There are some wrong turns, but there's ample fierce flair here to suggest Modern Woman could join the likes of English Teacher at the top of the 2020s class. [May 2026, p.103]

Such a willingness to experiment is often claimed to be the secret of his longevity, and if that throws up the odd clunker now and again, the other results more than make up for them.

Aas Blanck Mass he’s always presented a rawer sound. While his third full-length looks to take that to an extreme, compared to his recent live shows, it falls just slightly flat.

The country-rock songwriting tones of Tired Of Being Alone and Falling Into The Sun are rich and expansive, the themes of finding comfort and purpose in middle-age – whether through rekindled romance (I Left A Light On, I Will Love You), artificial means (Self-Sedation) or self-reflection (Middle Of My Mind) – ring true, and big emotions continue to be captured, seemingly without effort, on their canvas.

Unusually for the average album (which this is decidedly not), every track here is distinctive; a cinematic, mind-scramblingly complex yet cohesive mini-epic.

Though recording since the 90s, Nichols seems to have found his feet by blending his lifelong country, soul, hip-hop and reggae influences then capturing them on tape with the southern soul intimacy of Tony Joe White.

What’s most remarkable about Revival revisited is perhaps not the attention to detail of the arrangements, nor the determination to recapture every last fuzz, thrum, reverb and flourish heard on the first studio versions. Anyone listening to Fogerty’s testifying rasps on Have You Ever Seen The Rain? or Bad Moon Rising 50-plus years ago, might have expected him to have roared himself mute by now. But no, the power and presence of the voice haven’t weakened in the slightest. [Sep 2025, p.104]

Rich, warm and suffused with a lambent light of hope, A Bridge To Far sustains Midlake’s core values with a spirit of care and community that seems built to endure. [Dec 2025, p.102]

While some will still view the album as a 30-minute intro to a track that never starts, others will want to pull this cacophonous duvet up to their chins and luxuriate in what might just be the most sumptuous, atmospheric and varied SunnO))) album to date.

It’s all fine enough, but doesn’t leave much of a lasting impression.

While not quite equal to its predecessor, Divide And Exit offers plenty to get your teeth into.

While the relaxed vibe is continuous, the music isn’t repetitive but there’s nothing really new here: rather it’s an extension of what Sade’s band Sweetback and trumpeter Roy Hargrove’s RH Factor were doing well over a decade ago. Even so, it’s an enthralling fusion of sounds and styles.

The results plugs directly into Tron's AI-apocalypse mainframe. It's the end of teh world as we know it, essentially, but NIN fit in just fine. [Christmas 2025, p.134]

Either titled as a lark, or a worrying admission that, as the 70s dawned, Dylan had run out of ideas and was content to waste everyone’s time with tepid cover recordings.... If anything, it further muddies the waters.

The buoyant Abigail and the jangly dream-pop of Some Sunny Day lend the album some welcome lightness in the face of the melancholy that we all have to endure at times. [Dec 2024, p.108]

Despite the addition in places of cello, e-bow guitar, banjo and synthetic choirs, little has really changed in Eric’s sound or style of delivery, but that’s no bad thing, and the songs are as exquisitely quirky and personal as ever.

Hippopotamus is exactly what you’d expect and more besides.

Starts out as you might expect from an electronic album made by Yorke mid-pandemic: a sort of cold, edgy, distant electronica for a cold, edgy, distant world. .... But in-between, the album takes some unexpected turns. .... An album that resonates in uncertain times. [May 2025, p.104]

Why Make Sense? is a record painted in broad strokes. There are optimistic bangers – that lead single has a scintillating build, taking the listener ever upwards, with Alexis Taylor’s falsetto laced over it; even for Hot Chip, it immediately sounds like a floor-filler. But there are also slow jams.

The feeling you’re left with after listening is one of calm. So, mission accomplished on all counts.

Woolf Works, like SLEEP, is instantly accessible, its noise and careful hand holding often startlingly modern and never once patronising. A thing of beauty.

His distinctive approach, with its palpable rock and country elements is indebted more to Bill Frisell than Wes Montgomery.

The feel that McCombs as an “artist at work”, given carte blanche, is prevalent. Dreaded jams are not cut back, verses sprawling and unpruned. And despite this, his usual delicious chaos seems absent.

Where Simpson truly scores is in the ease with which he ponders life’s bigger questions while couching them in familiar country language and sounds.

In trying times, Wilco have found some joy in creativity and made another album true to themselves, full of “poetry and magic” to console and inspire.

An instrumental album that never fails to hold the listeners attention, with a plethora of quotable passages and delightful moments. A coming of age album.

It’s an ambitious collision of worlds that Holden and The Animal Spirits pull off with style.

Look for signs of grief if you must, but Sparhawk's return is a dramatic adventure on any terms. [Oct 2024, p.103]