This London group's second studio album is pleasant but rather uneventful. [Sep 2007, p.129]

It just might be a masterpiece all over again. [Nov 2007, p.118]

Wiley only occassionally departs from the script. [Oct 2007, p.112]

The duo's effortless ability to plunder electronic genres without losing their identity makes Attack consistently fresh. [Oct 2007, p.111]

His lonesome drawl may sound arresting when it's 3 a.m. and you're stumbling home from the bar, but maudlin tunes like 'You Don't Feel Like Home to Me' and 'Some Tragedy' need more than quietly strummed minor chords to sell their hard-luck laments. [Oct 2007, p.104]

Qui's huffing skree just doesn't have the immediacy of the Lizard's Zep thud. But Yow's ragged bellow has aged nicely into a wheezing croon. [Oct 2007, p.108]

Too many perfectly good songs that never quite approach greatness. [Oct 2007, p.108]

Frontman Adam Olenius lobs his bon mots over tunes that borrow from Beck, the Velvet Underground, Bright Eyes, and the Cure. But when Olenius waxes roantic and serves up yet another ace, it's hard to complain. [Oct 2007, p.110]

It's gleefully cheeky, but a little safe. [Oct 2007, p.96]

While his unapologetically Dylan-esque vocals grate on weaker tunes, gems like the softly rollicking 'Time is a Lion' allow Henry to step out with a quiet roar. [Oct 2007, p.104]

On his 11th album, this musician's musician once again finds a coterie of like minds--Fugazi's Guy Picciotto, members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor--to help turn chronic disquiet into disturbingly palpable dread-folk.

This is no slavish style bite by Euro pretenders; it's a delectable refiguring.

Though his global messages aren't particularly deep, his skilled, spirited execution sets him apart from other peacenik troubadours. [Oct 2007, p.101]

'Houseclouds' is dance pop of hit-worthy catchiness and the taut, pounding 'Freak Out' puts to shame most contemporary psych outfits. [Sep 2007, p.133]

[Aesop Rock's voice] Paired with the Long Island rapper's abstract, self-aware lyrics, it makes None Shall Pass a challenging, rewarding head trip. [Sep 2007, p.122]

Bring on the Comets is ultimately a bland regression. [Sep 2007, p.138]99

He finally gives his dark, dense instrumentals room to breathe on his fifth album. [Sep 2007, p.136]

Some halfhearted rhymes linger, but contagiously energetic political jams such as 'Cold War' make it easy to forget that it's been three years since anyone heard of Le Tigre. [Sep 2007, p.136]

Lifeline is a commanding, unjammy take on gospel-influenced rock, featuring his most spiritual singing since 2004's Grammy-winning collaboration with the Blind Boys of Alabama.

Akron/Family provide consistent backing, but it's Gira's array of violins, "krautabilly" electric guitar, accordion, and choral vocals that turn the tunes inside out.

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]

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

M.I.A.'s border-crossing dance pop is a revolutionary manifesto set to the victory-party vibe of the future. [Sep 2007, p.127]

The melodic sense of Newman and cowriter Dan Bejar keep things from stalling out. [Sep. 2007, p.136]

Lewis' wordplay smartly unspools over the course of a song--with 'Breakin' Up,' she creates a 'Since U Been Gone' for grown-ups, and on '15,' narrates an Internet jailbait vignette without melodrama or moralizing. [Sep 2007, p.132]

Snaith now claims he's taking time to composae songs, rather than winging it out in the studio, and these sticky-pop confections are the result, full of lithe vocals, swooping keyboards, distant drums, and assorted benign flashbacks. [Sep 2007, p.124]

Though Kweli can't change his voice he was born with, he needs to figure out how to make it as compelling as his material. [Sep 2007, p.133]

On this foursome's fourth collection of infectious indie pop, they downplay the sly smirking of the past. [Sep 2007, p.132]