A perfect, if bittersweet, swansong. [Dec 2024, p.107]

Both songs [Stained Glass and Same Sun] lack that extra dynamic, and instead plod along in somewhat tepid one-dimensionality. Somehow, though, that doesn’t break the dreamy, wistful spell of the album as a whole.

Vocally, Leaving Meaning is especially strong, with an atypical abundance of words appearing to have pushed Gira to experiment with their delivery.

The thing about Mulcahy is that he can try on all of these voices and it never once feels contrived, the sensitivity of his readings means you believe in him. That, along with the quality and variety of songwriting makes Possum a rare gift.

Evil Spirits is their best work in 35 years, so if you last heard them performing Eloise on Top Of The Pops or haven’t purchased one of their albums since Strawberries, then it’s time to give them another hearing.

First single Town And Country is a band-backed hymn to city-loving Wainwright’s current lifestyle that adds a touch of rock’n’roll pizzazz to proceedings.

At this stage, it’s almost impossible to grasp that Opeth were once a bona fide death metal band, though more aggressive songs such as Voice Of Treason remind you that they’ve never lost their edge.

One concern is that the real country stuff takes time to arrive. When it does, on the pedal-steel-powered Just Pleasing You and the Western swinging If You Lived Here, You’d Be Home Now, The Traveling Kind delivers on its title.

This is more the work of a road-hardened posse, as opposed to the more introspective troubadour of more recent times, the frontman’s now spitting out odes to blue collar pride (The Firebreak Line, If Mama Coulda Seen Me).

A welcome return to form.

Born Horses was a slow process – Donahue compares the patient approach to recognising the “statue already inside the marble” – but it has given rich rewards; a change in focus that remains unmistakably Mercury Rev. [Oct 2024, p.98]

An astonishingly talented family, most of them have made records of note on their own over the last year or so, but this union is something very special indeed.

True, distinction is not at a premium. But if the job for now is to keep mosh-pits lively while adding chasers of personality and long-term promise, the melodiously snarky Pull The Other One and all-together-now anthem Formidable offer crowning evidence of a job well done.

A dynamic, bluesy set that energetically declares itself from the outset. [Jun 2024, p.103]

Vocalist Maria McKee's pure, twangy holler takes centre-stage on the early Lone Justice setlist staple Rattlesnake Mama and a Benmont Trench-led swing through MC5's Sister Anne. [Dec 2024, p.107]

All the blatantly audible influences become irrelevant, leaving Cigarettes After Sex with a sound of its own, created with scant tools and seemingly minimal effort. Like the best sleight of hand magicians, the trick’s conjured before you, then gone.

The wait is worth it. IV consists of 10 expansive and eclectic songs that straddle genres and push boundaries.

It’s only on standout track, Kangaroo, that you could at any point pigeonhole PVT’s latest sound (in this instance, club banger). The remainder is far too elusive, a fusion of too many elements. Not confused, just produced in confusing times.

Kind of like almost any Dylan covers album, really, you just wish the man himself were doing this.

Consistent with the band’s work since All Is Dream, wide-eyed odes to the elements are interspersed with fragile ruminations on relationships. A welcome return.

It’s a fascinating and most worthy archival release.

Craft’s intention is to take the listener “off into the clear night of Joshua Tree” and there are certainly moments when he achieves that. It’s not quite the same Joshua Tree of Gram Parsons or U2 but that’s the thing about deserts--they bring you up against yourself.

The man is a master guitarist--and an unflashy one, content to let a wash of pedal steel or a sprig of piano commandeer the songs.

On the whole, for an artist so spectral and kaleidoscopic, Upside Down Mountain is a pretty sweet ride.

often esoteric and elusive, EXPO is also a warmly alluring art-rock declaration of determined intent. [Feb 2026, p.103]

An extremely welcome return for Rangda, The Heretic’s Bargain finds the fanciful jam wranglers at the peak of their powers.

Undeniably well-crafted as the hooks are, over a whole album they sound hollow and forced. [Oct 2024, p.101]

Indigo Park is effortlessly one of the most intriguing, accomplished, inventive and rewarding records of Hornsby’s long career, rich in the mellow vibes of his most radio-friendly past recordings, but at the same time resolutely, restlessly pushing envelopes, and its perpetually inspired maker. [Apr 2026, p.102]