Recaptures their hallmark bright-eyed power-pop sound while rarely scaling fresh heights. [#184, p.135]

Saloon-bar rockers such as Split Decision sound tired and hackneyed alongside a beautifully downbeat cover of Dylan's Standing in the Doorway... the peaceful life suits her. [May 2012, p.105]

This second LP falls slightly short of its predecessor. [Jul 2015, p.105]

Different is Gender's newfound falsetto, but what Throws truly brims with is a freshly cleansed palate. [Sep 2016, p.113]

His fourth album doesn't really sound like a club set at all. [Oct 2016, p.113]

It doesn't eclipse their finest work, but if Toy is to be their farewell, it's a fine way to go. [Nov 2016, p.114]

A draining, rewarding journey. [Aug 2008, p.143]

Mariachi horns and guitar twang still form the backbone of a striking return to what they do best. [Oct 2008, p.141]

Pleasingly, it's much better, not to mention poppier. [May 2009, p.115]

Other tracks are a little less memorable, but the experiment's still worthwhile. [Mar 2009, p.98]

Perhaps unsurprisingly, this template leaves little room for subtlety, yet what the duo's first lacks in brains it makes up for in sheer noisy exuberance, displaying on Crazy/Forever a common thread with the once majestic ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. [Dec 2009, p. 116]

This still shows renewed ambition, broadening the cool, Eno-inspired palette of his previous work. [Jun 2009, p.124]

It's a tangled combination, but if you've got the patience it's worth trying to unpick. [May 2013, p.101]

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

Stelmanis is her own woman and on Lose It and Spellwork there's enough regal clatter to elevate her from being a mere cult concern. [Jun 2011, p.107]

Previously, their appeal was an alien fusion of ferocious single-mindedness and forbidding complexity. Here, Battles often struggle to sound strange enough. [July 2011, p. 107]

Baduizm was a remarkable starting point... It may have been too much to expect her to emulate it, but there's not quite enough here.

It's not ground breaking, but its commitment to creating an authentically deranged vibe could see your fringe grow an inch with every song. [Jun 2012, p.109]

For all their winning ways they lack the songwriting dexterity of the truly great. [Sep 2004, p.119]

Barely rising above the soft purr of a sleepy summer morning, DB are all about mood and ambiance. [Aug 2014, p.103]

It's heroically earnest and not a little preposterous, but the singer's charisma carries it over the line. [Oct 2018, p.112]

A buzzy, incisive Randy Brecker on trumpet adds more than his fair share of excitement, and brings out the best in Summers's quavery delivery.

Sketched out over a dozen songs, the idea doesn't quite hang together. [May 2005, p.114]

It;s the mesmerising sonic weave which provides the intrigue. [Oct 2011, p.117]

Musically, it sticks to bardic folk ramble or--as on the brilliantly bilious Have A baby--bubblepunk aggro, but lyrically, Lewis is still finds new paths zig-zagging through his familiar patch. [Dec 2015, p.109]

At times the '60s girl-group feel can prove grating, but there's enough here to suggest a future beyond the indie ghetto. [Jul 2006, p.112]

This instrumental mixtape isn't Jaime Meline's best work, but there's no denying the manic intensity as Meline's machine-gun edits cut together old-school electro and spooked Hammond grooves. [Sept. 2010, p. 117]

On it's own terms--striving to be more interesting than the standard album--Hvarf-Heim is clearly a success. [Dec 2007, p.114]