As radio-friendly as Radiohead are not. [Sep 2001, p.120]

Yet when they stop arsing around for the sake of it, Blink-182 write some very good pop songs. [Aug 2001, p.124]

While the wheel remains un-reinvented, The Invisible Band finds its mark with unerring accuracy.

Sounding rusty before even seeing daylight, Deep Down & Dirty is as enticing as those other averagely pleasant 1992 albums currently taking up valuable drawer-space in the back room.

Just think how much more she could do with that glorious voice. [#180, p.112]

It's full of clever rhymes and couplets, overflowing with wit and evocative charm, all set to the kind of arrangements that Harry Nilsson always dreamed of. [Aug 2001, p.142]

Her aching sincerity’s another major plus; that she can get away with Caged Bird’s Stevie Wonder-isms and Fallin’s near plagiarism of James Brown’s It’s A Man’s World speaks volumes.

Enjoyable, but a gold star or two short of his 1997 masterpiece, Other Songs.

Either Yorke’s lyrics are better this time, or the comparative voluptuousness of the vocal performances make it easier to tune in, or we’ve finally grasped what he’s been getting at since abandoning OK Computer’s more straightforward man-vs-society musings.

For the most part, Beyond Good & Evil roots itself between Metallica, nu-metal and the slightly psychedelic ambience of '85's Love: the band's pre-metal apex. [Aug 2001, p.124]

Apart from the slow-burning, spine-tingling opener Electronic Performers, though, the duo seem reluctant to exploit their remarkable gift for melody, and tunes are too often mangled or left to fizzle out.

This album - musically more extravagant, lyrically just as searching - takes its place at the shoulder of 1994's Stones In The Road as her best yet.

Stealing the riff from Sweet Jane wholesale as the basis of a song would seem to speak of a band who aren't exactly pushing the envelope or alive to the possibility of change. [Aug 2001, p.128]

It's the tender slow rollers that really clinch this supreme collection. [#180, p.97]

There are too many skits, but there's still more than enough fun to go round. [#180, p.108]

Sadly, there's also a depressing quantity of mush and devotion, totally at odds with his grinding best. [Sep 2001, p.122]

Over three albums Echobelly seemed confused as to whether to flog the pixie-esque appeal of singer Sonya Aurora Madan and seek the big money, go for the political jugular or just to pretend to be daft old hippies. Judging by People Are Expensive, the trio still haven't wholly resolved the dilemma...

This album should seduce fans of Red House Painters or American Music Club. [Oct/Nov 2001, p.130]

Recaptures their hallmark bright-eyed power-pop sound while rarely scaling fresh heights. [#184, p.135]

Sigur Ros's second album proper features this astonishing opener ["Svefn-G-Englar"] and 10 others which, while surprisingly diverse, each reflects their penchant for apocalyptic serenity, overdriven guitars and teenage singer Jonsi's Birgisson unique Hopelandish language.

In fact Gahan, whose ill health hampered the making of Ultra, has rarely sound more potent. This time it's Martin Gore who's out of puff. No amount of fashionable tweaking can hide the flimsiness of his offerings...

The 11 [songs] selected for The Green Album hark back to the keenly observed power pop of Weezer's multi-platinum '94 debut, and there isn't a bad apple among them. [Aug 2001, p.142]

It's a landmark album for REM and the fans who stayed faithful, a shot in the arm for music in 2001 and - unless they're too foolish to accept it - a long-awaited treat for all the listeners who bailed out after Monster.

Ultimately, it's Tool's experimental, borderline progressive, edge that proves most rewarding. [Aug 2001, p.141]

Dark and knotty, Open takes a while to win you over but when it does, it hangs around in your head like an unpaid debt.

All this introspection wouldn't be so bad if Stained put a bit of oomph behind it, but the musical changes lack dynamism and frame the groaning vocals almost reverentially. [#180, p.111]

Black Market Music feels like a watershed, a merely good record after a great one, and that in itself is disappointing.

When the Crowes stumble into the right place, they soar. Indeed, at its best, their sixth album delivers the same streamlined pleasures that the group rediscovered on 1999's By Your Side.