O Monolith channels the shapeshifting patterns of Steve Reich and late-period Radiohead to fashion a kind of lush English pastoral that seethes and shimmers at every turn. [Jul 2023, p.34]

["Cheyenne" is] keenly observed and beautifully realised, which goes for most everything on Interstate Gospel. [Jan 2019, p.20]

This record’s full engagement with its modern moment refuses to engage on that moment’s terms, instead offering its own blissful, unified escape.

Any sense of musical nostalgia is banished by the quality and restraint of the performances and the album's majestic, half-asleep flow. [Apr 2026, p.28]

Time that could have been spent on cultivating studied cool, a la The Bravery, appears to have been wisely invested in memorable songs. [Jul 2006, p.101]

Prochet crafts another bewitching set of songs that weave together strains of vintage Gallic pop and gentle shoegaze with the gnarlier elements. [May 2022, p.30]

A taut, lean 30-minute manifesto of a record which contains some of their most tuneful, groove-oriented songs yet. [Mar 2020, p.32]

The Black Dirt Sessions is roughly the equivalent of The Replacements going straight from the rowdy delinquency of 1981's "Sorry Ma, Forget To take Out The Trash" to the ashen resignation of 1990's "All Shook Down," with nothing in between. [Aug 2010, p.74]

The second [disc], using poems and letters from World War I, is almost unbearably poignant at times. [Apr 2019, p.39]

Willie's laidback voice is on top form, and for once, Wynton's garrulous trumpet takes a back seat, leaving space for some smart interjections from Mickey Rafael's harmonica and Walter Blanding's tenor sax. [Aug 2008, p.100]

It's a record that finds The Jayhawks in pristine fettle, it's country-rock stylings evoking the blithe warmth of 1995's Tomorrow The Green Grass while punching a little harder with age. [May 2016, p.70]

They are clearly enjoying the ride, and flexing their potential to be Brazil's most exciting musical export since Tropicalia. [Jun 2019, p.36]

They don't sound so zeitgeisty anymore, but [single] "Mosquito" caterwauls mightily, and the closing "Wedding Song" is a feat of lip-quivering sensitivity up there with "Maps." [May 2013, p.79]

This is Calexico on downers, Lee Hazlewood on jolly pills. [Dec 2002, p.131]

This is full of melodies that feel effortless and instantly classic. [Jun 2012, p.83]

[Casablancas'] remarkable performance enlivens even the album's most underwhelming passages. [Nov 2003, p.108]

All up, an(nother) apparently effortless hitting if the sweet spot. [Oct 2019, p.27]

Unexpectedly impressive. [Dec 2004, p.138]

Startling stuff. [Jun 2023, p.29]

An intense and dizzying work. [Jan 2020, p.26]

The setting may have changed, the soundtrack is boosted and richer, grimier yet cleaner, but Skinner's predicaments remain the same. [May 2006, p.110]

Inventively employing computer "tweakery," Lytle concocts synthesized symphonies and celestial chorales, with emotional charged results. [Nov 2012, p.77]

In many ways, Distractions is an enigma. In years to come, we may look back on this record as transitional, or a product of its times. But to hear a band of this vintage still listening – and responding – to their instincts is a joy in itself.

It’s a tough balance to pull off, but it works seamlessly, and is clearly the result of a band who intuitively understand the dynamics and pull of the dancefloor as much as they do the art of crafting pop, art-rock and the odd indie banger. [Nov 2024, p.43]

Two decades on, it remains U2's brightest, darkest, finest hour. [Nov 2011, p.100]

This is the kind of exploration of space and motivation that the dance-punk scene is supposed to be about. [Jun 2007, p.98]

The Ghosts Within typifies the uniqueness of Wyatt's oeuvre, though on this occasion it's not just his. [Nov 2010, p.95]

Tough and determinedly sexed-up, here you'll find talk of beefs, booty and bitches, rather than brotherhood. Producers Neptunes and OutKast's Mr DJ oversee this exercise in alluringly moderne hip hop. [Oct 2008, p.83]

It’s an extravagantly orchestrated set, but with Marc Ribot as lead guitarist and the Dirty Three’s Jim White on drums, the playing remains off-kilter, to quite thrilling effect.

A stunningly audacious second album, inspired equally by prime Prince and film soundtracks, and reminiscent of Jane Siberry's prog-pop ambition circa "The Walking." [Jun 2009, p.103]

It's often raw, venerable, painful stuff, as on the impassioned charge of "Breathe", but it's also peppered with moments of joy. [Aug 2025, p.39]

It's the natural, assured way in which Heaven Is Whenever moves between building on past glories and breaking fresh ground that's so impressive. [Jun 2010, p.85]

The Argument showcases a band of uncommon power grappling with subtler shades as well as their quiet/loud, dub-influenced trademark sound. [Dec 2001, p.102]

They add to their ongoing commitment to openness here. [Oct 2018, p.29]

Songs Of Resistance throbs with urgency. [Oct 2018, p.32]

The Sea Drift owes something to the classic sounds of Kristofferson, Gentry, Chips Moman/Dan Penn and Glen Campbell, but there’s no throwback nostalgia here. The Delines’ way with romance is all their own, and for 41 sweet, orchestral minutes, time is somehow suspended while we watch with our ears. [Mar 2022, p.34]

Given a fuzzed-out, subterranean production glaze, Butter filters everything from surf and lounge touches to Spaghetti Western flourishes, but is best when spinning cool pop hooks up out of the muck. [Oct 2012, p.87]

If Saint Etienne are finally growing up, this wistful adulthood becomes them. [Jul 2005, p.96]

Smart, elegant and affecting, this is surely her best yet. [Nov 2012, p.85]

These are great songs, but Believers is all about the whole: a beautifully paced and structural album, with a powerfully singular mood. [Dec 2011, p.91]

Futures is just as lovely as his admirers could have hoped. [Jan 2016, p.73]

It's the haunted croak of the band's main singers, Ibrahim and Abdallah, that are the main draw: the sound of heartbroken gangleader, the world-weary soldier, bravado replaced by tenderness. It's a sound that suits them perfectly. [Mar 2017, p.22]

Alternating between acoustic ballads and full-on roots rockers could have created a disjointed feel, but it works splendidly with the salty, blue-collar honesty of his dustbowl voice providing an emotional cohesion on vivid, affecting songs such as "Heart's Too Heavy" and the warmly nostalgic "American Flags In Black & White." [Feb 2016, p.78]

Pursues the vibe [heard on 2022's We've Been Going About This All Wrong] further, enjoying a kind of midlife techno-goth glow-up, on tracks "Idiot Box" and the incendiary "Indio" coming on like a female-fronted Future Islands or Pet Benatar joining Curve. [Feb 2025, p.43]

This is an album about distortion, not just of traditional folk instruments but of the emotions - grief and rage and bewilderment - that he experiences as a black trans person in America. [Oct 2023, p.23]

A charming, confident voyage through sonic moods he's explored throughout his career. [Apr 2025, p.27]

A sharp, stirring contrast to the delicate lustre of its 2012 predecessor, Back Into The Woods. [Feb 2014, p.76]

Throughout, the virtuosic performances and subtly evocative lyrics sustain intensity through understatement. [Apr 2018, p.37]

His partnership with young producer Benge has seen Foxx release his best music since the glory days of early Ultravox and debut album Metamatic, and Evidence is even more brimful of sci-fi sensuality than last year's The Shape Of Things. [Mar 2013, p.72]

A bold, brisk, rather beautiful zip through multiple pop genres. [Jun 2018, p.26]

As ever with Pollard, the energy, conviction and imagination are unnerving. [Jul 2019, p.29]

Tangk is more about diverse, swooning sonic details that support troubled singer Joe Talbot's redemption. [Feb 2024, p.28]

Everything here remains personal, but it is also a cooler proposition. There's a degree of studio craft and narrative control here that Davies has never bettered. [Aug 2018, p.22]

The five instrumental tracks are luminescent master classes in intuitive ensemble playing, too, Lloyd's sax as lyrical as Williams' poetry and matched by the inventiveness of the Marvels. [Aug 2018, p.30]

Separated from its era and the defensiveness which spawned it, Ram sounds great. [Jun 2012, p.96]

They sound not beaten but energised by the spectre of society's destruction, off the chain and high on a cocktail of primal garage punk, astral jazz, pitch-black blues and psych ragas both damned and divine. [Nov 2015, p.77]

For the most part, this is a bleak musical fable as disquieting as it is utterly compelling, as it races inexorably to its bloody conclusion. [Oct 2011, p.94]

The Next 20th Century contains a bunch of songs – “Goodbye Mr Blue”, “We Could Be Strangers”, “Buddy’s Rendezvous” – that go right to the gut with their instant melodic charm, and a bunch more – “Kiss Me (I Loved You)”, “Q4”, “Only A Fool”, “The Next 20th Century” – that are deeply striking a few listens later thanks to their sumptuous arrangements, exceptional playing and emotional pull. [May 2022, p.24]

Consolidates and amplifies everything they've done up to now. [Aug 2006, p.110]

This terrific record is the first on her own Everso imprint and seems to finds her more settled. [Oct 2010, p.89]

This is a rock record, and Samson's band functions as the sharp teeth to his lucid tongue. [Jan 2008, p.112]

The big swings taken here serve them just as well as the coiled intensity of their first releases. [Jun 2021, p.27]

Longer songs are punctuated by studio chatter, voicemails, birdsong and other ambient sounds, lending the whole project an artfully informal intimacy. [Sep 2022, p.32]

He reanimates blues standards like "Mystery Train", "Rollin' & Tumblin'" and "Bright Lights, Big City" with his knowing, tattered voice and economical licks. [Feb 2025, p.35]

Her rapping/singing is insightful, stroppy and hilarious. [Oct 2008, p.96]

Boden is a true original who has crafted an engaging album that's no easy listen, but worth sticking with. [May 2009, p.79]

It's a long and winding road that has brought him to the thrilling eclectic destination that is Absolute Zero. [Jul 2019, p.29]

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

The duo take their movie-fuelled visions in directions that are continually surprising. [Nov 2021, p.35]

Exquisite. [Feb 2003, p.80]

CDs 3 and 4 offer Infidels tracks blessedly stripped of producer Mark Knopfler's digital trickery and overdubs. ... With deft elimination of Arthur Baker's era-specific production effects, "I Remember You" becomes a ravishing thing, the gospel lilt of "Emotionally Yours" a gorgeous highlight. [Nov 2021, p.40]

This chiming indie-folk LP is uncluttered and cohesive. [July 2002, p.118]

With Wasser’s careworn voice centre-stage and basic parts recorded live with her simpático band, there’s a new simplicity, swing and airy languor in play on these 12 eloquent, soul-pop songs. [Oct 2024, p.37]

[Moby] draws on a long list of collaborators to bring character and depth to his distinct brand of ambient techno, with frequently haunting results. [Oct 2013, p.71]

The best tracks... are almost as good as Television's monumental Marquee Moon. [May 2006, p.100]

The scatterings of Muscle Shoals-y horns aren't particularly muscular, but they don't need to be to let the class of these '70s-style soul-pop songs glow. [Feb 2020, p.23]

While Food & Liquor struggles with its own contradictions, it does so over scorching beats and with lyrical flair. [Dec 2006, p.113]

There are many timeless, brilliant moments. [Mar 2020, p.45]

Despite a perennial weakness for soppy whimpering, Blake always delivers spine-tingling jewel-box beauty. [Nov 2023, p.25]

El Camino feels like the dawn of greatness. [Jan 2012, p.76]

His best work transcends politics. Mr Love & Justice contains both he best and worst of Bragg.

In the jigsaw puzzle that is Bob Dylan, The Whitmark Demos are crucial pieces, and it's easy to get lost in the depths, the sheer audacity and beauty, of this music. [Nov 2010, p.107]

Lisbon instead makes defiant virtues of under-ambition and overindulgence. Short on hooks but long on atmosphere, the songs suit Hamilton Leithauser's Dylan drawl. [Nov 2010, p.110]

The highlights are revisitations of songs from Laughing Clowns - "Collapse Board", in Particular, is as vicious, mordant and highly strung as ever. [May 2025, p.32]

The duo show renewed confidence as they strike a balance between pristine electro=pop songcraft and the loopier inclinations that once fuelled Dazzle Ships. [Review of the Year 2023, p.30]

An album of midnight moods. [Nov 2023, p.29]

An album that is startling as it is likeable. [Apr 2014, p.74]

The religious theme intimated by the title ensures that there is more going on with each track than mere mindless dirge. [Nov 2009, p.99]

Their albums have got better and better since 2005, with saxophonists Pete Wareham and Mark Lockheart entering into ever more engaging dialogues while the rhythm sections flail around inventively. Here Leafcutter John, who usually makes odd noises with a sampler, switches to guitar addng a clunky alt-rock feel to tracks. [Mar 2010, p.93]

Despite remarkable playing and energy that charges through much of this record, it’s also contemplative, varied and tender at times, with the gentle sway of tracks like “Takoba” hitting as hard as the noise and fury of “Sousoume Tamachek”. [May 2024, p.38]

The Walkmen are weathering the iPhone age with panache. [Jul 2012, p.85]

Feck's gracious lyrical observations of the minutiae only sharpened by such a lovely contrast [to The Clientele's James Hornsey]. [Aug 2014, p.71]

In 2017 it sounds like a revelation, not just a reminder of their glorious volatility, but also a raggedly beautiful effort that stands alongside The Replacements' best records. [Nov 2017, p.46]

Deja Bu, but a thrill worth experiencing again. [Oct 2014, p.77]

It's a very fine thing when a writer and craftsman of Gibb's standing embraces his own legacy and finds such persuasive ways of embellishing it. [Feb 2021, p. 24]

Permo's strength is the variety of voices provided by rotating singers Rachel Taylor, Sean Armstrong and Jack Mellin, which in turn encourages and emphasises the band's range. [Dec 2017, p.33]

Yawn is chilly and languid, the 35-year-old's penchant for sudden bursts if guitar noise giving depth and colour tot the Cure-ish gloom around "Recover," "John" and "No One's Trying To Kill You." [Dec 2018, p.30]

Savage Young Du stands as some testament to his [Grant Hart's] wild creativity, and the protean energy of the band that first brought his songs to the world. [Dec 2017, p.34]