It's slightly more accessible than his previous work. [Sep 2013, p.102]

10 years if touring, recording and a recent divorce have provided enough grit, soul and burr with the sort of peculiarly exquisite pain that's grown up enough to register life's grand futilities. [Sep 2013, p.101]

Thicke's record is wonderfully, brilliantly uncool, a ties-round-the-head, Grandma-friendly wedding reception anthem; and there's more where that came from. [Sep 2013, p.101]

Cole's beats may differ but she speaks the same language of shadows and longing. [Sep 2013, p.100]

It's an ugly brute of a record too, but one you can't stop looking out. [Sep 2013, p.100]

A great man still making great music. [Sep 2013, p.99]

Embracism is like a night in a dingy club with someone you've just met reeling through emotions with each additional drink. [Sep 2013, p.99]

Here he crafts some intoxicatingly beautiful music all built around the sparkling chime of his 12-string guitar. Inevitably it recalls The Byrds. [Sep 2013, p.99]

True, the Estelle-sung can't Wait sounds out of place, but elsewhere this is an estimable example of making things just like they used to. [Sep 2013, p.99]

This second album us far from flawless, with too many songs outstaying their welcome. [Sep 2013, p.98]

There's little outright originality, but they're melodically strong and the male-female vocal interchange between Andreas Pallisgaard and drummer Jaleh Negari is captivating. [Sep 2013, p.107]

Some detached ambient pieces remain, but at its best it makes for luxuriant listening. [Sep 2013, p.106]

Infectious and effective as it is, Moderat II is never quite as overwhelming as it threatens to be. [Sep 2013, p.106]

Songs such as Painted Indian and Everything's Fine offer a Balearic-tinged euphoria that ends up sounding like the band are at a party they were forced to go to. [Sep 2013, p.106]

It's the same stark template of vocals, acoustic guitars and assorted surprising adornments, but they save themselves from the overworthy trap by those voices. [Sep 2013, p.100]

If there's a flaw, it's that Mathe's songwriting is more conventional than the arrangements. But there's no denying the emotion behind his heartfelt croon. [Sep 2013, p.97]

It's an album that more than makes up for Franz Ferdinand's extended absence. [Sep 2013, p.96]

There's a sense of make or break here, but it's clear what they deserve. [Sep 2013, p.109]

With its shoebox percussion and no-budget production, Sleeper is a work of desolate, cracked genius. [Sep 2013, p.108]

Where You Stand finds the quartet catching up with themselves and displaying real depth and maturity. [Sep 2013, p.108]

The Ghost Of The Mountain is the sound of a band trying to settle on a style. [Sep 2013, p.105]

Downright terrifying fusion of bass music, pagan folktronica and snarling guitars. [Sep 2013, p.104]

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]

A collection of delicate, woozy and otherworldly electronics. [Sep 2013, p.99]

A record of rivers and trees rather than streets and skyscrapers, it's a blissful and quietly cosmic experience. [Sep 2013, p.98]

If there's a fault, the self-consciously retro production doesn't push her far enough. [Jul 2013, p.106]

The notoriously repressive Ceausescu-era authorities clearly didn't know what to make of Rosca, but his music sounds fantastic today. [Jul 2013, p.109]

Some of the more straightforward rockers show signs of fresh thinking. [Jul 2013, p.97]