A stark, erratic, and perversely back-loaded collection. [Mar 2006, p.96]

These reimaginings... unlock some interesting textures suggested by [Black's] still-scratchy vocals. [Dec 2004, p.118]

This quasi-funky, horn-section-assisted record demonstrates that as a jazz vocalist, Ani's a fine folk singer. [Apr 2003, p.107]

What passed for refreshing last year is merely rote here. [Dec 2005, p.105]

Offers modest formal thrills without much depth beneath its glimmering surfaces. [Apr 2005, p.107]

Unfortunately, the elements that clicked so well on "Giuliani" prove an awkward fit on !!!'s sophomore full-length. [Jul 2004, p.111]

She tries to be jokey, warm, even friendly on occasion--but she also sounds awkward. [Jul 2004, p.105]

What's most British about the Music is their tendency to try way too hard. [Apr 2003, p.108]

Rich-guy gripes, Ying Yang booty boasts, and label-politics rundowns don't wear nearly as well as his amicable down-homey side. [Apr 2006, p.91]

Dr. Dog can capture the irreverence and fun of their influences, but the Dylan-esque rambling and McCartney-indebted harmonies ultimately click too briefly, only inducing nostalgia for the moments when Dr. Dog shines.

It's weird how this spiral of genial melodic plaints can sound so weak and self-pitying when it's sung by a pushy dude and not a smart, empathetic woman with a voice. [Feb 2006, p.87]

The production is muddy, the sentiments vague. [June 2003, p.105]

The harpoons that Paul hurls at the industry's blubber have lost their edge. [June 2003, p.105]

Hazy, almost-there stadium anthems that don't quite fill the stadium. [Sep 2003, p.115]

While it offers clear highlights—“Run On,” “Holy Winter,” and “Time Goes By” feel like hallmark songs—its loud-quiet-loud pattern is predictable. This is well-trod territory for MONO, never reaching the emotional heights and cerebral intensity of Hymn to the Immortal Wind, the surprising instrumentation or disco-like drums of Pilgrimage of the Soul, or the more nuanced thematic play of the Dante-inspired Requiem for Hell.

Banhart brings the peace and love, but not the understanding. [Sep 2005, p.104]

Most of Digital's songs seem somewhat suffocated. [Feb 2005, p.85]

Music as spooky--and ultimately as sterile--as the hospital scrubs and surgical masks they wear onstage. [Sep 2004, p.120]

Harper's a master of no genre. [May 2003, p.111]

His third album mostly shelves the wit and sui generis style-clash. [Jun 2005, p.108]

They've de-funned rebellion and turned it into a task. [Oct 2004, p.109]

The Dream of Delphi paints boldly at times, but the overall picture is uneven.

No longer the self-obsessed antihero, Slug continues his shift to serious storyteller, but the narratives here lack coherence and detail, while the music - ominous piano, lonely guitar - feels sketchy, like partial demos.

A prog-rock field trip that will give Diary fans something (else) to cry about. [Dec 2003, p.128]

While Gap is tougher and more fun than 1998's bland debut, Behind the Front, the Peas just aren't that good. [Nov. 2000, p.209]

With tighter, mercifully shorter songs, like the Slayer-meets-slash trasher 'Almost Easy,' they're now defiling America's youth with more substance than style. [Nov 2007, p.114]

It's more cerebral than aggressive.... A derivative effort that makes Keenan sound less talented than he actually is. [Oct 2003, p.105]

Some songs function well as singularities, particularly “New Level” and “Grandma,” which showcase a few of Ferg’s best qualities in spurts, but as a complete work, Always Strive and Prosper is a misfire that presses to be greater than the sum of its parts.