Tough to endure even once. [Aug 2003, p.110]

Alas, they're not very good. [Feb 2005, p.102]

Chalk this one down purely to an arrangement of Tinseltown convenience. [Oct 2009, p.115]

There are no real songs here, only weak gags and unfunny skits. [Jan 2007, p.152]

It's bigger and brighter. [Mar 2015, p.119]

There are so many idiotically composed adverts between tracks, you wonder if you haven't tuned into a local radio station by accident. [Sep 2003, p.99]

Though fatally flawed, Invincible does boast its fair share of sonic exhilaration. [#184, p.132]

It's raised a notch by the seductive combination of just-grimy-enough production and smooth vocals. [Jun 2003, p.96]

If that hardly sounds like the greatest thing to happen to hip hop in recent times, it's nothing compared to his fourth LP, which is a litany of lazy beats and even lazier rhymes; "Your mama she gets crazy," he instructs on Krazy. [Dec 2009, p. 120]

Simple Plan continue to plough forwards wuth a punk template of such box-ticking efficiency that they at times resemble automatons. [Mar 2008, p.111]

The Fifth sounds like half a dozen different [albums] squashed onto one record. Not good. [Nov 2013, p.115]

This is hollow, pretentious and deeply dull music. [Apr 2007, p.116]

The California band's doomy gothic arias sound unsettling and bold once more. [Sep 2007, p.91]

Each song still has the inevitable moment of electronic ascent but, as with Coldplay's Recent break-up record, you can';t help but wonder how these songs might've sounded left raw and unslickened. [Jan 2015, p.133]

Shaka Rock avoids critical flak, however, by harnessing their Stones-age rock with a groovy undercarriage. [Oct 2009, p.114]

The general rule with Offspring albums is that their buoyant Californian punk will always be pockmarked by two wildly irritating songs. So it is with Days Go By.

Davies' voice, weathered but still fine as a Waterloo sunset, is complemented by few here. [Dec 2010, p.113]

Low on booty-shaking but high on atmosphere. [June 2002, p.119]

Hardly exciting, but it is terrifyingly professional. [Dec 2002, p.110]

His band's 13th album won't bring him the stardom he craves, consisting of amorphous drones in which the creative energy has been reserved for the titles. [May 2008, p.126]

His picture would be that much more moving if he spliced his peaks with the occasional trough. [Mar 2013, p.98]

It won't change the world, but These People will give those other troubadours something to think about. [Jun 2016, p.106]

Most disappointing of all... is the drab nature of Ryder's contribution: slurred, incoherent, and largely based around drug stories and lots of swearing. [Aug 2003, p.103]

Kanye West's debut aside, it's the essential hip hop album of the year so far. [Jun 2004, p.102]

Turn It Up is a wasted opportunity, weighed down by beige soul ballads and cheap-sounding R&B that could have been cranked out for any talent show contestant. [Oct 2009, p.113]

What sets her apart is a nasal, high-pitched quality to her voice, which puts a fresh spin on what is otherwise a familiar format by now. [Nov 2009, p.104]

They've taken their time, but this fine record suggests it may not be too late. [May 2011, p.124]

Attention Deficit Domination goes straight for the doom-rock jugular. [Jan 2012, p.120]