Showcase[s] his deep knowledge of American and British folk music and deft picking style that is sophisticated but never ostentatious. [Aug 2018, p.33]

The way it weaves this constellation of influence and artfulness into 10 songs that are lighter than air, deceptively simple, yet cumulatively, surprisingly moving. [Aug 2022, p.32]

Almanac Behind's message rings loud and clear. [Dec 2022, p.25]

At its best, The Magic Whip thrums with ideas and possibilities. [May 2015, p.65]

The garbled way in which The Coral piece these disparate elements together creates an odd, timeless and cosmic music, buzzing with energy, and very much their own. [Apr 2016, p.80]

The sound is rather dry, and James Murphy's vocals have sounded stronger, but the different nuances audible in "Us V Them" and "Drunk Girls" make this if not a bang, certainly very far from a whimper. [Jan 2011, p.93]

LC! balance their more precious tendencies-winsome vocals, chiming xylophone--with a sharp wit and ideas that arrive in energetic tumbles. [Mar 2008, p.88]

It sometimes feels a little pedestrian, though Jurado excels when upping the pace. [Jun 2018, p.28]

A remarkably evolved variety of break-up album, one whose match of melodicism and bruised romanticism makes it somehow suggestive of Lou Reed's Berlin as rewritten by Paul Simon. [Feb 2020, p.33]

More often wispy and whispery in her earlier work, her voice assumes new strength and vividness here as Trappes dives deep into torch-song mode for “Red Yellow” and multitracks herself into a celestial choir for “Blood Moon”. [Jul 2021, p.34]

It's all done with such obvious love and affection and literate craft that Rouse has gone and made one of the albums of the year. Even if the year is 1972. [Oct 2003, p.114]

Smart, cocksure and as cosmopolitan as New York itself, Live At Shea Stadium deserves a place amongst the greats.

It's a slightly exhausting but often thrilling sonic voyage. [Nov 2021, p.32]

A cohesive, strong statement as well as an exciting one. [Dec 2022, p.30]

The drowsy pacing and solemn tone drag at times, but these slow-burn ballads from a lo-fi Lynchian netherworld are most achingly beautiful. [Dec 2025, p.37]

She's in fine eloquent fettle, sinking her heart into the ever-resilient material. [May 2014, p.71]

A startling album. [Aug 2005, p.98]

Nadia Reid's impeccable debut will maybe set a wider orbit in motion. [Dec 2015, p.77]

Reverse captures Pinhas in turbulent and psychedelic mood. [Feb 2017, p.35]

Their sixth sees the band hitting a peak of airy, classic modernism, marked by elegant polyphony, smart dynamics and Kate Stables' thoughtful lyrics. [Aug 2023, p.38]

Tracks like "Georgia" and "Holing Out" tear by with sandpaper efficiency and no little impact. Yet they have more than one idea. [Mar 2011, p.107]

Besides being vivid demonstrations of her versatility, the girl-group pop of "Hey World," the country-gospel of "The Heart Of It All" and the delicate chamber-folk of "Just for Today" all provide very good reasons to welcome her back. [Mar 2020, p.26]

Embryonic is certainly as exciting as anything produced by the psych rock underground this year. [Nov 2009, p.78]

2 deals in lugubrious late-night lyricism and equals Kurt Vile and Cass McCombs for warmly melodic meanderings that beguile rather than baffle. [Dec 2012, p.69]

The album's best moments shrewdly recall the stark, booming sound of Clipse's 2006 coke-rap masterpiece Hell Hath No Fury. [Jan 2014, p.76]

It's a more poignant epitaph to their fine career than the dour and sometimes impenetrable The High Country. [Apr 2016, p.77]

It has a transitory feel; a half-step back from those monolithic builds and whiplash grooves, gesturing towards something more contemplative and ... well, "softer" feels the wrong word, but weathered by the journey. [Jul 2016, p.80]

Restraint is the key, the luminous harmonies of Rachel and Becky Unthank, backed by Adrian McNally's minimal piano and the discreet textures of violinist Niopha Keegan, spotlighting the wistful poignancy at the heart of these delicate compositions. [Jul 2017, p.40]

Tracks like "Running" show he can do a decent dreamy R&B ballad, but more interesting are the digitally manipulated sonic collages, or the impressionistic Spanish-language songs. [May 2019, p.29]

Much of Agora recalls his 2001 breakthrough album Endless Summer: long, processed guitar drones engendering an atmosphere of extreme, if rather familiar, calm. [Apr 2019, p.29]

Jungle's well trusted blend of neo-R&B, French Touch and retro-disco gains new zest on the duo's third album thanks to stylistic detours into acid-jazz classiness and David Axelrod-style psych splendour. elsewhere the formula wears a little thinner . [Sep 2021, p.28]

Reaffirming his faith in rock as transformative thrill, and adding atmospheric detours recalling late-period Weller and Bowie. [Jul 2023, p.27]

There's much beauty aid the flux of recorders, messy analogue synths and wayward sax. [May 2012, p.77]

Sincerity of intent is one thing. But they've got the music to back it up.... This is Scissor Sisters' first Greatest Hits collection. [Feb 2004, p.70]

The occasional ordinary moment confirms a suspicion that Sway only really excels when he's playing the comic foil. [Mar 2006, p.88]

It's an extraordinary set. [Feb 2014, p.92]

Low on cheer, but richly rewarding. [Dec 2016, p.38]

Blended with earnest acoustic guitar picking and rattling electronic production, the young songwriter reveals a bright future at the end of personal agony. [Feb 2021, p.35]

This album pursues a theme of escape from the more lurid temptations of early adulthood, and Darnielle locates an aptly urgent yet reflective tone. [Nov 2012, p.79]

Imagine John Fahey channelling the pulse minimalism of Steve Reich or Hendrix jamming African highlife on a digital drive pedal. [Dec 2010, p.119]

Que Aura sees the West Coast-based singer-songwriter embrace an '80s-infused psychedelia that occasionally mutates into a disco strut. [Nov 2017, p.36]

A meaty, confident comeback. [Apr 2019, p.34]

His latest album triumphs on levels beyond its inimitable Holley-ness. On the one hand, it reads like another act of spontaneous divination, revisiting past traumas with pained understanding, yet also hopeful and celebrating the wonder of life. But it’s also his most substantial and accessible album yet. [Apr 2023, p.18]

A Weird Exit has an immediacy and coherence that was missing on previous outing, 2015's Mutilator Defeated At Last--a fine album, but not as hooky as this one. [Sep 2016, p.80]

Stream-of-consciousness ranting has helped Sleaford Mods develop songwriting which is doubtful, while retaining its intensity. [Apr 2017, p.31]

Scott's ability to weave between monster guitar eruptions, refined pop and stripped-back moments that allow her voice to soar is a constant. [Sep 2021, p.35]

Initially seems more listener-friendly than Volume 1... [but] Congotronics remains radical listening. [Jan 2006, p.125]

Taken as a whole, On All Fours is an impressive balancing act, creating something fresh from the group's diverse influences. [Feb 2021, p.28]

Much of this album sounds like its been stitched together from 4AD's finest moments. [Dec 2008, p.88]

A vision of some shadowy Arcadia, its minimal Timbaland beats and lurking Mezzanine-style bass presented with mud and moss under the nails. [Oct 2013, p.67]

The stripped-down, Muscle Shoals-style arrangements give Mavis space to do her thing, and the song choices are spot-on. [Oct 2010, p.106]

A Ghost Is Born feels like a band learning to be spontaneous and unencumbered, and coming up with their most engaging album yet. [Album of the Month, Jul 2004, p.94]

[It is] distinctive, involving, challenging, accessible, progressive and most other things that continue to be desirable in an indie-rock record, whatever the year. [Jul 2017, p.22]

There are strings aplenty, arranged as baroque lullabies or strange waltzes, Hinson shuffling his sorrows against a backdrop of multitracked choirs and fractured noise. Incredibly addictive. [Jul 2010, p.116]

As you'd expect, his 12th album sounds wonderful. [Nov 2011, p.86]

Few, if any, artists are pushing the boundaries of traditional music further. [Feb 2013, p.79]

The results is some of the richest, most compelling and least lonely-sounding music of Granduciel's career. [Sep 2017, p.24]

Lilies is a succinct affair, albeit one of often similarly unearthly pleasures. [Dec 2017, p.25]

No two tracks are stylistically the same--and yet there is a clear sense of cohesion. [Jan 2018, p.28]

As a trio they've made a record of richer, more satisfying hues. [Mar 2018, p.26]

The result is a heady debut album. [Dec 2019, p.27]

An audaciously original album - a bedroom-laptop fever dream from a parallel universe. [Apr 2020, p.33]

While these sonic smudges sometimes feels scrappy, there are sublime interludes here too. [Nov 2021, p.35]

Avoiding sentimentality, this quality unexpectedly turns out to be vital to the album's success. [Nov 2022, p.18]

POTR's most playful outing, Stick And Stones comes off like a bracing exhalation of post-pandemic relief. [Sep 2023, p.32]

This is an album that sounds like it’s had time spent on it. It’s brilliantly recorded, pristine and perfectly imperfect. [Jan 2024, p.20]

It's an eclectic yet assured record that sounds like someone taking stock but using that solid foundation as a springboard to leap forward musically. [Aug 2025, p.31]

The relentless mid-tempos at times make this epic 16-track album drag, but on the devastating "Not In Kansas" and the frantic "Where Is Her Head" Berninger once again proves himself rock's most astute and humane chronicler of everyday crises of faith. [Jun 2019, p.32]

Mercy is the most out-there work Cale has made in some time. ... The presence of Cale's voice - familiar, rich and avuncular - almost disguises just how radical much of the music is. [Feb 2023, p.18]

It's comforting and surprising, full of trad sounds electrified by the off-kilter vision of an artist whose recognition as one of Americana's finest voices is long overdue. [Feb 2016, p.67]

Rhythm is even more thrilling than the latter's recent Nikki Nack. [Jan 2015, p.78]

The joyously unhinged waltz "Better In My Day" is an amusing piss-take of nostalgic bigotry; while Bernholz's whispered vocals on tracks like "Hobby Horse" come with an undercurrent of menace. [Nov 2018, p.29]

Multi-instrumentalist Joe Pisapia, produced much of Easy Wonderful, which is distinguished by impeccably crafted contours, sharp lyrics, buoyant grooves and swelling choruses. [Nov 2010, p.90]

There's always a sense of menace, but it's surprisingly restrained. [May 2015, p.78]

On the whole this is a sanguine and at times even sentimental record, [May 2012, p.76]

Audacious cybernetic pirouettes such as "Poison Lips" and "Flashmob" bear the hallmarks of a musician enjoying a purple patch, who is able to caress from his machines a spectrum of emotion that leaves the listener purring with pleasure. [Oct 2009, p.119]

Its expansive ambition abetted by fellow travellers including Wayne Kramer and Peter Perrett. [Oct 2018, p.27]

An ear for arrangement detail — be it fuzzy synths or rustic washboard-like percussion — lifts often simple, acoustic-led songs into enduringly captivating territory. [Oct 2022, p.36]

The record prompts leaning in, not least of all for the gentle, cantering insistence of "Have Heaven" and "Our Hearts In A Room", with its soft piano and brush work. [Apr 2025, p.29]

Another superb venture. [Jan 2005, p.121]

While Like Clockwork sometimes felt a little leaden, Villains flies by. [Sep 2017, p.31]

The Evangelist isn’t a Go-Betweens album, but it’s more cohesive than any of Forster’s other solo albums, and more moving.

A couple of the more freeform screamers may be a holler too far for some ears, but there's no denying the passion and power of Bradley's formidable lungs. [Apr 2013, p.67]

Eight relatively streamlined stoner-rock cuts. ... But Fuzz are best when they embrace ridiculousness. [Nov 2020, p.29]

Based On The Best Seller is a high water mark. [Nov 2025, p.39]

An album of flashing wit and giddy ambition. [Oct 2002, p.110]

Doesn't quite make it into the Thompson solo Top 10.... But it's good to have him back. [Mar 2003, p.102]

This is adventurous modern music which uses old rock and singer-songwriter traditions as the raw material to be manipulated. [Album Of The Month, Feb 2002, p.110]

This second collection consistently zips along, taking in one exceptional single and a clutch of songs that mostly resemble overdriven outtakes from Liberty Belle And The Black Diamond Express (high praise). [May 2017, p.37]

An eclectic, often crazed debut album.... They have all the hallmarks of an excellent, innovative band that won't be undone by their own hype. [Sep 2002, p.105]

On first hearing it's a little underwhelming, but its subtle charms certainly grows. [Jul 2023, p.30]

Their garage-rock stylings have flourished. [Oct 2018, p.29]

All in all, a neat side-stepping of expectations and a timely one. [Jul 2013, p.81]

The result is a pulsating, itchily funky brew, pitched somewhere between Pigbag and Can. [Jul 2013, p.78]

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]

Furman's distinctive shrieking, poetic phrasing and postmodernist perspective prevents the work from sounding overtly derivative. It instead borrows the best qualities of its forebears, and fuses them into something new. [Sep 2019, p.22]

At best, Hissing Fauna... posits its creator as the missing link between Hot Chip and Morrissey. [Mar 2007, p.88]

A lack of polish--notably on the title track, which features Curl collective member Coby Sey--is part of the appeal, and if "Gladly" plays it very straight, then it's hard to carp at its loved-up optimism. [Sep 2018, p.39]