Cellar Door is so gorgeous it could persuade the most hardened clubber to give it all up for a hammock and a cool breeze. [Aug 2012, p.100]

There are hints of Shoes' mentor Dilla in the woozier beats, and grittier curs such as Nails show where his reputation comes from. [Sep 2012, p.107]

It's a low-pressure affair that variously recalls such non-rocking reference points as Phillip Glass, Debussy and Chopin. [Sep 2012, p.100]

As with the Beatles, the outtakes and rarities are the best place to appreciate the abundance of songwriting chops and interpersonal chemistry Blur had at their disposal. [Sep 2012, p.118]

This 131-track splurge still manages to throw up the occasional gem. [Sep 2012, p.116]

As always with this gem of a musician, all human life is here. [Sep 2012, p.113]

It's the 27-year-old's patience that dominate this sultry debut.[Sep 2012, p.113]

As ever, his lyrics are oblique yet thought-provoking, if sometimes unwieldy. [Sep 2012, p.112]

Kozelek swerves self-indulgence by writing with an arid humour. [Sep 2012, p.112]

The homage is wearing a little thin, and it's time someone called last orders. [Sep 2012, p.112]

This latest ventures proves equally unconventional [as his collaboration with Sufjan Stevens and his Kenny Dennis EP], the half-hour running time and Cohn's deadbeat rhymes both at odds with the rap mainstream. [Sep 2012, p.111]

There's no doubt Chasny and his cohorts know all about dynamic underpinning, making Ascent a trip worth taking. [Sep 2012, p.111]

The ideas are all there, they just don't fit together properly yet. [Sep 2012, p.110]

This [is] their best album in an age. [Sep 2012, p.110]

When it works, it's a glorious thing. [Sep 2012, p.108]

On his strongest album yet, Jackson Jr deconstructs the back catalogue of comedian/musician Rudy Ray Moore, star of blaxploitation movie Dolemite. [Sep 2012, p.106]

While Ocean's artistic ambition is impressive, it's his haunting candour that really casts a spell. [Sep 2012, p.106]

The fact that Cohen is nearer to the Pennines than he is to Portland shines through, though, with a dry wit tempering the sunniest songs. [Sep 2012, p.105]

Inevitably some of the surprised factor has worn off for their second album but it's still an exhilarating collision of ideas. [Sep 2012, p.105]

The surreal stoner wit of vintage Little feat is still missed, but this is perfectly respectable business as usual. [Sep 2012, p105]

Diver's appeal is immediate, its effect short and sharp. [Sep 2012, p.104]

Sensitive souls had best avoid, but fans of John Carpenter's soundtracks, early Aphex twin and the creepier end of Doctor Who will find themselves in familiar, if not entirely welcoming territory. [Sep 2012, p.102]

Kimbra has created a sparkling, witty debut that hymns commitment at every turn. [Sep 2012, p.102]

The Heavy remain The Black keys for people who'd rather dance than mosh. [Sep 2012, p.102]

Drew's work is lyrically dense and confrontational, but the music is blissfully rich and specious. [Sep 2012, p.100]

The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends runs the risk of turning into a cluttered affair, but what unfolds is an atmosphere of uninhibited adventure. [Sep 2012, p.100]

Warm, welcoming and dazzling. [Sep 2012, p.100]

At first it's almost intriguing, then alienating, then irritating; ultimately you're reminded why you never really listened to Animal Collective until they discovered the joys of a good tune. [Sep 2012, p.100]