Disappointingly straight-laced. [Jul 2003, p.104]

Lamb have finally perfected the trip hop/classical fusion they discovered on their career-high Gorecki, though the beatific sumptuousness of their sound can be overwhelming.

The tracks featuring Prince soundalike vocalist Harrison Crump are as fine as ever - dreamy, melodic, melancholy.... The trouble is, elsewhere, this ladies man seems convinced that a woman talking (especially in a European accent) is all the melody anyone could possibly need.

A gorgeous, near-religious record. [Feb 2004, p.100]

Mclusky are unique and getting better. [Jul 2004, p.118]

Those lying closest to their own unsubtle ouevre, ie the Minor Threat and Cypress Hill tracks, are as crunching as die-hards could hope for. But the arch sneer of The Rolling Stones' Street Fighting Man and Bob Dylan's Maggie's Farm are predictably reduced to chalkboard lessons in "angry".

A familiar bag of tricks. [Sep 2003, p.101]

Though Strange Sensation guitarist Liam "Skin" Tyson is no Jimmy Page, Plant can still strut with the vigour of a man half his age. [May 2005, p.114]

Collisions marks Calla as an enchanting secret. [Mar 2006, p.106]

System Of A Down remains the one metal band non-metalheads can enjoy. [Dec 2005, p.156]

A pointed dig at modern Nashville's dull production line, Sleepless Nights is a collection of covers from a lost era of Patsy Cline and The Everly Brothers, Loveless's classic voice knocking pretenders into a cocked Stetson. [Jan 2009, p.120]

As ever, the subtlety and naturalness of his approach belies a craftman's attention to detail. [May 2009, p.110]

It works surprising well. [Apr 2010, p.120]

Peepers mostly whizzes by in a heady blur, but when they paise for thought, a whole new layer of depth and intrigue emerges. [Apr 2010, p.116]

An oddly addictive hip hop concoction of self-doubt and dread, set against a minimalist, almost jazzy backdrop that's also a bit Tricky, too. [Mar 2011, p.116]

The effect is evocative if nothing less than a 21st-century Caledonian Spirit Of Eden. [May 2011, p.119]

A bright and breezy sophomore that occasionally hints at darker themes. [Dec. 2001 p. 127]

Foster's voice sounds as beautifully eerie as ever; imagine a ghost from a Deep South 78 brought back from the dead. Little else here, however, sounds avant-garde. [Jun 2012, p.101]

It's sometimes harrowing, sometimes beautiful and quite often both. [Jun 2012, p.105]

They already had the style, but with this bold step Elliott Brood now have the songs. [Nov 2012, p.95]

It's furious stuff. [Mar 2013, p.101]

If some of these drifting, piano-rich tunes aren't reworked into dream-state Ibiza sunset bangers by next summer then, frankly, the world is dancing to the wrong beat. [Mar 2013, p.98]

They are by turns wistful, quirky and very, very beautiful. [Aug 2013, p.100]

Her peculiar melodies weave their way around rugged pirate radio house/grime grooves in a manner that flirts with silliness but manages to stay intriguing and enticing instead. [Sep 2013, p.104]

At times they pull in too many directions at once. [Jun 2015, p.116]

At its best it's irresistible.... Elsewhere, more conventional material, including bluesy Internet ruminator Atacama and the oddly inclusive, cutlery-rattling Galapagos, sound like they were more fun to make than they are to listen to. [Jul 2014, p.112]

This career-best seventh album seeps into your head and stays there. [Sep 2014, p.110]

Carr retains enough left-field eccentricities, such as the Casiotone keyboard of I Don't Think I'll Make It, to make The Breaks a true indie-rock gem. [Nov 2014, p.108]