The noisy blackAcetate is the work of a man who is not going to go quietly. [Nov 2005, p.123]

The thing that's missing from Detour, though, is emotion. [Jul 2016, p.110]

She has never sounded brighter or more infectious. [Nov 2003, p.117]

Amidst all this, the trio's scratching feels peripheral, and when it does take centre stage, is underwhelming. [Jul 2004, p.127]

Jakob Dylan shakes off dad's shadow to make music that sounds like... Tom Petty. [Feb 2003, p.109]

Timeless and effortless, it's unmistakably them. C'est Chic. [Nov 2018, p.112]

Few of the remaining tracks, all instrumentals, stray far from the blueprint. [Oct 2013, p.99]

His stentorian baritone adds emotional depth and there's a world-weary rue to the lyrics. [Jun 2014, p.114]

It's true that there's no grand new ground broken here, but Bright Light Bright Light has a pastel-coloured appeal that's all Thomas's own. [Aug 2014, p.104]

The tunes, for all that they whistle by breezily enough, lack the snap, crackle or pop that separates the hitters from the makeweights. [Oct 2015, p.113]

If there's one gripe, it's that the quality control becomes a little more relaxed as For The Company progresses. [Dec 2015, p.110]

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

Sweet Sweet Silent is hardly the most strident listen, but it's not without grit. The choruses are understated but addictive and the fragile intricacies are beguiling. [Sep 2017, p.115]

It's when Hozier tries to do throwaway, good-time tracks that the record falters slightly. [Apr 2019, p.119]

Admittedly, the mostly spoken Musical Theatre is indulgent twaddle and she often squawks where others sing, but there's Hole-like grit to both Life In Oink and the raised middle finger of Hate You, where cascading choruses butt against stroppy verses. [Jun 2018, p.113]

He acquits himself impressively as pianist and singer, his affinity with the material elevating it above mere expensive pastiche. [Jul 2013, p.106]

The tunes are serviceable, if hardly Fast Car. [Dec 2002, p.102]

It's the laziest of comparisons, but their harmonies--and they do it expertly live, so fear not--do have the ring of The Beach Boys. [May 2003, p.99]

Too melodic for metal fans and too heavy for the pop-punk kids who made them famous. [Nov 2004, p.127]

Emphathetic, female-friendly and always one step removed from the Nashville machine, Carpenter brought a welcome touch of class to country music in the early '90s. Though she's nowhere near the force of yore, those same attributes shine through on The Age of Miracles. [Jun 2010, p.132]

Their thrillingly angry seventh album is a more furious companion piece to "American Idiot," raging at both social injustice and the self-righteousness of the punk underground. [June 2008, p.138]

The songs are embedded with reflection and romance... This is how Christmas records are really done. [Jan. 2012 p. 118]

There's a harder edge throughout their fourth album, making them sound a little like Starsailor at times, with electric guitars getting more of a look-in this time. [Oct 2007, p.106]

Beat the Devil's Tattoo finds BRMC edging ever further toward parody. [Apr 2010, p.109]

Alternately dreamlike and arresting, they've discovered a formula that realises the sonic sorcery always suggested by their name. [Jul 2014, p.119]

At 14 tracks Versions is too long... At its best, though, it's a blast. [May 2007, p.124]

An oddly anonymous disappointment. [Apr 2006, p.113]

Harvieu has an energy in her music that shows that nostalgia doesn't have to chain you down. [May 2012, p.97]