An epic backdrop for that next Pacific Coast Highway road trip. [Jun 2005, p.102]

An album full of playful daring. [Aug 2006, p.115]

There's a sleek electronic sheen but also a welcome return to stripped-down songcraft. [Jun 2010, p.126]

It might be falling apart, but it comes together beautifully. [Feb 2019, p.115]

The 11 tracks on Citizen Zombie find these progenitors of the "Bristol sound" in satisfying rude health. [Apr 2015, p.108]

Its humongous piledriving choruses, variously recalling Placebo, Wheatus and even Rush, are match by its gloriously knowing wit. [Jul 2017, p.112]

It's beautifully put together, remarkably so given that it was constructed largely via the internet. [Jun 2009, p.124]

For all the finely crafted, impeccably produced numbers there are enough stripped-back torch song moments to remind us of the simple power of Wainwright's talent. [Aug 2020, p.113]

All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us is a confrontationally loud, brilliant album, and every bit as bleak as its title. [Jul 2016, p.103]

After a rocky couple of years, Good Evening New York City is proof that Paul McCartney's mojo appears full recharged. [Jan 2010, p. 116]

Few bands epitomise so well the virtues of not fixing that which isn't broken.

It's pop opulence with the wires sticking out the back, high-end songwriting with a coat of lead paint, but those flaw and fixes give Shitty Hits a compelling outsider edge. [Sep 2017, p.116]

This really is a joy. [Dec 2001, p.121]

A worthy and wonderful addition to [their] cannon. [Aug 2012, p.98]

Where other ambient artists can veer dangerously close to musak, Frahm always brims with invention. [Dec 2019, p.109]

An LP that is all over the place, yet with a clearly defined sense of self. [Nov 2018, p.105]

Their sixth learns from those mistakes [on their fifth album], sounding rougher, tougher and altogether more like the raucous joy of their live shows. [Sep 2013, p.102]

Although comprised of offcuts, it amounts to a great fourth and final record. [Dec 2018, p.104]

[The album] is in turns seething and sweet. [Nov 2014, p.115]

Snapshots of old stand-bys come through, but it's in tunes such as the disco tribute Rainbow and the clonky piano of The Drifter that his gift for marrying the modern to history, both recent and ancient, really shines. [Apr 2015, p.108]

Filled with brilliantly wonky melodies, The Weather is a sonic hall-of-mirrors. [Jul 2017, p.112]

Grace/Wastelands isn't quite the defining statement of his genius that his cheerleaders always insisted was just around the corner, but it demolishes the charge that his talent has been fatally squandered. [Apr 2009, p.98]

The result is a surprisingly jubilant follow-up, with the Richmond, Virginia-based singer-songwriter largely disposing of her delicate sound in favour of groove, R&B and '80s pop. [Jul 2018, p.116]

It's straightforward rock'n'roll and it's done with irresistible vim and contagious melody. [Jul 2016, p.107]

Washington's gift for euphonic arrangements and eagerness to explore new forms is evident throughout. [Summer 2018, p.115]

Almost defiantly ramshackle the mix of classy songcraft and threadbare instrumentation nonetheless makes for a compelling listen. [Jun 2014, p.118]

Sounds more focused than ever. [Sep 2017, p.115]

A boundlessly entertaining expose of what happens when you mix fine words with excellent melodies to make great songs.