razor sharp. [Aug 2012, p.95]

As with a lot of their work it can occasionally lack bite, some fire in their impeccably tasteful bellies. [Nov 2019, p.108]

Soulful debut from Omaha's answer to Duffy. [July 2010, p. 136]

Situatiion finds him returning to his roots, growling out stories like a hip-hop Tom Waits within the framework of an album very loosely inspired by momentous events of 1957, most effectively on the sinuous 'Lipstick.' [Dec 2007, p.112]

You Know Who You Are combines unpretentious lyrics of passing time, loss and the urgency of life with harmony-packed power-pop exuberance, recalling Teenage Fanclub, The dB's or, as on Believe You're Mine, Johnny Marr. [Apr 2016, p.112]

Hard Candy is the sound of pop's ultimate superbrand consolidating her success. [June 2008, p.134]

As ever, the subtlety and naturalness of his approach belies a craftman's attention to detail. [May 2009, p.110]

1990s show more ambition on the follow-up. [May 2009, p.107]

The bulk is what Placebo term "hard pop": lean, muscular movers shot through with melody. As unfashionable as it may be to say so, there aren't many bands that do it better. [July 2009]

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]

At its best it's irresistible.... Elsewhere, more conventional material, including bluesy Internet ruminator Atacama and the oddly inclusive, cutlery-rattling Galapagos, sound like they were more fun to make than they are to listen to. [Jul 2014, p.112]

It all has an airy charm, though it benefits hugely from a Daft Punk-y electro injection on Rick l'Adolescent and Aller vers le Soleil, both which transcend cheerful pastiche. But Tellier's opulence has limits. [Aug 2014, p.114]

Generic, maybe, but very nicely done. [Nov. 2000, p.117]

Ian Bavitz delivers some typically extravagant wordplay. [Oct 2007, p.101]

Graduation is mercifully skit-free, but it still feels insubstantial to West. [Oct 2007, p.95]

There is a slight foal-legged wobbliness to some of her allusions, some of the ardour, a roughness that prevents When Winter's Over or Come To Terms from being a too-mature blend of Cat power and KT Tunstall. [Dec 2013, p.115]

While Acolyte sounded assured, Collections occasionally projects a sense of strain. [Feb 2013, p.103]

Pitched somewhere between the Blues Explosion and Grinderman, it's an awesome racket, but the lack of time spent means the potential of 'Next Time' and the fevered 'New Meaning' have been lost in the rush to record. [July 2008, p.108]

Too many of the riffs sound flimsy and thin when they should suckerpunch out of the speakers. [Oct 2013, p.100]

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]

The concept might sound dry, but Bertelmann's kinetic approach always sound alive. [Apr 2014, p.110]

Martsch's hitherto opaque lyrics are more revealing than normal, exposing sentiments of anger and loss. [Mar 2010, p.97]

Everybody is a sweet-voiced cross between Colbie Caillat and Lisa Loeb's fourth LP and, even without the stately strings on the genuinely affecting Sort Of, it would be her most accomplished yet. [Dec 2009, p. 119]

While it might have been kinder to leave Bury, Bury, Bury Another and Runnin' Around unreleased, much of the rest offers hints at just what a thrilling band they were becoming. [Jun 2013, p.113]

Up front, Island is punk-pop par excellence, while, toward the end, Dorian's a blissful medium pacer about carefree journey home. [Jul 2015, p.114]