Shows that they can still craft radio-friendly rock with aplomb. [May 2012, p.93]

Fizzing with ideas, their future looks bright. [May 2012, p.93]

Fans of No Age and Best Coast will recognize the formula here - but what the band lack in originality they compensate for in energetic spark. [May 2012, p.93]

A concentrated shot of charisma, undiluted and intoxicating. [May 2012, p.92]

Memphis soul is tapped by JTE ... the regret and pain of his songs harking back to the days when drugs had him thrown out of his father's band. [May 2012, p.91]

A record that is a highly-concentrated shot of sound. You might lose your mind, but Black Dice never lose the plot. [May 2012, p.91]

ILY,IC is marred by the wrong kind of heaviness: Jon Philpot's ponderous vocals or the histrionic art-school thump of Idle Heart and Kiss Me Crazy are reminders that there are other bands (School of Seven Bells, Active Child) doing this sort of dark drama with more guile. [May 2012, p.91]

Too often the reworkings of the songs are either not different enough, or ... just plain boring. [May 2012, p.91]

The [same] sort of Clash-meets-Green Day agit-protest skate-punk Anti-Flag have been making since 1996. [May 2012, p.90]

In accommodating all those guests Mariam too often has to take a back seat, so destroying much of the couple's special chemistry, the very thing that sets them apart. [May 2012, p.90]

Alabama Shakes' nods to vocal giants past never overshadow the fact that their music has a raw, aggressive style that is completely their own. [May 2012, p.90]

While the grooves here prove to be equally minimal [to Headhunter], his debut LP is driven by a febrile, wildstyle energy at odds with dubstep's cavernous soundscapes. [May 2012, p.90]

If surprises on Intersection are few, even rarer are the disappointments. [Mar 2012, p.105]

Sadly most of these forgettable songs tend to evaporate on impact. [Apr 2012, p.101]

Dead Set On Living is gritty, punk-metal. [May 2012, p.94]

Leaving no room for nuance,it's a relentlessly dark wall of sonic aggression. [Apr 2012, p.101]

Mountain Echo isn't original, but Marie's voice oozes control vulnerability. [Apr 2012, p.98]

Father Creeper proves ambitious, but it's easy to get lost amid the clatter of African rhythm. [Apr 2012, p.98]

The songs themselves, delivered via polished neo-soul and roots-reggae arrangements, seldom push beyond the retro comfort zone. [Apr 2012, p.98]

The Keychain Collection isn't far removed from James Blake, though the subtle melodies are all his own. [Apr 2012, p.98]

DVA's full-length debut Pretty Ugly feels more late night than early morning, cutting a swathe through dubstep, future soul and jittery electronica. [Apr 2012, p.98]

An astonishing, envelope-pushing vision that mocks the idea of bluegrass being a revival genre. [Apr 2012, p.94]

MDNA's dirty dozen rank it her best since, in all sincerity, the career high of 1998's Ray Of Light itself. [May 2012, p.88]

Packed with songs of delicious but unsettling despair. [Apr 2012, p.98]

More cultured chill-out from the East London alchemists. [Feb 2012, p.110]

It's Envy's quietest moment, a hazy cover of Bowie's Letter To Hermione, which is the real diamond in the rough here. [Apr 2012, p.105]

There are so many ideas battling it out here it takes numerous listens to make sense of it, but persevere and this is perhaps their strongest set to date. [Apr 2012, p.101]

Weirdly timeless, even now. [Feb 2012, p.117]