His unfocused ire dominates every inch of space. It's frustrating because the best tracks here deftly whirl together seemingly disparate styles. [Dec 2012, p.61]

As it is, it's a new Godspeed album and it's a good one, but when you have set your standards as high as they have, it can only seem like a failure. [Nov 2012, p.59]

The album is a fairly effective sampler of Ambarchi's various modes. [Dec 2012, p.58

More impressive is how well he and his production circle weave their microfibre soul samples as to draw perpetual tension out of complete simplicity. [Nov 2012, p.73]

There's a feeling of disconnect between idea and result, with Construction Sounds tending towards solid but unremarkable investigation of texture. [Nov 2012, p.72]

A certain stillness remains at the heart of Ital Tek. [Nov 2012, p.72]

It's cleaner sounding for a start--each track gleams like a freshly sharpened butcher's knife--and the sense of dynamics is rather more acute. [Nov 2012, p.70]

Their third post-reunion effort is less immediately engaging than its predecessor--perhaps due to a slightly uneven mix--but it remains true to the Dinosaur spirit while asserting a textual adventurousness that's often overlooked. [Nov 2012, p.70]

Nothing here sounds forced, and Bailiff's continued use of effects doesn't so much obscure as communicate the heartfelt content of her songs more effectively. [Nov 2012, p.70]

[Co-producer Rick Rubin] is a reductionist, an essentialist, which suits ZZ Top just fine. [Nov 2012, p.67]

As on their first album, he [Jim Jarmusch] blows gusts of electric noise through the open spaces in van Wissem's patiently articulated structures. [Nov 2012, p.67]

Parts of Dark Crawler are thrilling. But it sounds less like a confident stride forward than a cautious toe dipped into an unpromising future, one eyeball trained wistfully on the past. [Nov 2012, p.66]

It's fun but nonessential. [Nov 2012, p.64]

Some moments on the Pet Shop Boys' 11th album are as unsettling as any music released this decade. [Nov 2012, p.64]

Honor Found In Decay is a solid Neurosis album, but it doesn't find them doing anything new. [Nov 2012, p.63]

[Tempest has] a sense of dues paid as a continual creative replenishment, rather than a swansong. [Nov 2012, p.63]

They play out as fascinating (and funny) monologues in themselves. [Nov 2012, p.62]

Smalhans is something of a palate cleanser, but a satisfying one nonetheless. [Nov 2012, p.62]

Its best tracks suggest a similarly abrasive, exploratory and jammed on the fly approach to House music [as Jamal Moss].

A return visit for these two tourists would be welcome. [Nov 2012, p.60]

Overall, as a listening experience in itself, The Master feels like a retreat. [Nov 2012, p.59]

Until the Quiet Comes is cluttered and schmaltzy. [Nov 2012, p.59]

Just as there's something inescapably seductive about fast cars in a nocturnal metropolis, there's something innately pleasurable about this Emeralds release. [Nov 2012, p.58]

By zeroing in on the darkness at the heart of an economy demanding a constant turnover of novelty, they've made something deeply essential for the moment. [Nov 2012, p.57]

With Drumm at the helm, the album resolves itself as a spooky and nuanced maelstrom. [Nov 2012, p.56]

Lyrically it is all shamelessly hollow, but Ross's album is seductively swish, its production sophisticated and strings and saxophone abound. [Oct 2012, p.75]

The rest offer artful and discerning combinations of a number of genre hallmarks, making for a smooth and modern drive. [Oct 2012, p.74]

Slug Guts embrace their destiny as swaggering, bar-destroying dirtbags, and we're all better for it. [Oct 2012, p.68]