Pete Wareham's group balances playfulness and tunes with rhythmic invention and experiementalism, arriving somewhere between punk and prog. [Aug 2009, p.101]

Everything here delivers the predominant warmth "Sky Blue Sky" lacked and betrays a sharp ear for melody that has often been obscured by sonic theatrics. [Aug 2009, p.1000]

There's stirring emotion to 'Pale Horses' restrained mournfulness and the soulful vocals on the minimal 'Walk With Me,' though it can sound as if has a button on his laptiop that wafts this stuff out automatically. [Aug 2009, p.108]

The addition of Southern-fried sludge makes this album almost the complete New Wave Of American Heavy Metal package. [Aug 2009, p.101]

This brilliant, OutKast-like fusion of synthetic electro beats and surreal rhymes form a skewd tribute to the US state of Georgia. [Aug 2009, p.107]

From sterling ballads to punchy rockers, it's a classy set. But the initail post-Obama musings of Welcome To The Future already seem dated and, as ever, it's hard to know where the buyer will come from. [Aug 2010, p.124]

Varshons succeeds thanks to an inspired breadth of material. [Jul 2009, p.125]

Here Mascis's guitar playing remains as distorted--and dextrous--as ever, but here his songcraft burns as brightly as his fretwork. [Jul 2009, p.121]

Octahedron bucks the band's trend for obfuscation, though; conventional song structures are very much in evidence, while its relatively trim 49-minute running time is on par with some of Mars Volta's more involved live jams. [Jul 2009, p.127]

It almost inevitably fails to live up to those lofty aspirations. [Nov 2009, p.114]

She's making a bid for the mainstream, even recruiting ex-ELO mainman Jeff Lyne to her corner on five tracks, including grandiose highlight 'Human Of The Year,' a three-minute distillation of the album's overriding facination with religion. [Aug 2009, p.104]

It sounds like the album Courtney Love might have made had she not spent periods of the past decade blitzed to the back teeth. Which is a (very) good thing, by the way. [Jul 2009, p.132]

Sadly, their own sixth album lacks the drive of either Battles or Mogwai. [Aug 2009, p.113]

His alt-country songs bristle with classic influences form Gram Parsons to John Fogerty to Steve Eerle. New dog, old tricks. [Jan 2010, p. 122]

Nearly, but not quite. [Jul 2009, p.117]

Trying to find a sense of humour amidst the walloping woe is exhausting. [Aug 2009, p.107]

They rarely threaten to run out of steam. [Aug 2009, p.101]

His remarkable Warp debut follows a series of effective "folktronica" albums on the US independent Mush. [Jul 2009, p.117]

An exhilarating melange of '60s-style close harmonies, unashamedly funky guitars and psychedelia. [Aug 2009, p.112]

If there is a criticism, it's that they lack thier own, unique sound, but this is still a breezily pleasing summer-evoking effort. [Jul 2009, p.122]

The result is a vibrant hybrid of bass-heavy beats and ragga toasting that echoes the digital dub revolution that swept through reggae in the mid '80s. [Aug 2009, p.109]

Many may not have the patience to follow its somersaults. Those who do will be richly rewarded. [Jul 2009, p.121]

Refreshingly, nothing outstays its welcome, not even nine-minute closer 'Massage The History.' [Jul 2009, p.124]

The bulk is what Placebo term "hard pop": lean, muscular movers shot through with melody. As unfashionable as it may be to say so, there aren't many bands that do it better. [July 2009]

What Kasabian lack in orginality they more than compensate for attitude and exhilarating hysteria. [Jul 2009, p.112]

Their packed schedule has finally allowed space for this lavish eponymous debut. [Sep 2009, p.95]

They're intriguingly ambivalent, but the conundrums are so beautifully and hauntingly put, you'll want to revisit them. [Jul 2009, p.125]

Much of the incidental music fulfils its purpose by occupying the background, but the band manage to inject real drama into the majestically discordant, Sonic Youth-influenced 'Spearing The Sunfish,' while the peaks and troughs of 'Boy Vertiginous' should appeal to Mogwai fans. [Jul 2009, p.117]