Platinum Tips + Ice-Cream sees the duo attack old songs with results both gloriously haphazard and straight-up glorious. [Jul 2017, p.39]

This wired counterpart [to 2016's lush Singing Saw]pays tribute to a New York tat now exists only in the songwriter's head, or his record collection. [Jul 2017, p.35]

As catchy as it is smart. [Jul 2017, p.28]

It's all very pleasant, but somewhat weightless. [Jul 2017, p.26]

His final album--and first since 1979--not only demonstrates the durability of the musical format he pioneered but also proves his indefatigability as an entertainer. [Jul 2017, p.25]

A light summer picnic, not a full meal. [Jul 2017, p.36]

Throughout, tracks like "Love Matters" and "Salt Cleans" keep the oddness in check with some irritatingly catchy pop hooks. [Jul 2017, p.30]

Arguably, they are a little one-paced and some looseness would not have gone amiss--but the candid, striking honest lyrics about sex and love bear the strain. [Jul 2017, p.26]

Ambiguity and intensity is there from the start. [Jul 2017, p.38]

[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]

[A] set of intense and committed songs. [Jul 2017, p.25]

It's genuinely smart, intriguingly playful set that both presses all the right Big Pop buttons and sounds decidedly off-centre. [Jul 2017, p.36]

Defiantly lo-fi production rather hampers the attempts at big-budget symphonic soul, but the clubby bangers such as "It's In The Love" and "She Ran Away" work magnificently. [Jul 2017, p.26]

What these titles lack in detail, the songs themselves quickly fill with lashings of lurid prose. [Jul 2017, p.18]

Guest spots from vocalists Andrea Galaxy and Jessy Lanza make explicit the R&B influence, but the most emotive, intimate moments come when Abdel-Hamid makes her synths sing to themselves. [Jul 2017, p.32]

Motorik grooves underpin the most bracing songs on the band's second effort. [Jul 2017, p.40]

It's a beautifully judged (electronic) psych-pop record that hums with warmth, quiet eccentricity and gentle wryness, recalling Robert Wyatt, '60s French pop and Gruff Rhys' solo fare. [Jul 2017, p.39]

Stanley's "Rosewood Bitters," a slice of swampy country rock with Todd Rundgren on keyboards, is a highlight, along with Dewey Terry's "Sweet As Spring." a gnarly love song with frenetic orchestration. [Jun 2017, p.51]

Cohesive and pleasingly understated, drawing on post-punk, Afro-pop and Talking Heads-style funk-pop, and glued together by Fraiture's gauzy vocals. [May 2017, p.39]

Alt-J enter Kid A territory. The baroque synth pop of "In Cold Blood" and the kinky rockabilly of "Hit Me Like That Snare" are their only concessions to the arena. [Jul 2017, p.25]

Sombre but spellbindingly ethereal nostalgia. [Jun 2017, p.28]

Beneath the edgy smarts there's always been an undercurrent of anxiety, and now they're plunging into choppy emotional waters, minus irony's lifebelt. [Jul 2017, p.26]

As imaginative as his guitar playing can be, Auerbach's vocals can be limited. ... And yet, Auerbach's obvious affections for these touchstones, and for these performers, more than make up for such shortcomings. [Jul 2017, p.34]

A clutch of glistening electronic pop gems. [Jul 2017, p.37]

Over two decades on, in remastered form, these tracks have aged well, retaining their multi-layered, bass-heavy eclecticism, and moving back and forth between gentle melancholia and hands-in-the-air euphoria. [Jun 2017, p.49]

While much of this is somewhat sentimental, notable moments include Michael Kiwanuka and Kevin Morby's respective takes on the standards "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child" and "I Only Have Eyes For You." [Jun 2017, p.26]

It doesn't all work ... but a guest appearance on voice from singer-songwriter Barbara Manning kicks things into the next gear. [Jul 2017, p.30]

Accompanying all this is Giles Martin's newly mixed stereo version inspired by the original mono. It means everything is fuller and better balanced. ... The Beatles never worked with such unified purpose again, but what this Pepper boxset captures is the fun, intense, playful ferment; the triumph, in other words. [Jul 2017, p.42]

There's soulful opulence to "Sister Goodbye," a sultry tribute to Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the deathless country-soul of "No 5 Hurricane" reeks with old-school Southern charm, and the sweltering funk of "Sunrise" and the title track sound like lost Muscle Shoals gems. [Jun 2017, p.23]

Intriguing album. ... Lyrically, the prevailing atmosphere is reflective. [Jun 2017, p.28]

Bowlcut romantics will swoon for twinkly samba "Saveoursmiles" and "Love Me 'Til My Heart Stops" on his 10th LP, but as wistfulness gives way to despondency on "Rust" and an anguished take on West Side Story's "Somewhere," Stewart's idiosyncratic path feels like an increasingly lonely one. [Jul 2017, p.25]

Recorded partially outdoors, Resin Pockets' sometimes rough and rustic nature belies the grace and beauty in Jones' deceptively causal songs. [Jul 2017, p.26]

There's an exotic, silk-road feel to her [singer Barbora Patkova's] spectral ululations, often delivered in her native language, that work brilliantly on the seven-minute title track, but can feel samey across a full album. [Jul 2017, p.30]

The highlight is the lengthy Elvin Jones tribute that opens the album---an expansive Afro-tinged big band upgrade of a piece originally recorded with Jim Keltner. [Jun 2017, p.38]

The film and its astutely assembled soundtrack didn't just ride grunge's momentum, it pumped up the volume by capturing the scene in context. [Jun 2017, p.51]

Dion's unknown recordings are a lavish tour de force of folk-into-rock and blues-into pop. [Jul 2017, p.50]

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]

Weird-but-wonderful free-folk explorations. [Jul 2017, p.25]

For all the collaboration, and the interweaving of roots and modern, Ayisoba's relentless kologo, and sheer force of character, gifts the album its irresistible drive and fierceness. [May 2017, p.32]

A final suite of three songs--"Wait For Her," "Oceans Apart" and "Part OF Me Died"--offer a more intimate perspective; a warm, optimistic coda to Waters' apocalyptic reveries. [Jul 2017, p.40]

The trio deliver devotional, soulful, throat-reddening gospel on Move Upstairs, where the odd rough note only adds to the one-take authenticity. [Jul 2017, p.26]

The follow-up [to Absent Fathers] is an even more impressive progression. Marriage and impending fatherhood bring both focus and exuberance to Earle's seventh album. [Jul 2017, p.28]

The evening set is more dynamic. [Jun 2017, p.23]

Soulfire is a portrait of the E Street Band guitarist as a rock'n'roll renaissance man. [Jul 2017, p.32]

[Tim Burgess'] boyish voice sounds warmer than ever, too, while Johnny Marr and Paul Weller are among guests fortifying his band's fluid grooves. [Jul 2017, p.26]

For the first time, Toth wrote the melodies before the lyrics, the result is a set of lush, free-born soundscapes, yet without any diminution in his narrative powers. [Jul 2017, p.40]

Their treacly heaviness still courses through pop cuts. [Jul 2017, p.23]

True to form, Love And War contains its share of impeccably wrought arena-country singalongs, like "Last Time For Everything" and "One Beer Can," along with the occasional bite at expectations, and the hands that feed him. [Jul 2017, p.36]

DAMN. is a showcase for a rapper at his peak, blessed with a flow, nuance and unostentatious authority that currently feels unparalleled. [Jul 2017, p.32]

From A Room, Volume One manages to pull off that rare trick of sounding both fresh and familiar, as dauntless as it is consoling. [Jul 2017, p.28]

Unfortunately, this conservative album wastes his eight-member backing band, who have much more range and power than these songs would indicate. [Jul 2017, p.26]

A truly futuristic slice of R&B. [Jun 2017, p.30]

These are thoroughly modern songs--and very much Harding's own. [Jun 2017, p.30]

There's a less scrappy approach on this album, a glossier production with more realised and experimental offerings. [Jun 2017, p.28]

A more layered dreampop with faux-epic tendencies. [Apr 2017, p.30]

While sticking well within their comfort zone, electro-pop veterans Vince Clarke and Andy Bell sound a little more restrained and reflective than usual on their 17th studio album. [Jun 2017, p.28]

The new songs possess an engaging spareness and intimacy while still making room for such guests as Sharon Van Etten. [Jun 2017, p.33]

Though sometimes still prone to cliche, in his finest work--such as the salient balladry of "Bad Dreams" and "Silent Movie"--LaFarge confronts roiling uncertainty and chaos, to great effect. [Jun 2017, p.33]

Nathan Williams and his brat-punks have reverted to the DIY route--surely the natural seedbed for their scattergun sonic brainstorms. [Jun 2017, p.38]

The septuagenarian reintroduces himself as a lively and supremely compelling singer. [Jun 2017, p.24]

II mixes sweeping, retro-futuristic synth-pop with brazenly outre guitar shredding and motorik beats to savvy--and emotionally sincere--effect. [Jun 2017, p.33]

The set never feels like adapted poetry. [Jun 2017, p.28]

Jeffes has safeguarded the Orchestra's broad, eccentric range of instruments, and shifts effortlessly from the drones of "Control 1 (Interlude)" to the good-natured, pastoral pleasures of "Ricercar." [Jun 2017, p.37]

Spry, antic and engaging. [Jun 2017, p.34]

This collection makes clear that there are still many more stories to tell, more beauty and evil left to uncover. [Jun 2017, p.40]

The beauty of Coltrane's work, and the way she could transform a personal system of belief into the highest accessible art, is striking. [Jun 2017, p.44]

Fistfuls of dirty riff'n'rolll with a side order of voodoo and psych. [Jun 2017, p.30]

Bathed in a languorous mood of intimate romance, it's served without schmaltz and only occasionally flirts with the soporific. [Jun 2017, p.33]

Stratton's accessible but deep-rooted approach embraces a barbed undertow in opener "Light Blue," while dashing arrangements--slivers of stringed wonder deployed to resonate effect on "Vanishing Class"--illuminates his songwriting craft. [Jun 2017, p.37]

Weaver grounds all this analogue fizz and crackle in strong songwriting, erecting a razzle-dazzle wall of sonic scaffolding around richly referential lyrics and lysergic pastoral harmonies. Her best yet. [Jun 2017, p.38]

A Kind Revolution shows that Weller's Indian summer of creativity--one that started with 2008's 22 Dreams--shows no sign of ending. [Jun 2017, p.20]

Although at times it can sound a little too carefully planned, there are some wonderful moments. [Jun 2017, p.23]

Haunting, bassy and electronic. [Jun 2017, p.35]

Every song on Big Bad Luv seems to stem from emotional trauma, but he's pragmatic enough to get something good out of each one. [Jun 2017, p.36]

Under Tweedy's almost imperceptible guidance, Shelley has learned to trust her contradictory impulses. Her shyness is amplified, the words more direct.[Jun 2017, p.32]

The lo-fi "If Only I Could Fly" captures the record's rustic spirit, but there's a cowboy feel to "Nobody's Darling." [Jun 2017, p.24]

While it all sometimes gets a little too soporific, the overall effect is undeniably seductive. [Jun 2017, p.34]

This Old Dog is an admirable exertion. [Jun 2017, p.28]

Sounding as hale and hearty as they did on last year's The Machine Stops, the rejuvenated band attain the same state of cosmic ragged glory several more times on Into The Woods. [Jun 2017, p.30]

As if suddenly unleashed creatively, No Shape finds Hadreas building on Too Bright in every direction at once. ... The queer subtext of Hadreas' work is the source of much of its power. [Jun 2017, p.22]

The gauzy, indistinct vocals of Neil Halsted and Rachel Goswell continue to weave their shoey magic. [Jun 2017, p.27]

In Spades is a thrillingly impassioned addition to their catalogue. [Jun 2017, p.21]

Moffat doesn't do much with Mendelssohn's music except to chop it into annoying loops or stretch it out into quivering ambience that lacks the warmth and charm of his previous cut-up efforts. [Jun 2017, p.33]

The morning moods are more immediately engaging, with Eno-ish rhyme schemes and country stylings. [Jun 2017, p.23]

On God’s Problem Child, he sounds a bit like a weathered harmonica: he might have lost some of his higher notes, but he can soar through all the ones that count. The arrangements, which skew more toward classic country and slower tempos than Band Of Brothers, also help highlight Willie’s strengths.

Black Lips have found their way to middle age through a careful balance of punk attitude and rock'n'roll classicism. Satan's Graffiti Or God's Art? keeps that dissolute edge intact. [Jun 2017, p.24]

While it might have played better in 2003, it's a welcome return regardless. [Jun 2017, p.23]

At Saint Thomas The Apostle Harlem proves she's become just as expressive as a pianist as she is with her bloodcurdling wails. [May 2017, p.30]

An immersive and texturally rich listen. [Jun 2017, p.37]

The standard violin-mandolin-accordian corduroy rusticity is shoved aside here and there with musical and emotional ferocity. [Jun 2017, p.34]

The Weather finds them anchoring their sillier musical excesses with solid pop tunes and heartfelt existential concerns. [Jun 2017, p.37]

A broader exploration of form. ... Like most everything here, ["Geraldine" is] a beautifully weighted moment. [Jun 2017, p.26]

Deborah Harry's voice has rarely sounded better, perhaps energised by material worthy to stand alongside the group's brightest back pages. [Jun 2017, p.24]

These five expansive tracks forgo punk rock sloganeering in favour of themes of mystery, sorcery and spiritual jubilation. [Jun 2017, p.34]

Taken on its own terms, Novum is an impressive display of retro firepower. [May 2017, p.37]

[A] darkly compelling new album. [May 2017, p.24]

A listener might be impressed by the scale of the experience, but ultimately there is something missing--intimacy?--missing. [Jun 2017, p.30]

Some of Feist's most affecting and exhilarating music to date. [Jun 2017, p.16]