Locates her coffee-cream vocals amid glossy settings ranging from hip hop to gurgling electronica and folk. [Nov 2002, p.105]

Tortoise-pace strumming and a crippling shortage of choruses produce only torpor. [Aug 2002, p.131]

A robust blend of anthemic choruses and electro-tinged riffing, it will appeal to fans of Depeche Mode and Metallica alike. [July 2002, p.112]

Certainly there are some weak tracks... but Long Long Way To Go and Unbelievable are expertly crafted pop-rock tunes. [Aug 2002, p.122]

Almost every track here pales in comparison to the original version. [Sep 2002, p.109]

In size and texture it's closer to 1980's The River than anything since. [Sep 2002, p.111]

A set of songs so cockle-warmingly familiar that you're left scanning the credits to see who did them the first time. [Oct 2002, p.118]

The songs are perfectly pitched, and even the less obviously suited numbers are approached with interpretive genius. [Sep 2002, p.101]

Corny soul pitfalls are navigated via satisfying hooks which erupt every time the four-part harmonies kick in. [Sep 2002, p.101]

Nashville at its most belligerently formulaic. [Nov 2002, p.105]

Not, perhaps, the best overview of their work, but bound to satisfy loyal fans. [Jan 2003, p.123]

Though this is a return to Matthews's more meandering ways, some lessons about conciseness have plainly been learned. [Nov 2002, p.108]

An astonishing reassertion of relevance for Plant. [July 2002, p.118]

The Australian quartet's debut album justifies the fuss that followed its title track's bubblegum approximation of Nirvana. [July 2002, p.121]

This is one of those exquisitely rare records on which maturity and vitality are equally matched. [Aug 2002, p.127]

[Morcheeba] return to what they do best. [July 2002, p.117]

Halos & Horns has Dolly reaching fever pitch with Hello God and, with Not For Me, singing as beautifully as she has ever done. [Aug 2002, p.131]

Nothing here is revolutionary, although the quality of workmanship is undeniable. [July 2002, p.112]

Adam Duritz has vocal warmth and his band create all sorts of lush soundscapes, not a million miles away from a less jazzy Steely Dan. [July 2002, p.112]

A fantastic record, full of wonder. [Aug. 2002, p.118]

Loewenstein's debut is pretty impressive. [Aug 2002, p.128]

Any good news – Liam’s decent fist of songwriting, the less oppressive sound, the professional playing – is rendered largely irrelevant by the gaping chasm where more decent songs should be.

Mature rather than groundbreaking. [May 2002, p.122]

After just six songs and 17 minutes, the future is sounding admirably open-ended. [Oct 2002, p.118]

An essay in coolly assured, sophisticated leftfield rock, occasionally laden with trademark discordance yet also full of scintillating tunes. [June 2002, p.123]

Nellyville doesn't really have any side streets unexplored by the previous Country Grammar, but it's all so good-natured it's hard to object. [Sep 2002, p.111]

This may not be their greatest album to date, but Universal Truths and Cycles is a charming record that shows the Pollard production line remains in good order. [July 2002, p.114]

The synthesised tropical shimmers, buzzings of insects and blat of helicopter blades largely lack the momentum to sustain interest outside the cinema. [Jul 2002, p.112]