Cory Hanson's solo debut holds itself very upright, eyes straight ahead, creating the sense that its elegant parlour-folk could topple into mania at any moment. [Jan 2017, p.107]

For all the tastefully understated harmonies and lush orchestration there are times his beats could use a shot of caffeine. [Jan 2017, p.104]

To their credit, they've not taken the easy route by simply cutting the bombast and hoping for the best. [Jan 2017, p.112]

Its best moments--Around The Bend, Traveller--are all about Wainwright, her elasticated voice and deft melodies. [Jan 2017, p.115]

Eternally Even retains James's parent band's mystery and washes of sound, but it's underpinned both by his conspiratorial, intimate vocals and a new-found, tacit anger on an album brought forwards to coincide with the US election. [Jan 2017, p.114]

Sande's second album doesn't always sound quite so revelatory [as her debut]: anguished intensity often masks a lack of musical spark, the draggy acoustic trawl of Give Me Something sounding like her namesake Adele at her least bothered. She is much more engaging when she operates at full-grown throttle. [Jan 2017, p.113]

An album that seeks to pull you under from the off and that, by and large, succeeds. [Jan 2017, p.112]

It's a nocturnal-sounding affair--with the spectrally moody title track, the bleepy poetry of Writer and the Kid A vibes of JFK. Taken together, FLOTUS is a beautiful thing. [Jan 2017, p.108]

Sister Wolf and Justine, Misery Queen highlighting the pair's ability to twist their songs into new, potently alluring shapes. [Jan 2017, p.107]

Mortality hangs heavy over this music, but Collins, ultimately, makes it deathless. [Jan 2017, p.107]

While the album title may echo the Liverpool indie-pop outfit of Driving Away from Home fame, Iron Lung's brooding intensity and Peter Hook-inspired bassline sound as if they've been teleported directly from Factory records circa 1981. [Jan 2017, p.104]

Flawed though it is, this brave and canny album hits the reset button and buys her a future. [Jan 2017, p.105]

You've got the novelty of a live album that borders on essential. [Jan 2017, p.104]

McClure says he's regressed to the catchy rock essentials after years spent experimenting: smart move. [Jan 2017, p.104]

By the time disc one wraps with the anthemic Halo On Fire, Metallica have already produced the excellent album expected of them. [Jan 2017, p.109]

In short: superb. [Dec 2016, p.106]

The desire to do something different is admirable, but the results are unfocused, like a collection of B-sides to singles that never existed. [Dec 2016, p.112]

It's a few tracks longer than it needs to be, but City Club is their best collection of songs to date. [Dec 2016, p.106]

A variable trip. [Dec 2016, p.105]

In short: challenging stuff. [Dec 2016, p.113]

Any darkness never overwhelms an album which feels as welcoming as an unscheduled drink with an old friend. [Dec 2016, p.110]

Two Vines is a leap forward for pop's most enchanting odd couple. [Dec 2016, p.102]

Engagingly eccentric. [Dec 2016, p.110]

The sound of a man taking his giant leap forwards. They're out of the indie ghetto forever now. [Dec 2016, p.104]

They're at their best when they keep it succinct, as on I'm Still Believing and Another Dimension. Their longer songs are less successful. [Dec 2016, p.115]

The twosome have cooked up something special. [Dec 2016, p.113]

Although they're heavily fracking the '70s, they're doing so with a punky precision that keeps them on the right side of oddball. [Dec 2016, p.113]

At its worst, it's tired and turgid, but neither is it hopeless or without hope. [Dec 2016, p.109]