The late '60s and early '70s serve as the band's natural milieu. [Aug 2020, p.39]

Divorced from the visuals, Music From First Cow is just as mesmerising, its 26 minutes of repeated themes, mostly on acoustic guitar and banjo, mixed with muttered dialogue and sound design from the film. [Jun 2020, p.38]

It's a testament to Gonzalez that after a dozen numbers we know far too much about him but still crave more. [Aug 2020, p.29]

It's glorious, elevating and energising stuff. [Sep 2020, p.27]

If its redemptive poignancy often recalls Richter's masterful Sleep, Voices is more dynamic, instead provoking--not subduing-thought. [Sep 2020, p.35]

Like a rolling stone made of avant-garde music and sadness. [Sep 2020, p.27]

Opener "diaphanous" appropriately shimmers, its murmured refrain like a private pep talk as the song builds around it. [Sep 2020, p.31]

Think Screaming Trees' Dust, or Chris Cornell's Euphoria Morning, steeped in folk and psychedelia, the teenage angst of old weathered if not quite mellowed. [Aug 2020, p.30]

Crockett's warm, buttery vocals melt through his latest collection, which delves into mid-century cowboy soundtracks for its cinematic plushness and moody grace. [Sep 2020, p.28]

There's a purity to them that's as much a product of her spirit and artistic choices as a demo's function. ... The Demos in particular still overwhelms with its conviction and visceral wallop, almost 30 years on. [Sep 2020, p.47]

The whole thing underlines how productive McCartney was during this period. [Sep 2020, p.48]

It's beautifully recorded, carefully multi-tracked, but with the freshness and integrity of the live performances feeling intact. Most crucially, it never sounds overcooked. [Sep 2020, p.20]

The album is rarely as memorable musically as it is lyrically. [Sep 2020, p.31]

The unlikely collision between Jimmy Webb and Talk Talk that is "Hell" repping particularly strongly for his new sound. [Aug 2020, p.36]

Nicolas Bougaïeff departs from this template [repetitive 4/4 pulse, set to an unchanging rhythmic grid], using disconcerting shifts in tempo, odd time signatures and Aphex Twin-like experimentation. [Sep 2020, p.27]

There's no contrivance or compromise to be found here. [Sep 2020, p.36]

Among his best. [Aug 2020, p.29]

These are impenetrable walls of off-kilter guitars, skronking saxophones and icy synths, topped off with Richard Butler's mournful rasp. ... For the most part, Made Of Rain cleaves closest to the sense thrum of Talk Talk Talk. [Jun 2020, p.37]

Introspective and tightly wound. [Sep 2020, p.26]

It's as touching, beautiful and dark as any of Collins' records, and even pushes her sound into new territories. 65 years into her recording career, that modern approach to folk music is still yielding treasures. [Sep 2020, p.24]

It's fastidiously realised, taking in gorgeously orchestrated jazz, hi-octane funk and a pristine slow jam featuring Lauren Faith. [Aug 2020, p.39]

Andrews' deft touch with an insidious melody and candid phrase extends whatever solace she finds to her audience as well. [Jul 2020, p.27]

McFarlane paints elegant, jazz-literate shapes over digital beats, syncopated hand drums and glitchy systems noise.[Sep 2020, p.32]

The four-piece deliver their familiar brand of Cali power-pop, at once glossy and heart-on-sleeve. [Jun 2020, p.37]

A Small Death charts her return to functionality with eloquence and real panache. [Aug 2020, p.28]

An intoxicating, instrumental tribute to the wheezing Farfisa organ; propped up only by the clarinet and double bass. [Aug 2020, p.27]

There's plenty here for fans of both gutbucket blues and the rampaging over genres and moods that long characterised The Residents. [Sep 2020, p.35]

Round-up of 10 cinematic tracks underlining his prowess. [Sep 2020, p.46]

Beginners is sweet and sorrowful with a writerly eye. [Sep 2020, p.31]

Lovett has gone (partly) socio-political with his third. [Sep 2020, p.35]

The best tracks retain a vestige of Spank Rock's energy. [Sep 2020, p.35]

This is an all-American band, but there are nods to the rhythmic sophistication coming out of London's jazz scene. [Sep 2020, p.34]

A sweetly sprawling album. [Sep 2020, p.32]

The bristling performances more closely resemble the solo piano excursions of such post-bop masters as Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett, which s no bad thing at all. [Aug 2020, p.33]

This record - Cocker's finest work since This Is Hardcore, maybe - marks the arrival of an adventurous collective who might just be getting warmed up. [Aug 2020, p.26]

An involving double album. [Aug 2020, p.28]

The excellent military beat of "The Aphorist" and almost genteel "Worm In Heaven" are fine point of entry, even if the cacophonous likes of "Michigan Hammers," "Modern Business Hymns" and "I Am You Now" are more typical representations of the band's disorienting sound. [Aug 2020, p.36]

[Hate For Sale returns her] to the totemic sounds of the early Pretenders albums, trusted and familiar territories. [Aug 2020, p.31]

It's evolution not revolution, putting its author's sound deeper into her own context. [Aug 2020, p.32]

A starting point for rich exploration of the variety of American popular music by a veteran who has previously tried most of them on for size. [Aug 2020, p.37]

XOXO is, astonishingly and hearteningly, the sound of a group still finding new ways to be themselves. [Aug 2020, p.24]

While The Streets' five LPs each had a distinct narrative, this is different - skittish investigations into the expanded and exciting taste of a now fortysomething workaholic. [Aug 2020, p.36]

Her fourth album proves that she can apply those [AI techniques from her Circumstance Synthesis EP] to more structured, dynamic songs in a way that's instantly enthralling. [Aug 2020, p.27]

DMA's showcase their ever-evolving chops as they continue to appropriate the sounds of '90s/early Y2K bands such as Oasis, Stone Roses and Doves. [Aug 2020, p.29]

A spectacular return to the tower of song and the game he plays best. Brimming with memorable melodies, swooning arrangements and smart lyrics dreamily sung. [Aug 2020, p.39]

Ultimately, it's an album rooted in the constant collision of rock and pop. [Aug 2020, p.27]

The lyrics are shorn of detail. Hearts are dented, if not entirely smashed, but the emotional core of the songs are harder to locate, because the tropes of country songwriting ave been traded for something less defined. There's a restless energy. ... There's a refreshing purity, too. [Aug 2020, p.31]

The tranquility is transporting and when it ends abruptly after just 34 minutes, the only option is to play it again. [Jul 2020, p.39]

While Williams can operate at either extreme of the spectrum, the softer likes of "Dirt" - a haunting duet with Tom Fleming of Wild Beasts and One True Pairing - suggest where her true forte lies. [Aug 2020, p.39]

This is a strong debut throughout. [Aug 2020, p.27]

Some tracks lean too far towards tastefully decaffeinated worldbeat. But there are soulful depths and deliciously supple rhythms too. [Aug 2020, p.33]

Suffused with optimism and defiance. [Aug 2020, p.34]

Album number nine sees them dipping into some slightly experimental territory. ... But they're at their best in slightly melancholic territory. [Apr 2020, p.33]

Astatke is still a virtuoso but it's mostly BJE who take the lead. [Aug 2020, p.25]

A wide-ranging, guest-heavy collection that keeps one foot rooted in grimy, shuddering, low-end sonics while exploring multiple alternative avenues. [Aug 2020, p.34]

Hard-swinging tales of misadventure. [Jun 2020, p.34]

A New Found Relaxation promises much but never fully delivers. [Aug 2020, p.33]

The Vacant Lots might be cool but they still like to boogie. [Aug 2020, p.39]

Retains the fullness and amiability of his richest work. [Aug 2020, p.33]

Even when they're singing about the horrors of nuclear holocaust -- as they do on the Hendrix-ish "Mushroom Bomb" -- they can't help but sound quite addictively cheerful. [Aug 2020, p.27]

It's bolshy, uncompromising and demands to be played on repeat. [Aug 2020, p.36]

Mordechai is a great record, made by deep listeners who believe that discerning taste does not equate to snobbishness, Through it, we're reminded that good music is for everyone. [Aug 2020, p.20]

The results are successfully restorative, sometimes recalling The Album Leaf's 2000s Sigur Ros collaborations. [Aug 2020, p.33]

If Deleted Scenes feels somewhat anachronistic, it doesn't blunt the quality of the songs within. [Jun 2020, p.37]

Often audacious, occasionally unpalatable. [Jun 2020, p.25]

Delicately powerful stuff. [Aug 2020, p.27]

Crackles with a wisecracking energy. [Aug 2020, p.36]

While the dubbed-out "see You When I Want to" nods to ESG, Gentle Grip too often feels more like a limp handshake. [Aug 2020, p.36]

It has the desperate, desolate sound of one that needed to be written. [Aug 2020, p.27]

The net result is unexpectedly charming. [Aug 2020, p.30]

We find all sorts of intriguing experiments. [Aug 2020, p.30]

There are some points where it skirts tweeness, and Wilkinson's voice is a little too airbrushed, but there's pleasure aplenty here. [Aug 2020, p.27]

Bryant spins vocal somersaults over a deliciously slow-burning, spartan accompaniment, while several Memphis veterans add some Allman-style rock wigouts. [Jun 2020, p.27]

A deservedly confident album. [Aug 2020, p.28]

The 2020 material is curiouser sill, a body of elegant guitar pop as abstruse as it is seductive. They've still got it. [Aug 2020, p.39]

The music is cinematic in scope, offering Armageddon and salvation in turn. [May 2020, p.25]

It creates more cohesion than on previous Chicano Batman albums, but it also has the consequence of watering down the band's dynamic aesthetic. [Jul 2020, p.29]

There's not a weak moment to be found. [Jul 2020, p.34]

There is much to love about this new, more earthen mode. [Jul 2020, p.30]

The music is bewitching enough to seduce even those with the severest crystal allergy. [Jun 2020, p.36]

Hearing these instantaneous, improvised rituals makes the world feel a little less huge. [Jun 2020, p.29]

Most crucial is a penchant for '60s chanson's soft-focus harmonies and production values. [Jul 2020, p.30]

She manages to make her chosen instrument sound like just about everything it isn't, yet the sense of sonic cohesion and unique identity she possesses never dwindles. [Jul 2020, p.33]

On Sunset demonstrates that complacency remains his greatest fear and most powerful muse. [Jul 2020, p.24]

Though it lacks the ingenuity of Holiday, the palpable tenderness of Get Lost or the rigour of 69 Love Songs, it does satisfy a need. [Jun 2020, p.36]

There's certainly a highly evocative quality to the stoned, sun-dappled soul found here. [May 2020, p.25]

They manage to retain the gravel in their throat while subtly expanding their sound on this fifth album. [Jun 2020, p.33]

There's a greater diversity of moods, tempos and instruments, supporting a more experimental mindset. [Jul 2020, p.27]

Pick Me Up Off The Floor hangs together wonderfully. [Jun 2020, p.33]

Cunningham and Stewart also know how to write a killer pop melody. [Jul 2020, p.33]

This is by some way their most fully developed and experimental set to date. [Jul 2020, p.30]

The Idiot and Lust For Life still mostly sound thrillingly bold. ... Sadly, the bonus disc of outtakes and rare tracks is thin. ... Substantial live discs. [Jul 2020, p.51]

This time the material is vivid and freakier. [Jul 2020, p.30]

Strikes a deft balance between hooks'n'riffs and meditative drifts. [Jul 2020, p.33]

He has clearly been galvanised creatively. What an excellent record. [Jul 2020, p.37]

The results are terrific; which is odd. in a way, given the stark simplicity of Johnston's songwriting and BTS's reputation for angular and faceted. [May 2020, p.25]