[Sey] struggles to find a style that's truly her own on an album that see-saws between brooding electronic blues and expansive pop ballads. [Dec 2015, p.113]

There's talent here and with a slight upping of the serotonin levels next time round, Real Lies could yet be onto something. [Dec 2015, p.112]

All We Need is a lot more powerful, and a heap more fun, when it aims for transcendence. [Dec 2015, p.112]

It's all a disarmingly easy listen, even if their sugar-spun harmonies at times prove a touch too sweet. [Dec 2015, p.112]

Amid the shiny licks, the hallmarks of his previous work remain. [Dec 2015, p.111]

If there's one gripe, it's that the quality control becomes a little more relaxed as For The Company progresses. [Dec 2015, p.110]

Too often, when Janet needs Jam & Lewis to "gimme a beat," they don't. [Dec 2015, p.108]

Intricate and precise, Be Small doesn't demand attention--but slowly and very smartly, it secures it just the same. [Dec 2015, p.108]

This feels like a flying visit through an impromptu victory party. [Dec 2015, p.107]

This is music to get lost in. [Dec 2015, p.106]

Old dogs, old tricks, but when the tricks are this good why would you want new ones? [Dec 2015, p.106]

An exhilarating workout for mind and soul. [Dec 2015, p.103]

This second effort even has the edge on 2012's The Light The Dead See, with an extra-dazzling cinematic sweep to its orchestration, a poleaxing depth to its existential sorrows and a fabulously redemptive uplift in the climatic My Sun. [Dec 2015, p.107]

At 65-plus minutes' duration, Honeymoon's submarine/somnambulant vibe does rather overstay its welcome. [Dec 2015, p.115]

There's plenty of schmaltzy cobblers on Another Country, too, but the good bits are just about worth hanging in there for. [Dec 2015, p.114]

Musically, it sticks to bardic folk ramble or--as on the brilliantly bilious Have A baby--bubblepunk aggro, but lyrically, Lewis is still finds new paths zig-zagging through his familiar patch. [Dec 2015, p.109]

Funny, provocative and concise at 10 tracks, Bleed is the sound of a powerful and unique voice back on peak form. [Dec 2015, p.105]

Liberated from Elbow's obligation to write at least a few songs big enough for arena stages and radio playlists, Garvey revels in lovingly crafted intimacy. [Dec 2015, p.102]

This is one of those albums you can leave to steep. [Nov 2015, p.

The voice and their lyrics sit differently, somehow, against Knopf's arrangements, which can be by turns delicate, mischievous and furious. [Nov 2015, p.105]

The songs struggle to cause any real emotional damage. [Nov 2015, p.108]

[The album] works best when vocal-free, telling its story through tone, not text. [Nov 2015, p.111]

There's no shortage of good ideas, and Brettin clearly doesn't take himself too seriously, but next time he'd be advised to leave the bong at the studio door. [Nov 2015, p.112]

Big, major-chord jams and subtly political messages abound. [Nov 2015, p.113]

The follow-up mostly reverts to the synth-oriented dream-poppiness of 2010's Halcyon Digest. [Nov 21015, p.107]

If there's a weakness it's Hutchcraft's florid vocal style. [Nov 2015, p.111]

Even when HitNRun improves, it implies creative drought. [Nov 2015, p.102]

Hopefully they'll focus on [their country roots] next time. [Nov 2015, p.104]