Powerful, and relentless in its attack. [Feb 2026, p.103]

The pairing works, and although there are two, even three tracks that verge on the forgettable, the likes of the utterly sublime The Morning Stars, and the way Sick As A Dog builds to its rousing climax of “I use the same voice I always have,” more than compensate.

Goodbye Weekend sees DeMarco take issue with his critics, particularly the way his sometimes bizarre live shows have been reported. On this evidence, his talent should be celebrated. Salad Days, indeed.

Insanely rich with ideas, hooks, smart artifice and real emotion, From The Pyre is a feast of giddy raptures. [Nov 2025, p.102]

Veirs has honed her craft over nine studio LPs, and this album reveals her at the height of her powers--a record that verges on pop, in the same way that a Magnetic Fields record might, though “pop” seems too reductive a term for the layers of artistry at work here.

A riot of synth squelches, bleeps and wibbles threaten to derail the music yet never quite do; indeed, repeated listens to the likes of Love Is Blind reveal a wealth of riches hidden among the dense patchwork of sounds.

If the trappings are lovably stiff and arthritic, the songs are zeitgeist thunderbolts--especially so when a baying, screaming audience charges the very air with O-face abandon.

Give yourself over to what’s not only a 21st-century masterpiece, but also something timeless that will resonate whenever you find it.

This is the distilled, finely crafted essence of Bunyan: a hushed, reflective meditation of an album that seems to have the welcome effect of cancelling out the world around the listener.

To the end, Saint Etienne have never faltered on their mission statement. Magic is here. Believe. [Sep 2025, p.103]

The joy of this collaboration lies in Wells’ music. It’s a more varied affair than its predecessor.

It contains some stupendous playing from both men, whose repertoire covers old bop numbers and several original tunes.

This isn’t folk-rock, it’s folk-rock’n’roll.

Maybe after the stresses and strains of the past couple of years we need a familiar embrace to soothe away our pain. Raise The Roof fits the bill, even if it might win fewer prizes for originality than its predecessor.

I Was Real’s resulting stew is even more disparate than what came before – this time out, you can add boogie (Tetuzi Akiyama), jigs (WZN#3 (Verso)) and pure drone to the mixer – but still with the singular vision to bring everything together into one harmonious, joyous, borderless whole.

The results are simple, subtle arrangements that highlight their song craft.

Angel In Plainclothes is an intensely quiet - and quietly intense - listening experience that infuses itself into your veins. [May 2026, p.101]

She was a frontwoman, but with a sound that was markedly different to anything that had come before. Tourist In This Town sees a continuation of this exploration, with album opener Broad Daylight shifting from a cappella into an alt.rock crescendo with underlying electronics.

“I’ve got nothing left to say but that’s alright,” he sings in Sunday Morning Feeling, but the 13 intense, joyous tracks here suggest otherwise.

It took a while, but this album is certainly worth the wait. [May 2024, p.103]

The Car is a slick mover, immaculately appointed and often beautiful. What it’s driving at, though, can feel naggingly elusive.

It's a serious, pensive album that makes its points with articulacy and no risk of ever outstaying its welcome. [Feb 2025, p.104]

Sharpening her songs' focus and melodies with spartan precision. [May 2026, p.101]

A mere 36 minutes in length, it’s an all-killer no-filler triumph.

A layered, atmospheric, darkly playful headrush of a first offering.

He's ultimately birthed another milestone. [Jul 2024, p.107]

Her finest album to date and one to live with and cherish; that explains the name then.

The pressures of everyday living crop up again on the confessional Anxiety and Something To Love, while White Man’s World serves up a thick slice of barbed social commentary. He’s at his most heartbreaking, however, on Chaos And Clothes, chronicling the aftermath of a doomed romance.