Doom's playing it safe. [Oct 2005, p.133]

These songs never reach catharsis or resolution to their grand queries, but nonetheless find moments of joy in the process of seeking answers.

Tical 0... takes that voice and plugs it into more than a dozen tried-and-true rap templates. [Jun 2004, p.104]

Their jabs cut and the beats burn. [Nov 2004, p.118]

Ambitious, uneven. [Feb 2004, p.96]

The only friction here is between Lord's kewpie chirp and Nick Saloman's guardedly bitter lyrics. [Apr 2004, p.94]

Rutili still crafts a tuneful funeral dirge with the best of them. [Feb 2004, p.104]

Boasts road-toughened guitars and a welcome accusatory edge. [Aug 2003, p.116]

Lerche gets his Burt Bacharach on, flavoring coffee-shop ballads with minor-key chicory. [Apr 2004, p.94]

Conjure[s] the glum glamour of prime Coldplay. [Apr 2003, p.107]

Romance is zippier and tighter than previous beer cries. [Mar 2006, p.95]

Mercer staggers from self-doubt to self-righteousness with each song, concealing razor blades inside his caramel-apple anthems. [Dec 2003, p.133]

Songs like "Fast Cars"... are gregarious, just like the beats, which are playful where Bazooka was ponderous. [Mar 2005, p.85]

Herren has the good collaborative instincts of Handsome Boy Modeling School, but none of their seedy, crowd-pleasing shtick. [Apr 2005, p.108]

Unsurprisingly buoyant. [Oct 2005, p.137]

Wedged into Tigers' delicate array of Byrdsian pop, "Jerk It Out" will either feel like the album's solitary moment of ecstasy (couch potatoes, we're talking about you!) or an annoying distraction in the midst of a solidly assembled set.

Elizondo's zippy production effectively pushes Apple's tendency to plod. [Nov 2005, p.96]

If the idea of an indie-rock Captain & Tennille appeals, there's a berth for you on their love boat. [Nov 2003, p.114]

With help from Squid producer Dan Carey, the band’s core trio (Donald Johnson, Jez Kerr, and Martin Moscrop) have generated a wealth of modern beats and future-shocked textures, all while remaining in touch with their trademark spongy grooves and sharp rhythmic corners.

While the vocals and arrangements are more ambitious and arguably better, there's less free play, less of the goofiness and kewpie-dancehall scatting that defined her. [Jan 2004, p.98]

All over the map. [Feb 2004, p.104]

“Mother and Son” plants its feet and doesn’t move. Much better is “Meek AF,” in which the electro-groove matches Grant’s growl.

The Donnas... have zeroed in on their true obsession: obsession. [Dec 2004, p.117]

Hipster-mocking songs like "Turn Your Back" aren't as funny as the scene they want to outsmart. [May 2003, p.116]

Between these boy-noise roils you can see how much the band want to be their generation's Yes. [Feb 2005, p.87]

It's so London-specific that it almost requires an England-to-English translation for us Yanks. [Feb 2006, p.92]

Goldfrapp downplay the "cinematic" strings in favor of buzzing live-wire synths. [May 2003, p.116]

An eclectic, rippin' record whose only shortcoming is its commitment to artistic quality. [Apr 2005, p.99]