An atmospheric masterclass. [May 2018, p.104]

Charming without being cloying, Paradise is the work of a band beginning to stretch their wings.

The relentless macho intensity would be oppressive were Hill and Morin not having so much fun pillaging everything from punk to crunk. [Jun 2012, p.100]

With Williamson delivering street-ranter streams of consciousness over Andrew Fearn's frigid post-punk/jip-hop productions, it's possibly not for the casual listener out for a few laughs but there's much to invigorate in its unaffected, defiant slagging of hated jobs, metropolitan hipsters, Twitter and more. [Jun 2014, p.120]

Massiveness should be assured. [Summer 2018, p.114]

A dozen familiar tracks, minus their overdubs. [Oct 2013, p.116]

An album of some considerable beauty. [Sep 2005, p.118]

Folk and indie-pop influences are as prevalent as prog's darker hue, making Allas Sak far less challenging than it might have been in less thoughtful hands. [Nov 2015, p.109]

She's still very much the real deal. [Aug 2020, p.111]

The arrangements here are written specifically with a touring quartet in mind, adding ever greater layers of haunting melancholy and soaring grace. [Sep 2006, p.109]

These broiling drum-led riffs offer curdled cries, much volume and even humour. [Aug 2006, p.113]

Her observations possess a nuance that blasts away old cliches, but are also related with a pleasing simplicity. [Aug 2020, p.107]

The sisters harmonise like sisters should, the tunes soar as both country and Bright Eyes should and First Aid Kit is contending like contenders should. [Feb 2012, p. 104]

Jamie Treays has come back fighting and fighting brilliantly. [Nov 2014, p.117]

This, though, is accessible without compromise. [July 2008, p.106]

Packed with mesmerising detail yet powerful enough to dance to, the result is electronic music that radiates intelligence and emotion. [Dec 2019, p.109]

Ultimately, floating voters will lament the lack of a flat-out glam and/or electro-disco belter to rival their hits. [Oct 2017, p.111]

By turns eerie and enthralling, it's the kind of experiment [John] Cage would surely applaud. [Dec 2018, p.111]

She's just as full of herself, but she now has a voice brimming with womanly promise. [Nov 2006, p.149]

Why Make Sense? is a meaty electro-grooving celebration of love, hope, dancing. [Jun 2015, p.101]

His earthy but frequently beautiful Americana has maintained a consistent heaviness of vibe, and album five continues down the same byway. [Nov 2016, p.107]

It's a stimulating and animated listen, his resigned confidences frequently sharpened by dyspeptic wit. [Jun 2017, p.105]

Without a single piece of filler here, this is the musical equivalent of meeting a stranger you feel you've known all your life. [Nov 2001, p.128]

Be More Kind strikes a balance between the personal and the political. [Jun 2018, p.116]

There is a wonderful tension on Mangy Love between the pleasure of the music--lush, soulful, spinning out from Elliot Smith or Lambchop--and the often ugly, complex breaks and disturbances in the lyrics. [Sep 2016, p.103]

A sublime tonic. [Jul 2020, p.113]

Broadcast are detached and austere, but mesmerised by their discoveries in the radiophonic workshop. Current single Echo's Answer and the unusually upbeat Come On Let's Go are the best places to start, but this is a classic case of an album working as a whole. Hard work, but compelling.

This album - musically more extravagant, lyrically just as searching - takes its place at the shoulder of 1994's Stones In The Road as her best yet.