The musical equivalent of a new model car: predictable, solid, well crafted but a lot like the one before it. [Nov 2012, p.99]

Guitars jangle and fuzz to no clear purpose, the rest of the instrumentation plods behind, and singer Wayne Petti fails to convince. [Dec 2012, p.103]. [Dec 2012, p.103]

[Co-producer Richard Hawley] takes Texas deep into their rock-soul roots without sacrificing their strengths or wearily re-treading past glories. [Jul 2013, p.110]

Deep is the word here. [Jul 2013, p.109]

These songs won't set the charts alight, but they're no insult to Adamson's memory and will fill the gaps between the fan favorites well at the band's shows. [May 2013, p.96]

Hardly groundbreaking, but there's heft, heart and humour here in spades. [Oct 2014, p.107]

The record suffers from a surplus of hired guns. [Nov 2014, p.112]

Aside from 1%'s hushed moments, they're stuck in a rut. [Feb 2015, p.109]

It's their broadening of the musical palette which is more impressive. [Aug 2015, p.112]

With hints of Maurice Jarre on the title song and Love Reign O'er Me achieving full-chest-beating catharsis, it suits its new symphonic frame. [Aug 2015, p.114]

It's not always a comfortable union. [Jul 2015, p.102]

Not the place to start an exploration of his musical output--that's the superb Witchazel LP--but it's impossible to dislike an album containing The Innkeeper's Song Couplet. [Jan 2016, p.106]

His once winning formula now sounds wanly formulaic. [Feb 2016, p.112]

None of it should work, but it does. [Sep 2016, p.105]

It sometimes sounds like it was prodded out on a tablet. At other times, the production and the plus-sized pop tunes are perfectly matched. It's an ongoing struggle between DIY and deluxe, with the latter just about winning. [Aug 2017, p.109]

The neverending quest for bangers leads Hurts to lean heavily on foot-stomping choruses to carry songs, but it's to their credit that Desire has a lighter touch than previous albums. [Nov 2017, p.108]

If there's a weakness it's the lack of an obvious pop banger. [Dec 2017, p.113]

Deacon's score is all subtle mood shifts and intriguing instrumentation. [Nov 2017, p.108]

This isn't an album that's really imbued with the sound of his own travels. that said, it's a warm, optimistic pop'n'roll record that is hard not to like. [May 2018, p.108]

It feels like a middling album that would've made an incredible EP, but when Wiley thrills, he really thrills. [Jul 2018, p.116]

Sun-kissed first single Love Lasts Forever aside, the songs are often suffocated by vaguely outre production flourishes. [Sep 2018, p.110]

A confident step on from 2015's Contradictions. [Jan 2019, p.113]

It's when they go to the dark side that things pick up. [Mar 2019, p.118]

It all ads up to an unlikely, if not unlovable nostalgia trip to a less fraught time. [Sep 2019, p.112]

A highly polished R&B-pop collection about every millennial issue from empowerment and self-love to mental health. [Sep 2019, p.112]

On Power they fully engage their inner Depeche Mode and LCD Soundsystem. ... Ordinarily this could point to an identity crisis, but it works. [Mar 2020, p.122]

Essentially, the Hollywood sunshine hasn't changed them. This is probably best, as Smith's eccentricities still elevate Maximo Park above the guitar-pop herd. [Jun 2009, p.128]

This follow-up to their debut shows more polish and a firmer grasp on rhythm. [Apr 2011, p.106]