Compared to the mulch churned out by far too many, Contra will cut through most of the stuff on the radio like sunshine through clouds. [Feb 2010, p 100]

Very possibly, an even better album than Elephant. [Jul 2005, p.108]

Like a quieter, more thoughtful Sheryl Crow, Scialfa is a daughter of the city and her charms reveal themselves slowly. [Jul 2004, p.122]

Hugely exciting one minute, unlistenable the next and far too much to handle in a single sitting, Thirlwell's noise addiction can still make Trent Reznor seem like a pussycat.

Doom's bizarre raps prove a good match for Danger Mouse's eclectic approach. [Nov 2005, p.123]

There's a brief slump with One Last's fey melodies, but it's not enough to derail proceedings. A serious talented young band. [Jun 2010, p.119]

Bewitching and hugely ambitious. [Apr 2011, p.110]

Smart, anthemic and often desperately moving. [Dec 2011, p.137]

Near-perfect "Prairie Gothic". [May 2012, p.96]

Storm Corrosion deserve to reach a wider audience than their CV, record collections - or suspect band name- would imply. [Jun 2012, p.112]

On his strongest album yet, Jackson Jr deconstructs the back catalogue of comedian/musician Rudy Ray Moore, star of blaxploitation movie Dolemite. [Sep 2012, p.106]

Settle may be a lot less rowdy than Basement Jaxx's bellwether 1999 album Remedy, but it pulls off a similarly timely coup by pulling together a number of clubland threads, imposing a keen pop sensibility and idiosyncratic vision, and riding the crest of a rising tide. [Jul 2013, p.104]

One of the albums of the year to date. [Oct 2014, p.118]

What's The Sound? is an intimate, lavishly layered collection topped by Woolhouse's worried vocals. [Jan 2017, p.115]

What really elevates the songs though, is the underlying weave of Latin-influenced percussion and subtle string arangements which draw deftly on Garzon-Montano's French-Colombian roots. [Mar 2017, p.108]

At times, they sound like Black Sabbath might, if Tony Iommi had ever misplaced his genius for memorable riffs. Far better is when they harness their power more constructively. and fragments of tunes emerge from the sludge. [Jun 2017, p.112]

Green Twins is high on sonic invention. [Jul 2017, p.108]

Sweet Kind Of Blue may shock people who only know Barker through her theme tune for Kenneth Branagh's Wallander, but it finally set out her true claim for stardom. [Jul 2017, p.104]

These ate anthemic, headlining songs from a band that is fast becoming one of our finest. [Nov 2017, p.110]

Overall Open Here is joyful and reliably brilliant. [Mar 2018, p.108]

This is a beautiful, soul-searching record and the one that Joan Wasser has spent her whole life building up to. [Mar 2018, p.110]

This is menacing, magical stuff. [Apr 2018, p.116]

The music itself remains more in debt to Blue Note classicism, but the palatability is alluring. [Summer 2018, p.113]

Old Rockhounds Never Die is ceaselessly exciting. [Sep 2018, p.118]

An album that is one of 2018's gems. [Nov 2018, p.102]

Ultimately Sola's muse remains rooted in the nocturnal. [Jan 2019, p.113]

This is a soul-baring and lovely record. [Dec 2018, p.108]

If it's occasionally all a bit much, it's also unlike anything else you'll hear this year. [May 2018, p.111]