The albums are interchangeable, neither one being the stylistic leap that was Is A woman in comparison to its predecessor, Nixon. [combined review of both discs; Mar 2004, p.112]

Both albums are lovely in the way that only Lambchop can be lovely. [combined review of both discs; Mar 2004, p.112]

He's beginning to develop his own sound as well as his own voice. [Mar 2004, p.111]

Where once they clanged, Neubaten now purr, the pervading mood of restrained grandeur, leavened with itchy, almost pop touches. [Apr 2004, p.110]

Far from rehashing her debut, she's made an older and wiser sequel, where the quiet magic of each song gets stronger with every listen. [Mar 2003, p.101]

A screw is definitely loose somwhere, but so what? [Oct 2004, p.128]

All of the elements that make the band great--the Shadowsy guitar solos, James Skelly's Eric Burdon-meets-Jimmy Corkhill croon, the breadth of imagination--are well lubricated, but the songwriting has rocketed. [Aug 2003, p.106]

Isn't for the meek. [Mar 2004, p.110]

Even its most unlistenable moments command attention with a ferocity that most musicians get nowhere near. [Mar 2004, p.98]

His production is masterful enough to demonstrate just why he is hip hop's hottest new property. [May 2004, p.111]

An ambitious and surprisingly accomplished album. [May 2004, p.104]

There's little new stylistically... but the results are remarkably strong. [Feb 2004, p.98]

All told, one weird trip. [May 2004, p.102]

Verity Susman's wayward, fragile Nico-lite vocals will either delight you or drive you nuts. [Mar 2003, p.102]

Darnielle's striking way with a phrase makes songs about Milky Ways for breakfast and smelly flats into things of quiet wonder. [Mar 2004, p.107]

Intriguing, stylish stuff. [May 2004, p.111]

[Makes] two known quantities thrillingly new. [May 2004, p.101]

Lostprophets inhabit that old-fashioned place where the young are alright and must overcome the cynicism of the jaded oldster at all costs. [Feb 2004, p.104]

If a brace of previous albums hinted at genre-defying transcendence, Obrigado Saudade attains it. [Mar 2004, p.107]

Baby Monkey has nothing of the danger, adventure or indeed chemical frisson that defined rave culture--it's just smug sonic wallpaper. [Mar 2004, p.113]

So intimate and sad you can almost see the candles flickering. [Mar 2004, p.110]

Air thrive on existing at an otherworldly tangent and their cosmic bent is never far away here. [Feb 2004, p.99]

Wretched. [Dec 2003, p.124]

The B-side was never meant to bear this much relentless inspection. [Feb 2004, p.113]

For all their generic tendencies, these are fertile minds. [Sep 2003, p.106]

Twista's overshadowed by West, but with jacked-up soul tunes such as Overnight Celebrity the result, who cares?

Starsailor, then: not very exciting, but damned reliable. [Oct 2003, p.117]

Three's still something fresh about Stereolab's brand of trippy space pop. [Mar 2004, p.112]