Snow Patrol are on their way to becoming essential. [May 2006, p.120]

An astonishingly moving distillation of Eastern European melancholia with elegant histrionics a la Rufus Wainwright. [Dec 2006, p.141]

The breakbeat-based tracks offer obvious comparisons with like-minds such as Prefuse 73. [Jun 2006, p.113]

Simpatico is too bland to stand. [Jun 2006, p.113]

No great leap forward. [Jul 2006, p.113]

While these acoustic poems are often twee and contrived, the woman remains ultimately unpretentious. [Jul 2006, p.114]

[It] is a lusher and less challenging listen than recent efforts, but it's also curiously featureless, the sound of a group drained of passion and fresh ideas. [Jun 2006, p.118]

Far from rocket science, but immense fun nonetheless. [Jun 2006, p.117]

A mightily heavy and punky album. [Jul 2006, p.119]

Despite [their] obsession with the everyday... The Rakes are never mundane. [Sep 2005, p.118]

[Secret Machines] have pruned back the vast sonic expanses of 2004's full-length debut album, focusing instead on brevity and melody. [Apr 2006, p.120]

The 37-minute length is not the only thing about this album that's slight. [May 2006, p.116]

It might not add up to a must-have, but it's good to hear Springsteen with the pressure off. [Jun 2006, p.112]

A winning combination of party grooves and Bush-baiting politics. [Jun 2006, p.113]

This is music precision-built for vast stadiums. [Aug 2006, p.112]

It's got some fine, graceful tunes. [May 2006, p.128]

It's all perfectly competent, but rather generic. [Jun 2006, p.119]

Mixes his distinctive whinny toothlessly low. [May 2006, p.131]

Sounds like the work of a man touting for soundtracks. [May 2006, p.131]

The band's ability to rock out at the drop of a hat proves a pleasant surprise among the dopey reverie. [Jun 2006, p.115]

There's nothing desperately new here, but it's all sharply enough executed. [Jun 2006, p.114]

It's true that none of the tracks here quite scale the heights reached early in his career.... But... James is at least trying to move beyond what he's achieved already. [May 2006, p.124]

A winning mix of melody and melancholy. [Aug 2006, p.111]

The Dolls tighten their musical corset with beguiling style. [May 2006, p.123]

Alas, from [the first two tracks]... the pair slip first into mediocrity and then the standbys of those who have run out of inspiration: backwards recording and pointless noodling. [Jun 2006, p.115]

Pleasantly pointless. [Aug 2006, p.116]

Despite the hysterical crowd response, Live From Dakota is as meat'n'potatoes as its creators. [May 2006, p.130]

Hard work but worth the effort. [Oct 2005, p.117]