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

There are a handful of stunning instrumentals, but the revelations here are Lanois' singing and songwriting. [May 2003, p.102]

Diaz deftly carries the torch, fusing stripped-down, bleeding-heart acoustic meditations with bursts of fiery instrumentation, her glossy voice at once tender and insistent, rhythmically narrating her loveworn journey with precise, clever turns of phrase. [Sep 2021, p.27]

Alongside collaborator Warren Ellis [Nick Cave has] mastered the subdued, unobtrusive yet sinister piano ripple and the occasional unsettling rumble, gilding them with rare, understated vocals.

But perhaps the most effective retread is Talking Heads' "Listening Wind": Gabriel removes the funk, parks the dance, and leaves the words to do the work.

Two albums on and they're still assembling a uniquely imaginative mythology. [Jul 2011, p.82]

Demos - impressive for Elton's ability to nail a song on first take, amusing for his repertoire of Goons voices - and songs from the Feb 1972 Royal Festival Hall concert which amounted to his showbiz coronation. [May 2023, p.46]

Her faintly punch-drunk voice sometimes sounds just a kilojoule of energy (or lack thereof) from uninterested, but just as often she's as winsomely weary as she is vulnerable, and the impeccably stylish decoration seals our seduction. [Nov 2018, p.25]

It's a stunning comeback that whets the appetite for an autumn tour. [Oct 2014, p.74]

In making work that continues to challenge oppressive systems and relay his tender feelings, it’s clear Nash is very much alive in the now. [Jun 2023, p.22]

As autobiographies go, it's fairly oblique but no less intriguing for it. [Jul 2023, p.36]

The Coral don't put a foot wrong on this album, and therein lies its one flaw: by polishing their technique and perfecting their craft, they've become slightly less interesting. [Aug 2010, p.81]

The Sadies’ nebulous country-rock moves through glistening psychedelia (“Message To Belial”), gorgeous string ballads (“All The Good”) and fierce garage fuzz (“Ginger Moon”). [Aug 2022, p.31]

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]

Glasvegas still strike the heart-strings, even without noisy guitars. [Jan 2008, p.94]

They've sorted through a kitbag of 80 songs and made good on the potential. [Apr 2011, p.77]

YTILAER picks at the fabric of the universe and if it doesn't always find the answers it wants, the expansive musical backdrop underlines its slightly ecstatic, questing spirit. [Nov 2022, p.34]

Roadkill Rising, merging generally strong performances with reasonable-quality recordings, manages the thorny task of excerpting some 20-plus concert tapes into a cogent history. [Jun 2011, p.94]

Forever so takes in spectral balladry, rousing stompathons and incursions into jazz and olde English madrigals, to consistently bewitching effect. [Jun 2012, p.74]

It's amazing they're still so punk, so relentlessly jagged and vicious. [Apr 2003, p.110]

It's a lean, thrillingly muscular set from a genuinely distinctive talent. [Oct 2018, p.26]

From A Basement... returns us to the more unfiltered, denuded sound of his earlier [albums]. [Nov 2004, p.106]

An album of soaring pastoral symphonies, grand emotional vistas, knowing nostalgia and surreal wordplay. [Mar 2022, p.35]

He writes evocatively about his home state of Texas, which lends these songs a vivid backdrop. [Nov 2024, p.31]

At low volume, the album could serve as dinner music, but crank it up and its hushed intensity will gut you. [Jun 2022, p.25]

By facing up to their demons, they've recaptured what made them special. [Mar 2020, p.37]

Bingham embellishes the arrangements with Exile-style female backing vocals and country-skronk raucousness. ... The reflective moments pack a wallop as well. [Mar 2019, p.24]

Lowering and exquisitely lucid opener "The Returning Angel" is worlds away from the subtle six-string abstraction and percussive pizzazz od "The Bag" - typical of the record's range. [May 2025, p.28]

These 10 tightly wound, mystical mini-epics are underpinned by Jared Tankel's precision horns, and Brian Profilio, whose John Bonham drums bring the black country rock. [May 2019, p.24]

The Airing Of Grievances is one of the smartest, most joyous records in an age, channelling the spirit of other too-clever-by-half suburban punks from The Replacements to Nirvana and adding a dash of felllow New Jerseyite Bruce Springsteen's eye for detail. [MAr 2009, p.87]

While not quite a handbrake turn, No witch shows a band moving out of the woods into wider spaces. [Apr 2011, p.77]

Cherish The Light Years is more accomplished, refashioning vintage Mute Records sounds into widescreen pop. [May 2011, p.80]

There is less self-indulgence and more inspired engagement with the album concept on shorter pieces. [Aug 2017, p.30]

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]

After the intermission of Aerial, could this mark the real beginning of the second act of Kate Bush's brilliant career? Let's hope, like Molly, the answer is "Yes..." [Jun 2011, p.81]

His style is exquisitely restrained and deeply soulful. [Jan 2023, p.25]

Another wildly implausible Shaun Ryder comback. Just when we needed one. [Aug 2003, p.98]

What may be lost slightly in translation is mitigated by the musicality of the vocal tones, with Cate Le Bon and H Hawkline H adding a plaintive backing chorus on "Pan Ddaw'r Haul I Fore". [Oct 2025, p.32]

This merging of hypnotic rhythms with pulsing electro is apparent throughout, especially on squelchy tracks like "Got To Be Who U Are", and the result is a potent fusion. [Jun 2024, p.36]

Low-key arrangements are anchored by Henry's agreeably lived-in voice. [Mar 2023, p.28]

The veteran band's warmest, most tactile record. [May 2023, p.32]

Tinariwen have created an entire genre of desert blues, as young bands like Tamikrest and Terakaft attest, but they remain peerless. [Sep 2011, p.76]

The music is spectacular, of course. But if you want to know how the deal really went down, you'll still have to go under the counter. [Jun 2023, p.48]

Impressively inventive and diverse material. [Dec 2019, p.35]

A colorful fusion, blunted underground hip-hop flowing into delirious live bass jams and cosmic balladry. [Nov 2014, p.75]

And Justice For All remains their most pivotal and arguably their most divisive album. ... Lots of demos, rough mixes, studio jams and live numbers that show how powerful the new lineup sounded away from the studio. [Jan 2019, p.37]

The band's trademark punky abrasiveness and arty dissonance now serve a more dancefloor-friendly dynamic. [Nov 2006, p.106]

It makes for another assured chapter in a celebrated life, a celebrated achievement. [Jun 2022, p.24]

LP number nine features meditations on ageing: “Deathbed Of My Dreams” does it in a Nashville style; “Young And Stupid” does it like an early 1970s Eurovision entry. There’s also joyous self-affirmation. ... Best of all are “Prophets On Hold” and “Talk To Me Talk To Me”, AOR masterpieces that should have been on the last Abba album. J[Jun 2022, p.25]

Putting perfectionism aside hasn't lessen his knack for melody and texture. [Apr 2021, p.27]

It's an LP that gets through more ideas than most indie bands can manage in a lifetime. [Dec 2013, p.71]

These boys have genuine pedigree--guitarist Jamie's grandpa was Ewan MacColl--and the confident acoustic textures and fingerpicking styles on display here show a real affection for folk traditions. [Aug 2010, p.77]

This is the work of a star-crossed original in full flow. [Mar 2016, p.73]

Visiter suggesting both a rhythm-centric Shins and a more hard-bitten Feelies. [Aug 2008, p.90]

It's closest to the similarly spare Peace Queer and Agnostic Hymns & Stoner fables, and smider's writing assumes spectacular meta-dimensions. [May 2019, p.34]

The Stand Ins stands out on its own merits, a trove of dazzlingly wittty songcraft. [Nov 2008, p.112]

It's Cervenka's superb vocals that make this a carer highlight. [Apr 2011, p.77]

Man Overboard doesn’t quite scale the heights of its predecessor, even containing a stumble or two ('Girl From The Office,' with Hunter playing the cad, falls flat), but it still offers plenty.

At the peak moments of High Violet, The National are magnificent. [Jun 2010, p.78]

Ultimately, the changes are subtle rather than profound and Gray still sounds like he's been nailed to a cross--which will no doubt come as a relief to loyal fans. [Jul 2014, p.74]

Musically fascinating and hauntingly empathetic. [Oct 2018, p.29]

Luckily they are one of the few bands with stadium heft and the tunes to pull it off, rendering their big-heartedness euphorically justified. [Aug 2012, p.78]

That voice [of Marry Waterson]--sometimes sharp and slightly acrid, often warm and consoling, even when passing a dispassionate eye over the tales it tells--is the real magic here. [Nov 2017, p.39]

The charming meld of discordance and melody is displayed throughout, with Rønnenfelt shrieking and hissing above tar-thick bass, piano stabs and guitar. [Dec 2016, p.32]

The opportunity to behold such a comprehensive survey of Wilson’s artistry even in this compromised state can be both startling and staggering. That’s especially true of The Beach Boys Love You. .... The vocals-only versions of “The Night Was So Young” and “Let’s Put Our Hearts Together” and other demos emphasize the songs’ childlike spirit of joy and invention. [Mar 2026, p.42]

Mixing classic covers (Big Joe Williams’ “Crawling King Snake”, Charlie Patton’s “Pea Vine Blues”) with his ‘new’ compositions, lyrical advances into commonplace blues melodies like “When The Frisco Left the Shed”, there’s timelessness in every note here, every expression. [Jul 2022, p.29]

The results are impressive. [Jan 2012, p.81]

Bejar's band--either completely at ease with or oblivious to his verbal flights of fancy--play rich, languid, bar-room indie-rock with florid bursts of guitar. [May 2008, p.94]

This audacious album succeeds not by altering Cage's distinctive identity but by exponentially amplifying it. [June 2019, p.26]

From present to future at Warp factor. [Mar 2009, p.86]

A mostly successful fusion of sonic and sartorial elegance. [May 2011, p.82]

A collection of balmy disco that call to mind some tropical union between Arthur Russell and Prince. [Sep 2011, p.81]

A record that's complex, inventive and terrifically free-spirited. [Sep 2013, p.92]

He sings plenty, with engaging huskiness, while leading his band down ever more inventive tangents. [Nov 2014, p.76]

Great-uh. [Jun 2023, p.31]

These songs, still beautifully disruptive decades later show why the music outlasted the club itself. [Feb 2026, p.50]

This is a tremendous album. [Mar 2020, p.22]

While all this makes for a rich, dense and sometimes overwhelming offering, Amos still ensures there's some light amid all this darkness. [May 2026, p.25]

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

An out-of-time treat. [Feb 2015, p.73]

His technical prowess is thrilling in its time signature hopping. [Mar 2013, p.65]

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

With Fallen Angels, Bob Dylan, like Linda Ronstadt and Rod Stewart before him, has seen fit to continue his exploration of the Great American Songbook begun with such unexpected poise and humility on last year’s Shadows In The Night.

Swift navigates Sansone's majestic folk-rock arrangements like the able captain of a frigate sailing over shimmering seas. [Sep 2020, p.36]

Unexpected and quietly ambitious. [Aug 2019, p.32]

Her catchy new songs find comfort and self-reliance in solitude. [Aug 2019, p.31]

LL's best album since 1987's Bigger and Deffer. [Jan 2003, p.122]

His originals here include the rippling, Arabic-accented, Dizzy Gillespie-inspired" Caravanseral" and the tricksy waltz ballad "Ruth". [Apr 2023, p.25]

That these 15 vignettes sound effortless does nothing to detract from their elegance. [Oct 2018, p.29]

Layered with folklore and mysticism, lustrous synthesiser textures and twangy surf-punk guitars, the band's third album maps an expansive musical cosmos. [Mar 2022, p.26]

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

Far from reining it in on his major label debut, he's stretching out even further. [May 2022, p.36]

Call it a quiet protest against reality: a one-woman bed in. One way and another, it works like a dream. [Feb 2020, p.18]

The 21-year-old with the bell-clear vocals scarcely puts a foot wrong, sliding easily between solemn country balladry and snappy country rock. [Sep 2010, p.90]

Nothing is forced and no sound is extraneous on this desert-dry, whisper-close 12-song set. [Apr 2020, p.30]

[A] remarkable album. [Jun 2007, p.91]

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

A joyfully inspired album from a band who give pomp a good name. [Apr 2011, p.78]