Insufferably vacuous.

The feeling I'm left with, after 'Your Hand In Mine' ebbs away, is that I may never need another instrumental album like this again. The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place has already provided what may be the ideal version. And for that, it is absolutely essential.

Sure, this is a very *accomplished* album by a band who can play their instruments: organs, pianos and strings sit gracefully beside each other, and there are some deft vocal harmonies, but The Thrills simply don’t have the songwriting skill or the sheer personality to make this anything more than a passable debut.

Review 1: <A HREF="http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=1418" TARGET="_blank">This is what they do- they don’t ape other bands. They ape pop music. And they do it better than any other band right now.</A> [score=80]; Review 2: <A HREF="http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=1419" TARGET="_blank">33 minutes and 34 seconds of the SAME album!</A> [score=65]

The majority of the album is comprised of covers that don&#146;t deviate enough from the source material to validate their existence.

Review 1: <A HREF="http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=1416" TARGET="_blank">Ultimately, Closer doesn&#146;t disappoint and represents a legitimate fifth installment in the Plastikman series, in spite of the fact that it breaks little new ground beyond its predecessors.</A> [score=75]; Review 2: <A HREF="http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=1417" TARGET="_blank">Hawtin [is] firmly again in the leagues with the masters of the genre.</A> [score=81]

Music fans of the world rejoice--Yo La Tengo can once again hear the heart beating as one.

Review 1:<A HREF="http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=1413" TARGET="_blank">Kish Kash suffers from a surfeit of ideas and sounds; quite simply there is too much going on here.</A> [score=70] Review 2:<A HREF="http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=1412" TARGET="_blank">It is simply how dance music--natch, pop music--should be done. </A> [score=90]

Honestly, the first few listens are the worst; Cedars grows on you to the extent that you get past its often-horrendous lyrics after a while and learn to appreciate its strongest moments.

One of the most deafening blasts of mediocrity to be heard this year.

One of the best albums of 2003, one of his best albums post-Clash, and as the highest note Joe Strummer could have exited on.

The Unicorns&#146; schtick isn&#146;t very difficult to see through; they&#146;re grown adults writing children&#146;s songs for grown adults.

<A HREF="http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=1410" TARGET="_blank">People are claiming The Rapture are geniuses, saviours and innovators but the simple truth is that they aren&#146;t.</A> [Review 1, score=70] <A HREF="http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=1411" TARGET="_blank">One hates to frown on a band&#146;s ambition, but you may find yourself hoping that next time out the band plays to their strengths the whole way through.</A> [Review 2, score=75]

Review 1: <A HREF="http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=1414" TARGET="_blank">All the elements of timelessness are there, but the songs just don&#146;t seem to live beyond the last note. </A> [score=73] Review 2: <A HREF="http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=1415" TARGET="_blank">The Shins&#146; music has grown by leaps and bounds. </A> [score=90]

All you have to do is plug Coral Fang in and turn it on to experience [Dalle's] greatness.

I&#146;m making a mix CD for someone and it&#146;s an incredibly difficult one because she&#146;s into crap like Ben Harper and Lemon Jelly, and I can&#146;t even impress her with a Travis promo CD because they&#146;re &#145;too boring&#146; even for her!

Honestly, I can think of few albums more perfectly structured than The Lemon of Pink, and far fewer that end as nicely.

By turns thrilling, gratifying, and hideous.

It&#146;s a strong and dynamic step forward for the group and deserves to bring them a level of recognition commonly accorded their more famous Montr&#233;al label-mates.

With such a pitch-perfect sonic backdrop, RJ makes it almost impossible for 'Print to fail, each track equipped with all the genetic material an emcee needs to deliver either a sage-solemn message or a quick-witted punchline.

A full realization of a band at the top of their game, filled with intricate guitar pop of the highest order.

Out Of Season is both a remarkable record of beautiful music, and an outstanding, awe-inspiring performance inducing near-irresistible feelings and sensations. This album is a sublime example of the art of the singer, and of the art of music.

All in all, Birth of a Prince seems more like a stepping stone to better things than a fully fledged work in its own right.

If anything, it feels like Gibbard has regressed to the point where he sits in the shadow of his bandmate and producer, Chris Walla.

Frequently, he&#146;s sharp and funny - full of self-knowledge and charm. Elsewhere, he&#146;s so devastatingly sincere that it&#146;s almost embarrassing to listen to.

The finest Matmos record to date.

If the album has a fault, its that LFO can occasionally be accused of complacency, and a handful of tracks here stray into bog-standard Warp generictronica, but it&#146;s a minor gripe considering the joys on offer elsewhere.

Once you vacuum out the fluff there&#146;s barely half an album left.