This is a very good album. The Kooks sound like a band rejuvenated. [Oct 2014, p.105]

Having already been feted by everyone from Thom Yorke to Mark Ronson, this second album arrives with an infectious gait that's nigh-impossible to resist. [Nov. 2011, p. 140]

The year-round sunshine [of new home L.A.] seems to have induced creative lethargy, sapping the adventure that elevated his last album. [Jun 2003, p.106]

Singer Jay Gordon spends much of the record predictably preening his way through third-hand Bowie and third-rate Simon LeBon impressions while the band labour on a set of half-baked electro-metal...

An album full of freshness and fun that's less sketchy than its predecessors. [Jul 2004, p.110]

The Offspring are nothing if not reliable. If you're after jangly guitars riffs, chart-thumping production values and shouty choruses, then the Orange County punk outfit are still very much your guys.

Her music is much the same as on her 1999 debut "Black Diamond," dulled by a surplus of smooth, bass-heavy slow jams. [Dec 2007, p.124]

Heavy, but not in a good way. [Jun 2012, p.96]

It's pretty--but also pretty pointless. [Oct 2013, p.113]

Hers is a mode that doesn't stray far from the pop status quo, but Glynne should still be applauded for mastering such a feelgood formula. [Nov 2018, p.106]

Bold stuff and proof Shinoda remains a richly talented creative force. [Aug 2012, p.103]

Things tail off towards the end--'Infidels Of The World Unite' is a clumsy stab at politics, but is so vague it might be about anything-but overall this is impressive enough. [Jun 2009, p.122]

The dense guitars and plaid shirts scream "grunge redux," but the attitude is pure hair metal circa 1987. [Aug 2010, p.116]

Hardly reinventing the wheel, but still a triumph of resilience. [May 2018, p.112]

There's a seductive, deliberately synthesized feel that's part Scissor Sisters, part Hall & Oates. [Feb 2006, p.103]

It's always catchy, but all 20 tracks are so short everything feels throwaway, and the free-association lyrics go from amusing to aggravating in an instant. [Apr 2008, p.107]

It's brimming with what he does well: competent, poppy-yet-street mixtures of rap, reggae, R&B and brazen cover versions. [July 2002, p.110]

The good news is that Grotesque rocks like a bastard.... Not so good news is that Manson's shock shtick still lacks real substance. [Jun 2003, p.103]

At times [Folklore] is too self-satisfied, throwing everything available into the mix in what seems like a desperate bid to grab some cred. [Jan 2004, p.114]

Like those '70s Teutonic adventurers tracks such as Treten, with its aerated harmonics and oddly motorik beat, aim for mind-expanding mantric intensity. [Jul 2012, p.112]

Eagles may be victims of a world in which their signature sound has been distilled into oblivion. [Dec 2007, p.110]

Most of the musical elements remain over-familiar-swelling strings, understated beats, the odd crackly blues sample. [Nov 2013, p.111]

Amusing on first listen but--as with so many records sold on amusing wordplay alone--it doesn't stand up to repeated exposure. [Feb 2010, p.105]

Sees Milo Cordell and Robbie Furze being drawn further into the stadium-electro wind tunnel. [Feb. 2012 p. 101]

Although reaching a touching peak on melancholic closer City By The Sea, two albums in Good Shoes still lack a defining personality of their own. [Feb 2010, p. 107]

It's difficult to imagine Carraba's earnest tenor appealing to anyone over the age of 20. [Sep 2006, p.107]

Though Gang Of Four are the same bracing proposition as they ever were, 2015's literary imagery and less blokey vibe mark a successful leap sideways. [Apr 2015, p.100]

There are strong cameos from assorted MCs, particularly Juicy J and Schoolboy Q, but his attempt to talk a girlfriend into a threesome on Story Time is proof there are even worse things in life than dabbling in Eurodance. [Apr 2015, p.108]