The results--notably 'Cheap And Cheerful,' which suggests that Britney Spears' 'Toxic' made quite an impact on them and the chaotic 'Alphabet Pony'--are a revelation.

Bejar's band--either completely at ease with or oblivious to his verbal flights of fancy--play rich, languid, bar-room indie-rock with florid bursts of guitar. [May 2008, p.94]

A Mad & Faithful Telling is an impeccably titled album [Apr 2008, p.88]

The key is a rhythmic edge--be it tribal drumming or waves of sound--that trip these rainbow drones into full-on euphoria. [Apr 2008, p.94]

True, every song here is virtually identical, but at least it's a great song. [Apr 2008, p.94]

Throughout the album, it's a thrill to hear Rhys' mellifluous voice juxtaposed with the music's synthetic thrust.

The result is a milestone in modern psychedelic soul.

Where the album suffers, however--especially in comparision to the Jenny Lewis record--is the absence of any real lyrical verve or personality. [Aug 2008, p.94]

What could be a kitschy nostalgia trip, however, becomes something more thanks to the songs themselves. [Apr 2008, p.94]

Green's songs are memorable and his subtle orchestrations effective, while his lovely, burnished, Dean Martin-ish baritone voice glues it all together. [Apr 2008, p.90]

This collection, like all of his work, conjures a world unto itself, drawing from seemingly random sources to weave a work of mystic, spiritual power. [May 2008, p.102]

Visiter suggesting both a rhythm-centric Shins and a more hard-bitten Feelies. [Aug 2008, p.90]

They can do dreamy folk, they can also violently attack their guitars, but best of all is the opening track, 'So Messed Up,' a Neil Young-inspired ballad where the guitars rumble and flicker oiver Ryan Sawyer's Keith Moon-style perpetual drum solo. [May 2008, p.111]

Alopecia is another woozily layered, beguilingly fractured affair, driven by beats and samples. [May 2008, p.113]

Booming Back To You is palatable enough. [Apr 2008, p.93]

This is surely the desperate death-thore of a rank '90s relic. [Apr 2008, p.99]

Whatever the situation, Ayers's amenability shines through regardless, a wave of warmth that can lighten the heaviest soul.

The buoyant beats of his debut seem well-judged to invite a wiggle whether your "booty" is on the dancefloor or wearing a groove into you favorite armchair. [May 2008, p.94]

Superabundance sees the trio break away from the neo-post-punk pack, in one swoop, but without sacrificing one calorie of their furious energy. [Apr 2008, p.109]

It sounds alive and kicking almost to its own detriment. [Mar 2008, p.83]

It is, in short, a hippy record, and a very good one.

17 endurance-defying tracks of gormless, soulless cookie-cutter corporate country, carting woefully trite homilies to smalltown values that leave the listener feeling uneasily like jackson's running from something. [May 2008, p.100]

With Lanegan at his stentorian best and Dulli in full confessional mode, Saturnalia is a feast, certainly--but one where the dishes are served delightfully raw.

It's their best since 1995's "LP5." [Apr 2008, p.83]

A confident melodic sensibility ensures such self-conscious quirkiness stays just the right side of irritating. [July 2008, p.90]

Warpaint does, however, fall somewhat short of the triumphant comeback The Black Crowes set their 10-gallons at.

The raw machine clap has been replced by Chaotic deconstruction of house music. It's a frequently awkward fit, lacking the fluid styling that makes the best hip hop. [Apr 2008, p.84]

Red of Tooth & Claw sometimes feels too much like style over substance, but the best moments here are in the detail. [July 2008, p.106]

Her blowsy voice now seems happier in those quieter settings. [May 2008, p.104]

There is much here that is wonderful, but less of the tone set by the self-parodically chirpy 'Turqouise House' would have improved matters. [Nov 2007, p.132]

Magnificent Fiend is both indebted to the past and utterly timeless, wild but controlled, chin-stroking clever and head-shaking dumb, referential without being reverential. [May 2008, p.88]

The sumptuous Sea Lion sees him exploring similar territory to the Elephant 6 collective, adding notes of African highlife, Polynesian folk, Disney soundtracks and (briefly) '80s synth pop, to joyous and naively charming effect. [Apr 2008, p.99]

To say Ladyhawk offer a pretty straightforward rock trip make them sound unadventurous, which they probably are, but also doesn't really do justice to the sheer head-nodding, play-loud-and-prosper enjoymenet this offers. [May 2008, p.102]

Rowdy, vivid, moving and playful, The Felice Brothers is just glorious.

It’s a brave, bonkers, often beautiful, sometimes haunting and occasionally ridiculous album.

She's far bolder, singing in a strange, little girl's voice over a solitary Chet Baker-style trumpet or chanting mantra-like over a bubbling African rhythm. [May 2008, p.87]

If you like Galaxie 500, Mazzy Star, Low, you'll adore them. If you don't, you won't. [Mar 2008, p.83]

Merritt's pure voice is mostly accompanied by gentle piano on a set of songs that ultimately lack the fire of her earlier work. [June 2008, p.100]

We Have You Surrounded has more variety than 2003's excellent "Dangerous Magical Noise." [May 2008, p.94]

The post-coital twang of 'Aly, Walk With Me' and 'Lust' are enough to arouse even the most jaded trash-rock fetishist. [Dec 2008, p.101]

The Golden Age is the real thing. [Feb 2008, p.72]

Darnielle dresses songs of romance, heartache, and travel in elegant leaps of language. [Mar 2008, p.96]

For Emma, Forever Ago is such a hermetically sealed, complete and satisfying album, the prospect of a follow-up--of a life for Vernon beyond the wilderness, even - seems merely extraneous.

There are times when the playing of the session band is slick to the point of blandness, and the production (by Davies and Ray Kennedy) is crisply tasteful when the songs cry out for dissonance.... But when it works, it works.

Ironically, the straight country of Jessi Colter's 'I'm Looking For Blue Eyes,' suits her best, while the busted drones and banjos of Julie Miller's 'Orphan Train' suggest there is better still to come. [Apr 2008, p.98]

They haven't downsized: the rock is (well played) bog-standard retro, but themes cover Guantanamo and the afterlife. Amid the Dylan raps and Yardbirds licks (and if The Charlatans made this, they'd be garlanded) there's a welcome sense that they're smartly chuckling at themselves.

Perfect background music for those late-night venues that tend to overdo the ultra-violet lights. [Mar 2008, p.96]

The songs are much more confidently realised. [May 2008, p.100]

Album two finds them pressing the Gilbert O'SuperTramp button with gusto. [Mar 2008, p.87]

Pete & The Pirates have a handful of great pop songs to balance out the weight of their obvious influences. [Mar 2008, p.97]

British Sea Power are still without a 'Wake Up' or a 'Float On' but Do You Like Rock Music? is exhilarating in its ambition, full of songs that will warm the cockles at whichever National Heritage site they choose to play next.

As a listener, it’s equally hard not to feel the love. With Hot Chip, it now feels like the right time to commit.

The Brooklyn-based veterns have beefed up the arrangements on LP number five, and Matthew Caws' material happily carries that weight. [Mar 2008, p.96]

Watershed feels like a declaration of independence. [Feb 2008, p.87]

You'd be hard pressed to find anything to summon the blood and stiffen the sinew among the 14 songs on offer here. [Mar 2007, p.90]

A song called 'Vietnam' only reinforces the all-around impression Lenny is 40 years too late. [Mar 2008, p.92]

It's as convincing and heartfelt as anything else here--and suggests that by incorporating disco into the rest of his music, even better things may lie ahead. [Mar 2008, p.96]

This fifth album gets progressively less fuzztoned and more overtly tuneful as it progresses. [Mar 2008, p.85]

It's fitting that this debut contains at least half a dozen exquiste songs that could work in any idiom. [Feb 2008, p.80]

Circular Sounds is a collection of snappy, mildly psychedelic, instantly memorable songs, delivered with an unfussy and becoming modesty.

Still square, then, but they're loosening up. [Feb 2008, p.93]

They've pulled together their most digestible record yet. [Feb 2008, p.84]

Cosmopolitan, anglophile, afrobeat--Vampire Weekend are in an Ivy League of their own.

Women As Lovers may be his best yet. [Mar 2008, p.107]

Walla creates intricate, fugue-like patterns featuring guitars, analog synths and harmonies, enabling his spiralling melodies to unfold progressively while also providing a cushion for his diminultive but genuine vocals--making for a record that's taut and affecting. [Feb 2008, p.95]

The emphasis on Jackson's piano is obviously no problem, but his focus drifts from the punchy pop that characterised its predecessor. [Feb 2008, p.81]

If there’s something odd about an authentic Southern girl reworking a singer from Ealing who longed to emulate her American heroes, then it’s perhaps best to judge this record on its own merit. Which, as it turns out, is very high indeed.

A haunting cover of the Pixies' 'Where Is My Mind' rounds off a quite remarkable debut. [May 2008]

it's full of lovely moments, but it nees more edge to keep you from snoozing. [Apr 2008, p.91]

Hey Venus! is an attractive album with a broad appeal – Rough Trade wanted a pop record and got one--but it also feels like a missed opportunity, a consolidation of affairs rather than a step forward.

Always led by the miraculous voice of Ch'hom Nimol. So beautifully and effectively, in fact, that they end up giving fusion a good name. [Feb 2008, p.78]

But where Black Mountain's message begins to get woolly the music is never anything less than exhilarating

If anything, Jukebox is bolder than "Covers," not least because two of the more obvious songs have been dropped from the original intended tracklisting.

This is a stunning album, bristling with astute and funny words, glorious tunes and delivered in performances all the more impressive for sounding so utterly effortless. [Mar 2008, p.80]

If you wish The Hold Steady didn't look so clean, this is the band for you. [Aug 2008, p.113]

A sugary feast for the senses. [May 2008, p.98]

This is scant compensation for his lack of fire, lyrical inspiration, or indeed anything that might distinguish him from his legion of peers. [Mar 2008, p.85]

Evangelicals sing of skeletons, snowflakes and things that go bump in the night with witty samples and imaginative arrangements. [Mar 2008, p.87]

It's pleasing to come across a record that not only sounds old-fashioned, but whose author seems like a man of principle. [Nov 2007, p.108]

His willingness to scribble over the pretty surfaces of his songs brings a bristling edge to his Beatlesque pop. [Feb 2008, p.79]

He may be treading water a little until he really gets into his groove as the 21st century Sondheim, but Distortion at its best is beguiling and quietly devastating.

Liverpool 8, which stands happily beside Starr's recent hits compilation, holds its own as a companion piece to McCartney's similarly vital "Memory Almost Full," and makes a nice day off from having to like Radiohead.

Her lyrics lack both Wino's wit and realism, and her orchestral-pop backdrops are pallid. [Feb 2008, p.89]

Angels Of Destruction sounds like one almighty road trip, barrelling along to piano. blustery guitars and the odd honk of E Street sax. [Feb 2008, p.86]

This simply sounds like junior Jay-Z. [Mar 2008, p.96]

On record at least, Wu-Tang have made the comeback of the decade.

This live set sees them mash the Kraftwek-ed likes of 'Aerodynamic' and 'Robot Rock' into the girlfriend-on-your-shoulders set that's seen them own 2007's festival season, at least for anyone more interested in decks than guitars. [Dec 2007, p.89]

It might be playful, and it might be versatile, but however light-hearted it may sound initially, it ends up sounding serious.

Her music is similarly annoying, with her sugar-fuelled rockabilly-pop, she's the female Jack Penate. [Jan 2008, p.93]

Shelter From The Ash displays some pretty wigged-out guitar work, but balanced by ruminative, minor-key acoustic moments that recall the mood of America's "Horse With No Name."

Gorillaz' second round-up of offcuts, noodles and sketches still has an excellent strike rate. [Dec 2007, p.84]

Here they often come across as Hard-Fi playing the songs of The New York Dolls--infinitely more irritating. [Nov 2007, p.104]

More organic than their 2004 debut, Parades is just as richly rewarding. [Nov 2007,p.98]

If you’re willing to overlook Simon Le Bon’s always peculiar lyrics and occasionally strained singing, 'Red Carpet Massacre' is actually pretty impressive.

System is like travelling backwards to a time when Trevor Horn and Steve Lipson ruled the earth, except this time the studio overlord is Madonna collaborator, Stuart Price. [Jan 2008, p.100]

This seems geared for maximum market penetration rather than songwriting excellence. [Jan 2008, p.91]

A collection that aims to sweep up the moments when the spotlight isn't on, Sawdust, therefore, might just be their defining document [Jan 2008, p.91]

Commissioned by Nike as an exercise mix for iPods, this euphoric, largely electronic set finds Murphy adapting DJ dynamics for the running machine.