Decent enough, but still not up to their best. [May 2014, p.119]

The Electric Soft Parade are one of the few young British bands to have successfully navigated the hype and emerged with something genuinely promising.

Group Sounds is as good as anything they've put their name to previously. [#180, p.110]

Oddly, for an album inspired by the blues, there's not much misery, and what vocals are there get looped and treated beyond storytelling. [Oct 2012, p.103]

One of those albums that grabs your attention without ever having to shout at you. [May 2006, p.131]

A rewarding curio. [July 2010, p. 128]

The album's closing songs blur into a somewhat too-cushioned landing. [Dec 2012, p.112]

It finds Morrissey wandering down some interesting musical avenues. [May 2020, p.109]

The results are very much a labour of ubercamp. [Feb 2008, p.102]

Life With You brims with both songwriting confidence and, the lovelorn title track withstanding, righteous anger. [Oct 2007, p.105]

Eraser Stargazer will be anathema to many, but its twitchy 29 minutes carry fabulous voltage. [May 2016, p.109]

It's the music's fiendish complexity and flashes of sublime harmony that captivate. [Apr 2013, p.96]

A catalogue of enjoyable sun-drenched rock'n'roll, if you don't listen too closely to the words. [#361, p.116]

The combination of dreamy pop noir and the remorseless quality of the tunes suggest they'll soon be both big and clever. [May 2014, p.119]

It struggles to impart much buoyant energy, with individual songs tending to sink into soporific mass of breathy vocals and mellow riffs. [Aug 2019, p.116]

It's not an earth-shattering account of the last year, but maybe the most affecting in its ordinariness. [Jun 2004, p.102]

Priorities is inspired by the post-hardcore of Hundred reasons, Reuben and Hell Is For Heroes. [Sep 2012, p.110]

Classy cross-pollination of techno and dubstep.[Nov. 2011, p. 136]

Lemon Memory is both invigorating and anaesthetising. [Apr 2017, p.115]

Despite the embarrassment of riches, though, there's also a lot of plain old embarrassment. [May 2016, p.110]

Falls several steps short of its predecessor. [Aug 2002, p.130]

It takes time to reveal its charms and does sag towards the end, but Depression Cherry is a great example of a band hanging on to their trademark sound and managing to create something fresh with it. [Sep 2015, p.111]

Handwritten is pure New Jersey rock, dripping urban romanticism, albeit with extra oomph on the power chords. [Aug 2012, p.105]

Inevitably, though, there's an unevenness to the improvised soundscaping. [Mar 2005, p.101]

Monkeytown presents mutated dance music, ranging from satirical mutoid rap, warehouse ragga and even jump-up ambient. [Nov. 2011, p. 136]

They churn and drone their way through five epic tracks culminating in the 16-minute And I Will, a pop-psycho-trip of wailing voices and flutes. At this late stage in the game, it's excellent behaviour. [Mar 2018, p.104]

Mood music for goat-sacrificing pagan rituals. [May 2007, p.124]

Instrumental, but wholly lyrical. [Apr 2017, p.116]