They are still capable of arrestingly brilliant pop songs, but, judged against past achievements, Velocifero is a step backwards. [July 2008, p.102]

Everything is supercharged and melodic, like a poppy version of Nirvana. [July 2008, p.111]

It isn't any different to where she's been before, it's simply that quality levels remain uniformly high. [Aug 2008, p.139]

This is indie rock with plenty of funk, snaking basslines and wah-wah guitar. [May 2009, p.119]

A pure pleasure. [July 2008, p.101]

Patience, persistence and a good set of headphones will uncover fragile melodies here amid the maelstrom, though the guitar noodling can veer dangerously close to Mark Knopfler territory. [July 2008, p.101]

Always an intriguing lyricist, her divorce from producer T. Bone Burnett seems to have added a bittersweet dimension to her words too. [Oct 2008, p.150]

Big riffs and bigger choruses here will ensure continued American radio support, but Draiman's penchant for singing like a woodland animal startled mid-coitus won't stop the sniggers. [May 2008, p.130]

A perfect distillation of creatively experimental folk music in the UK today. [May 2008, p.126]

As this flits from widescreen country soul to palpitating Meat Loaf theatrics, the overriding impression is of a band that's having a blast. [July 2008, p.99]

At their best, as on Number 6 single 'Facination,' they are an invigoratingly upbeat experience. But too often they crash through the boundaries of good taste into out-and-out cheese. [July 2008, p.98]

It takes ?uestlove from The Roots to reproduce the kind of smooth, mellow-aged soul that made Green's name. [July 2008, p.102]

There's nothing wrong with the songs that make up its second act, save that each is as woozy, wistful and gossamer-fragile as the next. [June 2008, p.140]

Quirky and clever--even slightly sinister with in the murky darkness of Dragonslayer--rather than pioneering. [June 2008, p.146]

From Coldcut to DJ Shadow, every rap-era cut-up maestro owes a debt to Steven Stein. [Nov 2008, p.129]

They're one of European techno's most respected names, a status enhanced by this elegant follow-up to 2006's "Movements."

The best track here is named after a local town called Sheffield but the massive wall of guitars and tidal wave of drums and cymbals put you in mind of Happy Mondays or The Stone Roses in a tussle with The Jesus And Mary Chain. [Dec 2008, p.123]

Emergency is a confident second dose, not a lazy repeat. [June 2008, p.139]

No Way Down mischievously demands to be consumed whole at hazy after-hours sojourns. [May 2009, p.107]

The album is fine enough, undeniably modish and much better than you might anticipate. [June 2008, p.136]

Pitched somewhere between the Blues Explosion and Grinderman, it's an awesome racket, but the lack of time spent means the potential of 'Next Time' and the fevered 'New Meaning' have been lost in the rush to record. [July 2008, p.108]

Everything here is overdone, whether it's Nick Thorburn's thatrical vocals, the myriad pointless time changes or J'aime Vous Von Quitter's horrid La Bamba-style outero. [June 2008, p.142]

Unsurprisingly, the atmosphere is often weigted with doom, though there's an intoxicating impetus to the tar-like bass and woozy funk. [Aug 2008, p.140]

Although it holds together better than out-takes album might, newcomers should start elsewhere. [July 2008, p.101]

If we forget her Lenny Henry-esque Jamaican accent on the title track's Ziggy Marley duet, she's on sterling form. [Aug 2008, p.143]

Though a certain battle weariness has set in, many songs lacking The Wedding Present's trademark guitar bluster of old, Gedge remains wry, dry and wholeheartedly likeable. [July 2008, p.111]

Now reunited--minus Ibold--they are unlikely to win over many fans with this. [Aug 2008, p.135]

It all adds up to an impressive first step that ticks plenty of the right boxes, as does Duffy herself. [Apr 2008, p.100]