Tendencies toward pop existentialism (song called Nihilist Abyss? Check) and sonic repetition are the cost of this querulous consistency, but her flair for sparely dramatic intensity compels.

It’s all fairly light, but there’s plenty to savour.

Ultimately, Mosquito sees the band reenergised, trying new things and, generally, succeeding.

Despite being a compilation, this collection has an immaculate flow--like all Beach House albums.

Touchstones are many and include Delia Derbyshire (last year they collaborated with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop on an original score to the 70s sci-fi film Le Planete Sauvage) Can, Grace Jones, Moondog, John Carpenter and Grayson Perry’s pop folk art. But, once again, their sound is their own.

It’s fine for the moment and could even earn Krell the spotlight he craves, but when that fad ends, only the smart will survive and graduate to longer term success. Expect to see his mortarboard first and highest up in the air.

How Do You Spell Heaven channels GBV of old.

Cool Ghouls have a very thorough grasp of how psych should be repackaged for today. Animal Races offer harmony-laden 60s folk-rock with a slight slacker feel, not unlike Quilt.

It’s their fuzz-guitar take on Dr Feelgood’s She Does It Right that holds the, ahem, key to the majority of selections. Dan Auerbach and Patrick Casey spend a lot of the record mining the catalogues on non-household names from the world of blues. [May 2026, p.100]

It’s a given that Keith is never short of rhymes, but Feature Magnetic, perhaps in a nod to its title, sees him pass the mic to a lengthy roll call of guests--almost as if he’s the absent heart of his own record. Regardless, it’s undeniably his show.

Poised and exquisitely crafted, Blight's mediations on the effects of human actions are delivered with a gentle sincerity that disarms cynicism. [Nov 2025, p.102]

Throughout the album there’s no doubt that this is a band that knows what it’s doing, whether fiddling about with feedback and distant-thunder drumbeats, or taking the rock blueprint and rearranging it as the group pleases.

There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with the Lemonheads-style chug of the remainder, though it plants its flag firmly in the same sonic terrain they occupied during 2010’s The Dissent Of Man.

Despite being classed as a mini-album running to eight tracks, this is DeMarco’s most fulfilling and cohesive release to date.

There’s something rather standoffish about Tenderness as a whole.

With its best songs vividly referencing the 70s South London landscape of Difford and Tilbrook’s youth, FTCTTG is frequently nostalgic, yet it’s largely upbeat and mostly eminently radio-friendly.

Overall then: heavy, strong and not that long… but not really designed for dabblers.

Neatly produced and performed to sound slick and punchy, Far From Home remains true to the calypso traditions of reportage, wit and joy.

With a voice that sits somewhere between Bill Withers and Dr John (a neat trick), this is soulful, raw and rasping stuff.

In short, sharp bursts, this approach [bubblegum-flavoured power-pop enhanced by youthful, punky vigour] remains a winner, though as Courtneys II’s samey second side reveals, it can just as easily sound formulaic.

While many elements of the 10 “love songs” on Mount Qaf are competent, deftly crafted efforts betraying a lifetime of attention paid to such things, any Walkmen magic is rarely present.

That this is a subtle and seamless love note to music, rather than a case of too many cooks speaks volumes for the man at the helm.

Passionate, eccentric and unafraid of speaking out or baring his ever-beleaguered soul, Moby remains a welcome presence in modern times and certainly does himself no harm with this highly personal statement.

Although Key possesses some lovely moments - an intrigue-filled Fire, the gothic synth-pop of My Right A.R.M., a tender World Without End - many of these re-dos possess a curious lack of energy. [Dec 2024, p.108]

With tracks often constructed with slick funk basslines and sleek electronics, there is much to enjoy in versatile songs that don't outstay their welcome. [Feb 2025, p.102]

These shoegaze lovers from Philadelphia pick up where they left off with their first record in five years. Nothing excel at dynamics. [Mar 2026, p.105]

This is a reasonably entertaining album. [Apr 2026, p.106]

Frontwoman Beth Ditto, as close to a truly classic soul singer as alternative music has served up in the 21st century, is on sumptuous form, at turns forceful and tender as she contemplates love and self-affirmation. [Apr 2024, p.103]