An intoxicating approximation of Beach House's gauzy atmospherics. They replicate them skillfully enough but you can't help feeling they're ultimately trying to move into a space that's already taken. [Nov 2017, p.107]

Things get really interesting once the early euphoria fades, with Jenny Hval collaboration Bungl (Like A Ghost) stirring eldritch poetry and fractured jazz into an enthralling mix. [Nov 2017, p.111]

Neither subtle nor very shocking, it still sounds as if Manson, Countess Bathory-style, has received a shot of fresh blood. [Nov 2017, p.111]

There's the occasional intriguing beat and nods to musical theatre. [Nov 2017, p.111]

Killer tunes. The hyperventilating Buccaneers Of Hispaniola is as cheesily brilliant as it sounds. [Nov 2017, p.107]

Not cutting edge, but it;s looking sharp all the same. [Nov 2017, p.111]

Revisitations of several Fall tunes, such as Hotel Bloedel from Perverted By Language, allow her glam spirit to shine, minus MES's obfuscation. New compositions are hot too. [Nov 2017, p.104]

As You Were stands as proof that rock's most charismatic general is back on active service and spoiling for trouble. [Nov 2017, p.102]

The broader palette suits him. [Nov 2017, p.107]

It shouldn't work, but it does and Harrison's melancholic melodies floating above the sonic swamps of London Water and Summertime Police prove that he's operating in no one's shadow. [Nov 2017, p.108]

Ultimately, Qualia's propulsive grooves make it the perfect soundtrack to a journey. [Nov 2017, p.115]

The neverending quest for bangers leads Hurts to lean heavily on foot-stomping choruses to carry songs, but it's to their credit that Desire has a lighter touch than previous albums. [Nov 2017, p.108]

Sampling Michelle Obama on No Man Is Big Enough For My Arms feels glib, while Vale aspires to Solange-like authority but, unlike their voices never quite strikes the right note. [Nov 2017, p.111]

It finds them in rejuvenated form. Their lyrical seriousness is present and correct. [Nov 2017, p.115]

As ever, the Californian threesome's pervasive wackiness is matched by a breathtaking sense of musicality punctuated by Claypool's manic basslines. [Nov 2017, p.112]

Que Aura presents his top-drawer songwriting in the form of new-wave psychedelia, smart guitar-pop and budget R&B. [Oct 2017, p.111]

Their fourth LP is their best yet. [Nov 2017, p.112]

A compelling new Brit-folk triumph. [Nov 2017, p.115]

Conflict was always at the root of Living Colour's sound, and finding a balance remains a challenge; even more so for a group whose members work together so occasionally. [Nov 2017, p.111]

These ate anthemic, headlining songs from a band that is fast becoming one of our finest. [Nov 2017, p.110]

Hallelujah Anyhow is the sound of a man happy in his own skin. [Nov 2017, p.108]

It swaps the ramped-up volume of the past for a jittery urgency that mirrors 21st-century urban Britain. [Nov 2017, p.108]

They're at their most effective when they ease back on the aggro, as on the luminous Side Effects or the '60s-garage pop-influenced Two Birds. [Nov 2017, p.107]

Her marriage of musical gentleness and raw despair takes her to a whole new level. [Nov 2017, p.104]

There is much to savour here. If this is a swansong, it's most definitely a worthy one. [Nov 2017, p.104]

All through, the harmonies are urgent, uplifting and unspun, a reminder that not everything needs a recoat to look perfectly at home. [Nov 2017, p.104]

[Deluxe's] successor is equally likeable. [Oct 2017, p.108]

The most Tricky-like he's sounded in years. [Oct 2017, p.104]