The sextet have simply folowed their instincts and made a gloriously upbeat pop collection, packed with kitchen-sink productions and thumping choruses, invariably underpinned by Rasmus Nagel's stentorian keyboards. [Apr 2010, p.106]

[They] have shifted further toward airy accessibility. [Jun 2004, p.107]

Rather kite-flying itself, Kweller prides shooting the breeze over true direction, but there are enough emotional gusts here to ensure he regularly soars. [Jun 2012, p.106]

It's an album that sounds somehow both old and new, resembling Bibio and Yeasayer rewriting Brian Wilson's back catalogue. [Aug. 2011, p. 123]

Kozelek swerves self-indulgence by writing with an arid humour. [Sep 2012, p.112]

A rugged, roaring listen. [Oct 2011, p.117]

Intriguing, ambitious, but flawed. [Apr 2006, p.116]

She's good and snarky on Charmer. [Nov 2012, p. 101]

He surprises with an unexpectedly stark romanticism inspired at least partly by his love for Isaac Hayes and Ray Charles. [Jan 2017, p.108]

Not quite as beautifully forlorn as 2003's Long Gone Before Daylight. [Nov 2005, p.123]

It's warmth and occasional flashes of wisdom ensure it's a dignified protest at modern life rather than just the mitherings of an old(er) man. [Jan 2015, p.132]

The Helio Sequence add lucioous electronic icing to their songs but too often this mearly masks predictable indie rock. [Mar 2008, p.104]

There's nothing wrong with the songs that make up its second act, save that each is as woozy, wistful and gossamer-fragile as the next. [June 2008, p.140]

Solid ground is simply beautiful, David Davison's reedy warble offset by a ghostly mellotron, while campfire strum-along Was and power-pop gem Israeli Caves are proof that their melodic detour was well worth the effort. [Nov 2010, p.111]

Swapping The Hold Steady's white-knuckled intensity for skeletal drums and echoing guitar gives Finn's voice more room to manoeuvre. A welcome change of pace. [Mar 2012, p. 100]

Since reforming in 1990, founder Jean-Herve Peron and Werner Diermaier have been prolific, touring the world and recording a series of albums that have never quite scaled the heights of those early works. Cest Com... is no exception, though it's best moments provide a showcase for Diermaier's extraordinary percussion. [May 2009, p.112]

When it works, it's exhilarating, but elsewhere the poor lamb sounds a touch jaded. [Feb 2003, p.96]

This fifth album shouldn't disappoint them [their fans]. [Jun 2011, p.114]

Solid rather than spectacular. [June 2002, p.110]

The only disappointment that, at barely half-an-hour, there isn't a bit more of it. [Oct 2015, p.113]

While there may not be anything startingly new here, there is a definite sense of ease with Murphy's past. [Aug. 2011, p. 123]

In time, Devils & Dust will be regarded as an inspired stopgap. [Jun 2005, p.105]

Anyone who wants a bold new direction from Jeff Tweedy may find Sukierae disappointing. [Oct 2014, p.120]

There's nothing here for Jones to be ashamed of. [Sept. 2010, p. 115]

They are slowly getting closer to realising their original aim. [Mar 2016, p.109]

We Are Undone is just a little too well put together to convince. [Mar 2015, p.118]

This kitchen-sink hybrid works remarkably well. [Nov 2008, p.117]

It's hard to recall specific songs once they're over and the tracks not sung in French puncture the atmosphere a bit, but overall, oil lamp projector-lit vibe is an enjoyable one. [Jun 2016, p.113]