While Bloc Party Mk II don't quite reach the dizzying heights of hits such as Banquet or Flux, Hymns restores your faith in both their ability and ambition. [Feb 2016, p.114]

In a sign that they've struggled to progress since [their debut], almost every song on this fifth alum similarly ends with Willett combusting into a figure of angst. [Dec 2014, p.108]

The sound of a band growing old comfortably. [Sep 2006, p.110]

He has rediscovered the knack of making Beach Boys records again. And make no mistake, in sound if not personnel, this is a Beach Boys record. [Aug 2004, p.119]

On Mine Is Yours they take flight at last: the distinctive Willett is excellent throughout and the songs almost all snap and bite. [Feb. 2011, p. 114]

It's early days yet, but right now Twin Atlantic are doing nothing wrong and much that is right--their future looks bright indeed. [Jun 2011, p.124]

The band sound bored. [Dec 2012, p.103]

The fun and fake snow does wear off after a few songs though. [Jan 2016, p.112]

An agreeably self-assured comeback from a talent who's come up the hard way. [Summer 2018, p.106]

Hopefully they'll focus on [their country roots] next time. [Nov 2015, p.104]

Generally there's a lightness here he'd do well to retain. [Oct 2006, p.118]

Simpatico is too bland to stand. [Jun 2006, p.113]

By the end you might feel like you've just had your ear bent by a particularly forthright mum outside school gates, but Havoc and Bright Lights is Alanis Morissette's most inviting album in a long, long time. [Sep 2012, p.103]

A couple of hours negotiating the treacherous whirlpools of Waters's fears, paranoia and loathing can still prove a slog, mind, no matter how stately the settings.

Imagination and maturity abound, energy less so, although it bodes well for the next album. [Dec. 2001 p. 127]

Bontempi organ drum tracks merge together to create a hypnotic funk. [Sept. 2010, p. 118]

It is, triumphantly, among the most camp mainstream pop records ever made. [Mar 2007, p.113]

Ambitious and heartfelt, Music For The People is the sound of a band caught between rock and a hard place. [May 2009, p.111]

It's warmth and occasional flashes of wisdom ensure it's a dignified protest at modern life rather than just the mitherings of an old(er) man. [Jan 2015, p.132]

It's a solid enough LP, but it's hard to see this appealing very far beyond their fanbase. [Feb 2017, p.119]

Walker distinguishes himself from the herd with the frenetic, chest-beating chorus to the mighty Dominoes; the shyly addictive duet with Zara Larsson, Now You're gone, co-written by Fulham FC Women striker Chelcee Grimes, and the bereft Angels, all of which sparkle in very different, yet equally beguiling ways. [May 2018, p.116]

The results may not add to a fanbase that struggles to extend beyond the UK and the good folk of Belgium and Germany, but Editors give themselves a new lease of life here. [Aug 2013, p.94]

Any good news – Liam’s decent fist of songwriting, the less oppressive sound, the professional playing – is rendered largely irrelevant by the gaping chasm where more decent songs should be.

Enclosure, his 11th solo record, is uncomfortably disjointed. [Jul 2014, p.107]

Best In Town adheres to its authors' trademarked, if confused, formula of generic metalcore verses, gratingly incongruous pop choruses, borderline misogynistic lyrics and gags that presumably sounded far funnier in the studio. [Jun 2009, p.119]

An album that plays too safe in its thirst for hits. [Jul 2015, p.110]

Ambitious and crackling with smart riffs, the end result achieves a brooding intensity all of its own. [Apr 2011, p.111]

I-Empire is so in thrall to Edge's guitar sound circa 1984 it could almost be the work of a /u2 tribute band. [Dec 2007, p.112]