It still has its winning moments. [Jan 2011, p.142]

This is an unusually sentimental record, co-written by the man himself, in which many songs bravely cast him as the old man he is. [Jan 2009, p.118]

A Certain Pleasure, nods to Sonic Youth's twisty-turny Daydream Nation, and Natural Vision is pure Dinosaur Jr, circa '86-87. They need a whole lot more of that relative light to offset their predominant, brutal darkness. [May 2015, p.105]

The mix of therapy sessions and swooning love songs make for a slightly confused LP but not an unenjoyable one. [May 2018, p.108]

It's real, it's challenging, and at times even funny. [Apr 2005, p.126]

The melancholic croon of frontman Will Daunt, a man who sounds as if he's caressing a broken heart rather than nursing it, give these ever-so-now songs an old-world charisma. [Jun 2012, p.115]

Hardly groundbreaking, but heartfelt all the same. [May 2011, p.116]

His humour counteracts the widely held assumption that Americans don't do irony. Folds does little else, and he never sounds less than terribly pleased with himself. [Oct 2008, p.142]

Not all the songs are as well-defined as the skittish pop of Our Eyes, however, and while beautifully enunciated melancholy is her default setting, this record could do with more sharp edges. [Aug 2015, p.111]

Having survived some rough patches, they've made adjustments and becomes as warm, robust and satisfying as a cuddle in front of the TV. [Dec 2016, p.111]

These ever-changing moods don't make MGMT an easy listen. [Oct 2013, p.105]

US singer Grey Reverend lends a bluesy warmth to Silent Fall's heavyweight electro, but Swedish vocalist Cornelia Dahlgren sounds merely decorative on the Massive Attack-like Vivid. [Oct 2014, p.107]

While Nightfreak... is not spattered with great songs, it does have its moments. [Feb 2004, p.101]

Booming basslines, clubby beats, high production values and a guest list that includes Brazil's Seu Jorge, sitar lady Anushka Shankar and Afrobear star Femi Kuti make it a safe backdrop for just about any bar anywhere in the world. [Nov 2008, p.121]

The bulk is what Placebo term "hard pop": lean, muscular movers shot through with melody. As unfashionable as it may be to say so, there aren't many bands that do it better. [July 2009]

Imagine the grumpy Northern bastard child of BBC Radiophonic workshop wonk Delia Derbyshire and horror-proggers Goblin. [Nov 2012, p.94]

While the songs remain wonderful, Mr. Blue Sky feels like Lynne righting imaginary wrongs. [Dec 2012, p.111]

In time-honoured, do-it-yourself fashion, their debut Introducing breathlessly races through 10 buzzy tracks in a shade over 23 minutes, by which time they've long since run out of puff. [Feb 2010, p. 112]

An over-thought approach, however leaves Schifino's drumming feeling restrained while Johnson's nasal, perma-positive vocals are overzealous. [May 2011, p.119]

Goddess In The Doorway is the work of a man who is generally interested and occasionally inspired. [#184, p.135]

The album heats up nicely, with songs like Line It Up far easier to warm to than former Pavement buddy Steven Malkmus' solo work. [Feb 2004, p.105]

Even at their most acerbic or delicately downplayed extremes, Incubus are compelling. [#184, p.137]

From any conceivable angle, it is an indulgence...

Most of these versions bear only the scantest similarity to the originals. [Jun 2016, p.116]

Dense swirls of electronic noise, baleful, twanging gothic country guitars, lyrics that never quite reveal some horrifying secret - fans of Lynch's films with find themselves on familiar ground. [Dec. 2011 p. 129]

Any promise it shows [early on], howeever, soon gives way to yet another album of baroque rock and Beach Boys harmonies that strives towards being some lost Brian Wilson opus. [Feb 2008, p.95]

Confirms her as the most compelling new pop star around: half doomed romantic, half mordant cynic, with a distinctively conflicted vision of how love, fame and America work. [Mar 2012, p.94]

There are moments of genuine wonder. [Jan 2012, p.120]