Dark subjects [apocalypse], perhaps, but surprisingly enjoyable all the same. [Oct 2012, p.97]

Charming, dexterous and completely compelling. [Oct 2012, p.108]

There's nothing that reeks of genius here, but there's enough to be getting on with. [Oct 2012, p.97]

The mid-paced mellowness is too omnipresent and stifling. [Oct 2012, p.97]

Lateral-thinking producer Jneiro Jarel builds complex but catchy soundscapes from bowel-shaking tuba loops, stuttering Casiotones and grime's muscle, as DOOM pinballs hypnotically through vivid metaphors and free-association rhymes. [Oct 2012, p.103]

A missed opportunity. [Oct 2012, p.107]

The airy-fairy aggression sometimes misses the mark. [Oct 2012, p.112]

All the freshness and ingenuity that made their 2009 debut such a revelation is here. [Oct 2012, p.111]

Not good. [Oct 2012, p.106]

Though twee-o-phobes may baulk at the confessional tone, wit and self-deprecation win the day. [Oct 2012, p.105]

A thrilling journey of self-rediscovery. [Oct 2012, p.95]

It's intoxicating listening that demands repeated attention. [Oct 2012, p.102]

Though frontman Tom Dougall's subdued vocals prove a little one-note over an album, the ground's certainly safer than it was three-fifth of Toy's old band. [Oct 2012, p.112]

Most of the record is a vivid splurge of new wave, glam-rock and showtunes, armed with lyrics as punchy and memorable as their melodies. [Oct 2012, p.108]

Quarter-hearted anthems such as Winner fail to recapture the desperate glamour and delicate optimism of their best work, making Elysium the definition of a mixed bag. [Oct 2012, p.104]

The mood of their music often feels a little stuck, though. [Oct 2012, p.100]

But for a little judicious editing, it's a pleasure we could have shared with him. [Oct 2012, p.99]

All in all, Algiers showcases a band utterly assured and fully aware of their intoxicating potency. [Oct 2012, p.95]

The songs, driven by their charismatic duets, mix inventive brass grooves with playfully indelible melodies. [Oct 2012, 94]

Priorities is inspired by the post-hardcore of Hundred reasons, Reuben and Hell Is For Heroes. [Sep 2012, p.110]

The mainstream looks a long way off again from here. [Sep 2012, p.97]

In all that attention to detail, there's flair and fire enough to quash the qualms and revel in people doing something over and doing it right. [Sep 2012, p.97]

For the most part Hot Cakes leaves you with the sense that The Darkness' reinvigoration will delight those longing for rock to rediscover the fun button. [Sep 2012, p.106]

The producer's spectral strand of electro-noir is as seductive as it is unsettling on his debut album. [Sep 2012, p.102]

Four may be too diffuse and rough around the edges to qualify as a knockout comeback but it shows a band relocating their purpose and promise by changing their habits. [Sep 2012, p.96]

It consistently fails to match their parent group's most sublime moments. [Sep 2012, p.110]

By the end you might feel like you've just had your ear bent by a particularly forthright mum outside school gates, but Havoc and Bright Lights is Alanis Morissette's most inviting album in a long, long time. [Sep 2012, p.103]

A fascinating trawl through the post-Talking Book period where black pop first embraced electronics. [Aug 2012, p.109]