Spencer's shtick seems slightly threadbare after 11 years and the musical innovation of earlier outings is conspicuous by its absence.

Vigorous and wise, this is dance music for grown-ups, with Cook keenly aware that any number of spritely garage and trance chancers have stepped in while he's been away making babies. Rather than match them in the disco stakes, he's re-grouped and drawn on previously concealed depths instead.

My God Is Blue is sorely lacking in vision. [Jun 2012, p.112]

It's a curious detour rather than a sturdy follow-up to 2012's Animal Joy, but as a distillation of all those scattered flyers and setlists, it's a quietly touching piece of memorabilia. [Jan 2014, p.125]

Expansive opener, 'Crocidile' finds them locked into the pulsing techno groove that made 'Born Slippy' so maddeningly addictive. [Nov 2007, p.148]

The sunny, country-ish melodies of opener 'Beathless' and 'Savorin' Your Smile' aren't quite matched by her limited voice, but when some darkness descends, as on 'Pictures Of You,' her perky nature adds a bittersweet twist to the added emotional weight. [mar 2009, p.104]

Diver's appeal is immediate, its effect short and sharp. [Sep 2012, p.104]

Too much of This River is more The Commitments, less The Bar-Kays. [Aug 2013, p.98]

Here he crafts some intoxicatingly beautiful music all built around the sparkling chime of his 12-string guitar. Inevitably it recalls The Byrds. [Sep 2013, p.99]

Sounds like a natural follow-up to the original Ommadawn. [Mar 2017, p.112]

A sparkling record whose polished exterior barely masks the turmoil at its heart. [Jul 2018, p.116]

One album might have served better than two. [Jun 2006, p.116]

Here Lies Love stacks up as an oddly entertaining, off-beat treat. [May 2010, p.126]

The result is an exciting, albeit one-paced, record, but one that arrives with a significant question mark over its purpose. [Oct 2013, p.98]

Given the strength of their earlier work, Penny Sparkle is a big letdown. [Oct 2010, p.104]

His revisiting of old tapes and melodic ideas from his tenure mean it echoes his former group's discography in rewarding ways. [May 2013, p.95]

They've neglected to write anything catchy enough to score them a hit. [Apr 2006, p.118]

Sensitive souls had best avoid, but fans of John Carpenter's soundtracks, early Aphex twin and the creepier end of Doctor Who will find themselves in familiar, if not entirely welcoming territory. [Sep 2012, p.102]

Condon proves that less can be more. [Oct 2015, p.102]

There are rather too many old-fashioned slow songs here, and as a result, the album is predictable. [Oct 2004, p.114]

This is a better than promising start. [Jul 2009, p.118]

Bracing, cynical, state-of-the-art fun in the spirit of Little Richard, Van Halen and The Damned.

Too many of the album's more poignant moments suffer from a slick but formulaic production. ... Graham is at his best when he delivers it straight. [Mar 2017, p.114]

While sometimes determinedly slight, these cunning community-minded grooves - People Power In The Disco Hour, in particular - do gradually insinuate their way into the affections.

There are few surprises here: white trash raps hollered over a musical backdrop that sounds like an evil pub rock band.

Even the Sharks and the Jets might find ARE Weapons' street hassle a touch quaint. [May 2003, p.98]

The result is almost entirely vaudevillian. [Mar 2002, p.116]

It can meander--Mind To Be Had never quite knows what to do with its initially exciting Neu! vibrations, Defeatist Anthem doesn't shift beyond pretty--but they texture Barragan with a delicacy and precision that makes you want to keep picking away at these songs. [Oct 2014, p.114]