For simian disco, electro-pop remixes by DFA and Hot Chip stand out amid Disc 2's uneven DJ fodder. [Jan 2008, p.98]

It plays like a retrospective of his signature sounds. [Apr 2008, p.100]

Though the 16-track set achieves no sonic heights, Assbring's stirring lyrics and faint yet convincing delivery convey heartbreak gracefully. [May 2008, p.98]

Despite being so joyously engulfed by Sia’s voice, the songs come over as dispossessed orphans, all a variation on that same theme of being lost and held down by overbearing powers and temptations.

It's comforting to learn that Lady Gaga's supposed dark side--The Fame Monster offers a flipside to The Fame's sexy fun--is just as fun-loving and club-rousing as the songs that made her famous, because, really, her playful façade is a huge part of her appeal.

Each song boasts a memorable harmonic shift or guitar filigree or hook, but successive listens reveal an overstuffed package whose melodic involutions aren't complex and/or simple enough to sustain more than an hour's worth of music.

It won't satisfy hook-hungry Jewel fans, but Learn to Sing wears Hersh's experience like a custom-tailored hair shirt. [Feb 2007, p.84]

Something is definitely missing on A Better Tomorrow: not necessarily the cryptic slang and mythology, but that RZA and the other members haven't found something to replace what stood them apart from the crowd.

Gift of Screws boasts a lot of attractive touches, from the lovely acoustic guitar of 'Bel Air Rain' to the crashing chorus of 'Love Runs Deeper,' but less polish would add some soul to the mix.

Raise the Dead works best when power takes a backseat to pop. [May 2008, p.106]

Never mind that they still haven’t quite figured out the right formula; for all of their renewed gumption, improved production, and flair with the pen, Pity Sex remain limited by their narrow emotional range and over-reliance on their influences.

[Producer] Michael Lockwood lets her coast along over bland accompaniment. [Oct 2002, p.114]

Unfortunately, those songs are slight, unfocused things.

Sparta have evolved, with a melodic approach and a postdepression, fist-pumping attitude. [Nov 2006, p.104]

Steadfastly chirping crescendos, whinnying breakbeat stampedes, and the odd evocative vocal.

The band offers their richest, most eclectic accompaniment yet. [Sep 2007, p.122]

Re-Up's wordplay outstrips their production. [Sep 2008, p.122]

The journey is less emotionally fraught than her best work, but just as revealing.

There are just enough bright spots to make this all worthwhile for those too old to wear BAPE.

The deceptive lack of star power would be less of an issue if there was more here to break up the album’s mid-tempo monotony.

Refining Gutter Tactics' murky metal rap with subwoofer bass frequencies and fierce drum programming, MC Dälek and producer the Oktopus still find inspiration amid the noise.

The lyrics are certainly emotional, as he says, but there’s an immediacy to them that feels new for DeMarco, and it doesn’t always suit the music.

Aside from its sheer heft, though, it's hard to imagine it converting anyone who doesn't already care.

Adeptly recorded both through the board and from the audience, Remember is a microcosm of the band's career--an ambitious mess.

Much of 4 feels like beautifully baroque soundtrack music desperately seeking a movie about a rainy afternoon.

The album is their most straightforward yet. Fortunately it's not short on the witty lyrics and solid songwriting that always kept them from being a novelty act. [Aug 2007, p. 109]

When he sticks to cheeky storytelling, the album gains grimy traction, but empty dirges like 'Pacemaker' send it drifting into novelty territory. [Oct 2007, p.112]

There’s plenty of groan-inducing lyrical inanity, and one can only assume the reggae-rock abomination 'Beat on Repeat' was a misguided effort to branch out. Sometimes the middle of the road is the proper path.