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]

It's bracingly experimental throughout, if a little difficult to fully love. [Jun 2017, p.30]

This intensely personal touch humanises his alien sound design, casting him as a kind of sensual mutant whose comradeship with Bjork makes perfect sense. [Jun 2017, p.23]

The more spacious likes of "Comanche Moon" and "Life Song" suggest an ambition to nail a headline spot at the UFO Club, which may not boast much novelty a half-century after the fact, but can still elicit a contact high. [Jun 2017, p.23]

The resulting appearances from the likes of Calexico, Mark Knopfler, Carrie Rodriguez and David Lindley are subtle and empathetic, blending easily into Brown's spare, atmospheric Americana. [Jun 2017, p.24]

Concrete Desert is a seductive set-piece. [Jun 2017, p.24]

Kelly's craftsmanship ensures Untouchable is a deeply satisfying 32 minutes. [Jun 2017, p.24]

Death Peak takes you on a journey of sorts. [Jun 2017, p.26]

Entirely self-written and beautifully realised, Americana is a deeply satisfying reminder that Davies remains a songwriter with a huge reach, but few equals. [Jun 2017, p.29]

Despite moments of discordance, as on "Narkopop 1," Gas continues to provide, for the most part, analgesic relief. [Jun 2017, p.30]

What once seemed an aesthetic springboard for the band to make truly great music now seems rather like retreading old ground. [Jun 2017, p.33]

Not for the first time, their presentation is inspired but the material can fall a little flat. [Jun 2017, p.37]

This follow-up to their 2014 debut blends antique-sounding folk tracks with glossier electronic numbers including "Die Young," which cocoons premature death in pretty harmonies, and "Kick Jump Twist," about the quest for instant fame. [Jun 2017, p.38]

Love Is Love really takes off when the brass comes out. [Jun 2017, p.38]

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]

The Last Rider is another warm collection of bittersweet pop songs, alternately wistful and playful, freighted with memories of time and place. [May 2017, p.39]

The lonesome trumpet-flecked "Sand," an easy-swinging "Laugh" and "Cali," with its late summer-in-Laurel Canyon vibe, prove this is no one-note set. [May 2017, p.35]

Gnod explore a cacophonous avant-garde rock music with elements of Swans, Spacemen 3 and country folk The Fall swirling in its DNA. [May 2017, p.30]

There may be too much on Electric Lines--including Jess Mills, American nwo R&B upstart Daniel Wilson and an uncharacteristically low energy Taylor on the title track. [May 2017, p.30]

Presley's righteous fury and mordant wit burn even brighter on this follow-up. [May 2017, p.28]

Kidal sounds like a high tide. [May 2017, p.40]

The expansively layered arrangements here are a testament to a bolder ambition than the acoustic troubadour shtick that once defined him. [May 2017, p.37]

[A] sumptuous, immensely pleasurable throwback album. [May 2017, p.25]

Too often, Belong manages the almost interesting feat of sounding both overcooked and half-baked. [May 2017, p.39]

Happyness gets more interesting when they dig deeper into rock history. [May 2017, p.32]

An album characterised by comically overwrought anthems and production-line lyrics. [May 2017, p.26]

The buttery groove of "Serotonin Rushes" and "Swoon" suggests F&Y are at the top of their idiosyncratic game. [May 2017, p.30]

Without notable emotional heft, however, the identikit cool and sub-Lana Del Rey poses prove wearisome, the cloying artifice insubstantial. [May 2017, p.39]

The belated follow-up is a massive upgrade. [May 2017, p.26]

Adios expands on 2014's The No-Hit Wonder by incorporating heaps of soul, a pinch of sprightly folk and swampy blues. [May 2017, p.25]

Canyons Of My Mind amply confirms the considerable promise Combs has previously displayed. [May 2017, p.26]

It's Pollard in excelsis. [May 2017, p.32]

It's a svelte, consummately accomplished change, although Burnett's reliably polished, sometimes even laidback, settings allow plenty of room for grit and sweat. [Apr 2017, p.32]

Their 10th album in 25 years underlines their skill at combining heavy guitar solos with gauzy pop melodies and blizzards of noise. [Apr 2017, p.25]

Here, the likes of "Call Upon The Fire" and "Commanche Moon" continue to mines, as, say Earth do, a folk essence of melody and lore. [Apr 2017, p.23]

The results are stiff at times, the LP overlong, but Branch's country songwriting sounds all the more compelling and idiosyncratic in this setting. [May 2017, p.25]

They've mastered the basics, but still have miles to go. [May 2017, p.26]

Animating even the slowest songs on the album is a sense of play and possibility, the realisation that these musicians can shake off the dust and still surprise us. [May 2017, p.36]

Kirk's fondness for gloomier realms prevails, especially in his noteworthy wordplay and on the ominously noisy title track. [May 2017, p.40]

Not so much a fusion as a cross-cultural collision. [May 2017, p.40]