Monstrously heavy, full of tense, nervous energy. [July 2011, p. 120]

The album rallies at the halfway point, becoming a straightforward old-fashioned metal affair. [Sep 2002, p.102]

While it's not exactly beach music, his ear for uplifting harmonies as on So Lucky's lens-flared sonic rapture and Hand Over Hand's ecstatic evocation of bucolic landscapes, means the songs never fail to glow. [Aug 2012, p.95]

The main distinction is the relative lack of spellbinding melodies. [Nov 2019, p.108]

If this isn't Quite her own trip, she leaves intriguing tracks to follow. [Dec 2019, p.110]

It's all slick, sassy and infectious, but she's clearly capable of being much more besides. [Dec 2016, p.109]

Not for the faint-hearted, Kilo packs a bracing, powerful punch. [Jun 2013, p.108]

There's a luxurious, albeit sometimes cloying, warmth throughout. [May 2017, p.100]

As ever, she's at her best when her guard is down. [Oct. 2010, p. 113]

James has surprisingly reunited for this equally surprisingly strong comeback album. [May 2008, p.135]

This time, Lemmy Gurtowsky and Dan Jones are joined by guitarist Zach Brower and drummer Cole Lanier. The pair have slowed them down in a good way. [Apr 2015, p.97]

He's a terrific piano player, a gift put to exquisite use on this collection of old jazz standards. [Jun 2009, p.132]

The occasionally super Supermodel is an album of transition rather than a definitive statement. [Apr 2014, p.113]

While these songs feel debulked, The Coral still can't square-peg their music to fit in neatly. [Aug 2018, p.117]

The key track is We Can't Have Nice Things, envisaged by its writer as a George Jones lost love ballad, an turned into a gripping country soul psychodrama. [Aug 2012, p.96]

The submarine disco of Currents suggests people subject to forces they cannot control, while Lost Boys triggers a very '80s-style melancholia. [Oct 2016, p.110]

Warm, understated and authoritative, Day Breaks demands you lean in and listen. [Dec 2016, p.109]

Robin Carlsson has transcended myriad label problems to transform herself into the most glamorous and most fascinating electro-pop diva. [July 2010, p. 139]

Impeccable taste and genuine love shines through like sunlight on grimy garage windows. [Dec 2012, p.99]

A secret deconstruction of normative notions of romance, with early tasters handed out ribbon-wrapped in Mills & Boon novels. [Feb 2016, p.107]

The punchy power-pop of Mission Control owes more to the Foo Fighters. [July 2008, p.113]

With its grunted refrain and tinkling xylophone, this strange group manage to out-weird even Waits himself. [May 2008, p.141]

The melodies here are fine, they do a job, but nothing backs up Gag's Warholian rhetoric or scales the barmy heights of Bad Romance. [Jan 2014, p.116]

There's no shortage of character. [Mar 2015, p.119]

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

Overall this is splendid nonsense. [Jul 2009, p.128]

The result is a marriage of indie pop and dance music, containing a number of tracks that are just a remix away from clubland glory. [Apr 2009, p.111]

Their cult status is unlikely to change, which is good news for those who like their music warts and all. [Apr 2009, p.108]