There's something pleasingly nostalgic about this second LP from the Wirral's Hooton Tennis Club. [Dec 2016, p.1109]

A bold experiment with plenty of flavour. [Dec 2016, p.105]

As playful as they are serious and as innovative as they are traditional, this is surely what Syd Arthur set out to be. [Dec 2016, p.115]

It's a real showcase for their strengths. [Dec 2016, p.115]

There's nothing groundbreaking here, but these songs will surely be lots of fun to play live. [Dec 2016, p.115]

Deeply ambiguous yet wittily epigrammatic, You Want It Darker is all one might want from a final testament, short of cosy reassurance. [Dec 2016, p.114]

Earthly's songs of early-20-something kicks and empowerment prove enduringly infectious over repeated listens. [Dec 2016, p.113]

Ultimately, Powell's capricious nature gets the better of him and as soon as he settles into a groove, as on the Factory Floor-like Junk, he sabotages it with a discordant sample-crash like Gettin' Paid To Be yourself. [Dec 2016, p.113]

Having survived some rough patches, they've made adjustments and becomes as warm, robust and satisfying as a cuddle in front of the TV. [Dec 2016, p.111]

It's the most vital-sounding record he's made in years. [Dec 2016, p.110]

With its beauty and sonic twists, Citizen Of Class is a thing of quiet wonder. [Dec 2016, p.110]

A muffled production makes it difficult to glean exactly what he's so cross about, but for all its catharsis, the furious intensity and bangarang clutter mask the absence of real tunes. [Dec 2016, p.110]

It's actually the album's introspective second half which proves most affecting. [Dec 2016, p.110]

You have to salute Jaar's ambitious, freewheeling approach, but a little more cohesion would've sealed it. [Dec 2016, p.109]

Warm, understated and authoritative, Day Breaks demands you lean in and listen. [Dec 2016, p.109]

It's all slick, sassy and infectious, but she's clearly capable of being much more besides. [Dec 2016, p.109]

Skeleton Tree is untouchable. [Dec 2016, p.108]

Chrissie Hynde still answers to no one and it's a glorious sound. [Dec 2016, p.107]

The results can veer wildly from the alluring to the downright alarming. Yet Gately's ear for melody holds it all together. [Dec 2016, p.106]

An appropriately violent swansong, then. [Dec 2016, p.106]

It's enjoyable inventive stuff, although the world music influences and Perry's scat singing style can make him sound unnervingly like Sting at times. [Dec 2016, p.106]

Keane fans will be happily familiar with the piano-heavy pop-rock, but those who wanted a little more grit will fine it in spades on The Wave. [Dec 2016, p.105]

The Last Hero won't make them any new friends, but those they have won't be disappointed. [Dec 2016, p.105]

Whether that relatively small selection of highlights justifies buying this package is a moot point. It may depend on whether there is something of interest in the sound of great talent stuck in a deep rut. [Nov 2016, p.116]

Plenty of opportunities to put your hands in the air, but, ultimately, you may not care. [Nov 2016, p.108]

Amazingly, this weird, consciously retro amalgam of Van Dyke Parks, Big Star and Queen actually works. [Nov 2016, p.111]

Unfortunately there's no left-field motion, no unexpected turns, none of the twist'n'crawl that separated them from the workaday pack. [Nov 2016, p.102]

[In The Now] doesn't stray too far from the latter-day Bee Gee template as songs such a s Grand Illusion, Star Crossed Lovers and the swooning ballad The Long Goodbye combine harmonies with memorable melodies. [Nov 2016, p.105]