If the production is a little soft, there's no denying the old boys can still knock out pop thrills. [Sep 2012, p.99]

While his message is clear, the means of conveying it comes up wanting. [Sep 2012, p.98]

It's narcotic, claustrophobic and brilliant. [Sep 2012, p.98]

A daydream of a record, one well worth drifting off into. [Aug 2012, p.115]

Part cipher, part siren, Minogue's odd power is underlined: it's not always clear quite what she does, but she does it brilliantly. [Aug 2012, p.115]

Sugar may have lacked the outsider appeal and cataclysmic cultural impact of Nirvana but he furnace-forged guitar pop of 1992 debut Copper Blue was a handsome match for Nevermind. [Aug 2012, p.114]

These lavish Deluxe Editions are fat with rare tracks and live performances on accompanying DVDs - they are all the Beat anyone could ever wish for. [Aug 2012, p.112]

The singer's greasy, street pimp-talking vocal style is sometimes at odds with The Sadies' cleaned-up garage vibe, but if you can reconcile a 70-year old drug addict growling: "I like my rum, cos I got no teeth, I let it flow over my gums"... with fiddle-led folk rock and surf guitar, then Night & Day will push all your buttons and then some. [Aug 2012, p.111]

[Several songs are] saved by Walsh's unerring ability to produce a wonderful guitar solo from the bottom of the pack. Sadly, it's not enough to transform this into the great comeback album you keep willing it to be. [Aug 2012, p.111

At album length the apologetic beats and tuneful but numbed vocals quickly pall, and it neither delivers one the wig-flipping promised by the intricate Ocean Floor nor the narco-pop of Disappeared and Turn 2 U. [Aug 2012, p.111]

MTMTMK is even more propulsive than their debut. From Kondaine's digitised kwassa kwassa to the deep-house swell of Rudeboy and Mghetto's dub throb, it thumps with worldly street rhythms. [Aug 2012, p.110]

Too often, these songs feel as though they're being executed with an arched eyebrow, Lewis Jr. peering knowingly from behind the curtain with a nod and a wink. [Aug 2012, p.110]

A record that perhaps only Dylan fans need apply for. [Aug 2012, p.110]

Reductive re-workings of his heroes only remind you of his limitations. Lacking a pop compass, Stone just sounds lost. [Aug 2012, p.111]

An inspired hook-up that brings out the best in both contributors [Killer Mike and El-P].[Aug 2012, p.109]

Silencio! really soars when Sadier rails loudly against the injustices of our austerity era, as on Auscultation To The Nation. [Aug 2012, p.109]

Both vocals and music here shimmer with a weird radiance... to dizzying, intoxicating effect. [Aug 2012, p.108]

Pop Etc manage a couple of well-aimed arrows towards the heart. [Aug 2012, p.108]

Gossamer's a pleasant listen, but since when has that been enough? [Aug 2012, p.108]

He's seldom less than wildly expressive, whether pumping out neon-lit disco or radically rewiring acid electro. [Aug 2012, p.108]

Handwritten is pure New Jersey rock, dripping urban romanticism, albeit with extra oomph on the power chords. [Aug 2012, p.105]

There is talent here. If only it could've been matched to a few more original ideas. [Aug 2012, p.105]

It's relentless, totally one-paced, but somehow oddly refreshing. [Aug 2012, p.105]

The general rule with Offspring albums is that their buoyant Californian punk will always be pockmarked by two wildly irritating songs. So it is with Days Go By.

The neurotic twists and nuances that made 1982's Vs so electrifying are still apparent... further confirmation that Mission of Burma have no intention of either burning out or fading away. [Aug 2012, p.104]

No new ground is broken, but there's an admirable conviction in the way Maximo Park fight their corner. [Aug 2012, p.104]

It's only on what passes here for a ballad, Black And Blue (A letter), that they overreach themselves. [Mar 2012, p.106]

Heavy, but not in a good way. [Jun 2012, p.96]