Their second should eclipse even that [100,000 copies of their first album sold], given the songwriting strides they've taken since. [Apr 2009, p.97]

So let any indie bands planning a trip to the keyboard shop take note: this is how it's done, with a desire to surprise and be surprised. [May 2009, p.104]

While this record might ultimately be a mere palette cleanser for the next stage in PJ Harvey's journey, it suggests her mouthwash tastes sweeter than most others' fine wine. [Apr 2009, p.101]

Living Thing, equally lovely and contrary, is somewhere between the two [albums, "Young Folks" and "Seaside Rock"]. [May 2009, p.116]

The likes of 'Win Park Slope' are pleasant, but also disappontingly unremarkable. [May 2009, p.112]

The result is a marriage of indie pop and dance music, containing a number of tracks that are just a remix away from clubland glory. [Apr 2009, p.111]

It's on the mighty 'Collemboles,' however, that all the angles, time-signature switches and gigantic choruses come togerther, and it's the finest moment on an album packed with delights. [May 2009, p.115]

Truely, a voyage of discovery. [Jan 2009, p.121]

If you ever wondered how Bjork would sound if she was caught in a snowdrift, here's your answer. [May 2009, p.112]

Grace/Wastelands isn't quite the defining statement of his genius that his cheerleaders always insisted was just around the corner, but it demolishes the charge that his talent has been fatally squandered. [Apr 2009, p.98]

His sequel to the quirky, lo-fi assault of 2007's "Spiderman Of The Rings" has a similarly maniac edge, at once mesmerising and unnerving. [Apr 2009, p.102]

Robyn Hitcock, My Morning Jacket's Jim James and, taking the female characters' voices, Becky Stark and Shara Worden, are among those fleshing out the band, but all are no more than support to Colin Meloy and his very singular vision--and what a glorious big, bold and entirely bonkers one it is. [Apr 2009, p.104]

All told, a successful modernisation of an old formula. [May 2009, p.118]

As richly rewarding a work of brilliance as it is, Crack The Skye will nonetheless be beyond the ken of all but those with the most open of minds--or pre--attuned ears. [Apr 2009, p.107]

1990s show more ambition on the follow-up. [May 2009, p.107]

At her best she's thrilling and her hits with Timbaland, 'The Way I Are' and 'Scream,' still cackle brilliantly, but at 70 minutes there's too much flab and the ballads drag horribly. [Jul 2009, p.124]

It's no surprise they've held up so well after all these years. But it's the extra features, spread over four different editions that truly impress. [Apr 2009, p.114]

It's bold and gimmick-free--proof there's no shame in covering old ground. [May 2009, p.116]

With too much hip hop content to recycle cliches of its own making, it's exhilarating to discover someone out there is still willing to test the limits. [Jun 2009, p.132]

Their third album is another bony bundle of modern neuroses. [Apr 2009, p.108]

While skillfully executed--some songs, notably 'Murderer,' definitely have legs--the whole never rises far above a clever exercise in technique. [Apr 2009, p.105]

This could have all ended in Tears For Fears, but their winning seriousness is matched by a penchant for a grandiose but hummable melody. [Feb 2009, p.119]

Beware displays enough of Oldham's lyrical and musical guile to ensure that if Beware does become wallpaer, it's lead-laced anaglypa. [Apr 2009, p.100]

There's a sense that he's trying to pass off a lack of ability as some kind of artistic statement. [Aug 2009, p.113]

Overall this is splendid nonsense. [Jul 2009, p.128]

Her lived in voice adds new nuance to material as diverse as the traditional Kimbie and Morrissey's 'Dear God Please Help Me.' [Feb 2009, p.113]

When it clicks, as on the exhilarating rush of single 'Family Galaxy' or 'Fortress's' twisted rock operatics, the results glow with all the Technicolor detail of the Roger Dean-gone-digital cover art. [May 2009, p.112]

Their full-length debut doesn't quite justify its lengthy gestation period, being a frustratingly patchy affair with a handful of simply sublime melodic synth-pop numbers. [Apr 2009, p.110]