Midway through, the sound of Lowery and co's batteries running down becomes almost audible.

Droll, baffling and brilliant in equal measure. [Mar 2002, p.128]

The nine songs retain an insular, slept-in charm, with the same Californian Nick Drake brief as Mojave 3.

An often-inspired collection of eccentric pop songs and unexpected proggy workouts. [July 2002, p.108]

A superb piece of work. [Apr 2002, p.117]

Few bands epitomise so well the virtues of not fixing that which isn't broken.

From rock riffs to cheesy electronics, nothing is off limits here, the gurgling stream of playful beats and gorgeous melodies carried along on a tide of Can's dreamy krautrock, ambient instrumental bliss and infectious '70s rock grooves.

The tracks featuring Prince soundalike vocalist Harrison Crump are as fine as ever - dreamy, melodic, melancholy.... The trouble is, elsewhere, this ladies man seems convinced that a woman talking (especially in a European accent) is all the melody anyone could possibly need.

This is a complex record, full of bleak lyrical themes, but it's also riveting, hypnotic and really very good indeed.

A heartening set of high speed melody, humanism and pessimism.

The new electronic direction is likely to lose more fans than it gains.

Napolitano's lyrics exemplify the "perfect turn of word" for which she praises Bryan Ferry in a tribute song called Roxy. [Jan 2002, p.98]

Future Songs is minimalist and alien, haunted and pained: like a bloodless Cocteau Twins.

Their debut bears the hallmarks of carefully assembled, widescreen pop-rock.

An underwhelming, cursory thing. [Mar 2002, p.125]

Although RZA tries crisply updating his trademark murk for the new rap age, the results rarely cohere. [Jan 2002, p.108]

By manically pinballing between ideas, Rock Steady soon flirts with disaster. [Dec 2001, p.119]

What on paper sounds like an awkward hotch-potch, actually makes for an hugely enticing, fluid record.

This really is a joy. [Dec 2001, p.121]

On occasion, Ludacris fumbles the ball... but he can certainly mix it with the big boys. [Jan 2002, p.104]

Goddess In The Doorway is the work of a man who is generally interested and occasionally inspired. [#184, p.135]

While the lyrical freedom of Dear Diary, My Vietnam, and Family Portrait is refreshing, stylistically they are less than revolutionary. [Jan 2002, p.105]

While he boasts none of the verbal dexterity of Eminem, he takes America's Dumb & Dumber obsession and has mighty fun with it. [Jan 2002, p.102]

In places, though, the live show is a little too freeform and rambling. The 11 new studio tracks on CD2 are much more focused.... [Dec 2001, p.131]

His most consistent work since 1991's Diamonds And Pearls, although you'll need to ignore the peculiar narrative episodes in order to fully enjoy it. [Jan 2002, p.106]

O'Rourke revisits the lush orchestration and dreamy atmospherics he pioneered in Gastr Del Sol, but hanging out with Thurston Moore also appears to have had an effect. [Dec 2001, p.128]

Patchy and sometimes plodding... but that gruff, urgent voice remains a potent instrument in the right setting. [Feb 2002, p.106]

At times her dark warnings about the devil and bluesy intonation sound affected, but full marks for trying out new ground. [Dec 2001, p.127]