He makes a bold splash - so idiosyncratic, in fact, that you'll wish the music was as powerful and eccentric as the vocals. [Jun 2026, p.26]

Marc Byrd and Andrew Thompson aren't ploughing new ground, they've explored this patch for two decades. .... The Flaming Lips may add vocals and keyboards to the pillowy drift of "Chemicals Make You Small", but there's no escaping Slowdive's influence on "Deconstructing's" celestial haziness, [Jul 2026, p.31]

The knowing zaniness of "The Simplest Of Deeds" or "The Wake Up Call" don't amuse for long but the T. Rex-style boogie of "WAP" is more potent, as is the space-pop swirl of "Melody Of Entrophy". [Jun 2026, p.27]

Though "You Still Look Good To me" is a Diamond in classic, romantic philosopher mode, too much here is unflatteringly exposed. [Jun 2026, p.29]

Batmanglij rarely gets out of first gear, fussing through vanilla ballads like "Hardy" and "Forgive Is To Know". [Jun 2026, p.34]

With the entire 10-track affair compressed into just 25 minutes of vaguely expressed melancholia, this flimsy career coda is not the grandly melodramatic Lynchian finale that Li's doom-diva shtick deserves. [Jun 2026, p.32]

For all the overwrought sentiment, A Wave... is strangely compelling. [Jun 2026, p.35]

Here they come dressed in post-punk garb. The arena singalong "Wild Rut" mutates into a piece of motorik new wave; the toytown confections of "Leave You On A High" and "Loyal" both come wreathed in ice gothic synths and Peter Hook-style bass plunking. [Jun 2026, p.33]

These esoteric pieces sometimes splash around in puddles of flimsy whimsy, but with enough moments of luminous beauty to reward an immersive dip. [May 2026, p.26]

"Greetings From Mars" touches on Lana Del Rey's desolately pretty Americana, with Nagler's voice reserved yet reaching ecstatically high. [Apr 2026, p.36]

A stepping stone to more original work to come? Could well be. [Apr 2026, p.29]

Too often the slick production feels overwrought like a bad Cure facsimile and the songs struggle to breathe, though the murkiness at least conveys the sense of doomed romance. [Apr 2026, p.26]

"Turn Your Heart Back On" shows the pair can still cut it when the moment is right. [May 2026, p.33]

The naked, more soul-leaning titke track works nicely, as do the almost cosmic jazz explorations of "Didn't Come To argue" featuring Monica Martin), but for all the heavy sentiment and weight here, the results sometimes feel hollow. [May 2026, p.26]

On this outing it sounds more like step-by-step calculation than natural evolution. [Apr 2026, p.36]

Curiously retro-sounding production and accompaniment. .... Her gift for infectious topline melodies manages to transcend such stylistic quirks. [Feb 2026, p.31]

Peaches still bangs, in more ways than one. No Lube So rude, her first album in a decade, drips with fluids, fragrances and various viscera. [Mar 2026, p.36]

Lightweight but charming covers collection. [Jan 2026, p.29]

Despite the references to Oxford Circus and the Northern Line, Smith's baritone voice often strays into mid-Atlantic territory, but the highlights see him lean into English pastoralism. [Jan 2026, p.35]

An almost comically seductive blend of luxe funk, disco strings (arranged by Owen Pallett) and analogue synths, which he pastiches with affection and elan. [Feb 2026, p.39]

The vibe is mid-'60s grindhouse. [Jan 2026, p.25]

Unabashedly emphatic songs that nod to Robyn (notably on skyscraping opener "Good Intentions"), Cyndi Lauper ("Every Ounce Of Me") and Kate Bush ("Appetite"), though the settings are largely those of a US mainstream, '90s grunge-pop band. They flatten the resonance of Hollingworth's lyrics. [Feb 2026, p.35]

It's a shame that Night Light fails to cohere, especially since the suave, Roxy Music-like shades of Euro-disco in "Going Nowhere" and "In The Middle" suggest another route out of the stylistic quagmire of recent efforts. [Jan 2026, p.36]

Using banal sample does lead to some fairly bland passages, but Lopatin and his studio partner Nathan Salon squirrel enough unorthodox ideas into their sound design to give the likes of "Lifeworld" and "Rodl Glide" real verve. [Jan 2026, p.35]

Shifts them into a warmer, fully 3D landscape without sacrificing the songs' imposing build or the solipsistic intensity of Katie Ball's lyrics. [Jan 2026, p.34]

Downey has the chops to convince as an alt.country diva if she can step beyond this pleasant ambling contentment into more trenchant and ambitious songwriting territory. [Nov 2025, p.31]

Too much here feels diaphanous and directionless. [Review of the Year 2025, p.29]

Ashcroft's ornery, sometimes conspiratorial resentment of authority and spiritually minded uplift feel of the moment. [Nov 2025, 28]