Contains some of their most objectively beautiful songs. [Jun 2025, p.41]

Instant Holograms... offers a kind of manual on how to resist the negativity and reconnect with society. Alternatively, it's another super-fun Stereolab album full of obscure synth blurps, nifty lounge-pop tunes and gnarly motorik wig-outs. Either way, you won't be disappointed. [Jun 2025, p.24]

We have properly zippy bangers for the moshpit in Atomic Revelations, These Scars Won't Define Us and the monstrous Addicted To Pain - but there's exploration aplenty here, abd the band sound all the better for it. [Jun 2025, p.103]

A deliciously bubbling cauldron seasoned with ladles of Scott Walker melodrama and a generously pinch of Bowie-inspired balladry. [May 2025, p.33]

The playing is as eloquent as ever, dextrous but never overtly showy, while Richard Wats' voice delivers a pleasingly plaintive yearn. [Jun 2025, p.41]

The dilapidated English fairground has served as a metaphor for the vicissitudes of the music business for everyone from Ray Davies to Kevin Ayers, but it's rarely been so vividly, furiously and poignantly realised. [Jun 2025, p.35]

Easy listening it's not, yet there's defiance, too ("You Mustn't Show Weakness") and even transcendence ("A World Of Love And Care") before Furman ends with a posutively harrowing cover of Alex Walton's emotionally fraught "I Need The Angel". [May 2025, p.31]

They're following their "first thought" instincts while allowing space for the full expression of Garbus's mighty soul voice. [Jun 2025, p.41]

Poetic ruminations largely accompanied by sparse piano and string quartet ("Coming Home", "Time To Go"), with the occasional curious detour. [Jun 2025, p.39]

The wistful allure of the heady old days is strong as he ponders the sacred but mostly the profane alongside a fiery Lisa O'Neill on "Poca Mahoney's". But he also finds slapdash inspiration on his doorstep in bucolic Normandy. [Jun 2025, p.31]

The title track's anthem of righteous '60s-style fight confirms serious intent to add to Lowell Gregory's legacy. [Jun 2025, p.34]

A haunting collection which points towards renewal. [Jun 2025 p.35]

Several tracks here resemble conceptual art installations. .... But others movie in a poppier direction. .... Best of all might be "The Men Who Dance In Stags Heads". .... With help from harmonised backing vocals, woodwind countermelodies and some dreamy electronic flourishes, it somehow manages to turn this dark tale of the rural poor's response to the Industrial Revolution into something sunny, joyous and beatific. [Jun 2025, p.38]

It's noisy, riotous, guttural stuff - old-school noise rock to its core - that very much picks up where the band left off. [May 2025, p.33]

It reprises their indie-modified take on panoramic, heartland rock and synth-pop, though with little emotional impact and no clear intent. [Jun 2025, p.30]

The Road To The Sea is a blithe but bittersweet affair. [Jun 2025, p.35]

An album that feels delicately versatile, as well as a truly singular bit of leftfield art pop. [Jun 2025, p.33]

Laessig and Wolfe show their range on the soaring country soul of "Orange Blossoms" and demonstrate the difference between overwrought emoting and dynamic melodrama on "Final Days". [May 2025, p.33]

Her 10th album steps back from the literary conceits and high concepts of her last couple of albums and finds humility and grace amid the "permanent emergency" of the present. [Jun 2025, p.41]

At moments conjures Steely Dan, Little Feat and Weather Report while stretching into new territory. Constant shifts in tone, tempo and scale keep this 14-track, 90-minute opus in constant motion. [May 2025, p.31]

The delight in Sandwell's music is the way it balances pummelling rhythms with an atmospheric quality. [Jun 2025, p.39]

Packed with musical and literary references, there's a lot to unpick, but tracks like "The Catastrophe (Good Luck With That, Man)" show the band still have a knack for pop hooks, albeit not as lo-fi as before. [Jun 2025, p.70]

Elemental and beautiful. [Apr 2025, p.31]

An album of songs encompassing beguiling naivety, terse wisdom and twinkling regret. [May 2025, p.30]

Both share an inclination towards the transcendent, and Totality offers further proof they're operating on much the same wavelength. [Jun 2025, p.35]

Against all odds it works, distilling shots of Bowie, Billy Idol and inevitably, Pulp into a surprisingly potent cocktail of list and regret. [May 2025, p.35]

Ghedi expertly shapes traditional tunes, covers and dazzling originals into a deeply personal vision. [Feb 2025, p.35]

"The Outer Region Of The Universe" is an appealing ambient workout, while "Co-Pilot" is an ever-mutating bossa nova. [May 2025, p.87]

Kuti plots a way forward with the high-energy "Shotan" and "Corruption Na Stealing", his message ultimately uplifting. [May 2025, p.32]

it's a densely layered, frictional set that matches emotional heft and musical invention in equal and impressive measure. [May 2025, p.39]

One of the most compelling albums Tyler has made. .... Time Indefinite seems to stare into the heart of what the country is tight now, in all its fragmented, polarised turmoil; the state of the nation in perfect sync with Tyler's own troubled state of mind. [May 2025, p.26]

A predominantly female choir features throughout, boosting Taylor's crises of confidence on "Focus Is Power" and "What Now" into communal rallying cries. But there is fun here too. [May 2025, p.39]

The set charms and thrills. [May 2025, p.29]

Where Moor Mother's usual free jazz band Irreversible Entanglements give warm instrumental life to poem which are ultimately hopeful for change, Sumac offer grinding feedback symphonies. [May 2025, p.39]

The Great Learning Orchestra approach Ono's instruction pieces with integrity and wit. [May 2025, p.35]

Embracing his Māori heritage and language when his songwriting faltered in English has, though, taken Williams into more nakedly exposed realms. [May 2025, p.39]

The performances are entirely unmediated, taped in the open air like an old-style field recording with the cicadas and birds chirping gloriously in the background. [May 2025, p.31]

The results is both familiar and strange. [May 2025, p.33]

A further example of his fluency in the ancient, internationally shared languages of wonder and imagining. [Apr 2025, p.36]

Though the apple doesn't fall far from the electronic/art-rock tree, the writing isn't as fully realised as TVOTR's and the playing lacks their meaty resonance. [May 2025, p.27]

Antigone is one of most intelligent, beautiful and entrancing albums you're likely to hear all year. [Apr 2025, p.26]

"Dirt" and gentle gut-wrencher "Showdown", on which Baker takes vocal lead, boast the same sparse, clear-eyed lyricism of her 2021 album Little Oblivions, while Scott's earthy alto is the perfect foil, whether campfire storyteller or wisecracking sidekick. [Apr 2025, p.27]

it's a fitting summation of a remarkable career. [May 2025, p.36]

Her most gently ambitious and dazzlingly diverse album to date. [Apr 2025, p.32]

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]

It's haunting, purgatory stuff. [May 2025, p.39]

It's a wild ride, by turns embracing and disorienting, its tracks ranging from brief instrumental stings to stately arias, though the highlights are the moments when Longstreth's pop sensibility is most audible. [Apr 2025, p.35]

Sable, Fable is an album that is felt as much as heard: the contraction of its opening tracks, the release of its love songs, the resolve of its closing numbers. [May 2025, p.34]

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]

If "The Liquid Hour" is restless over a longer stretch, its conclusion is nonetheless charming. [Apr 2025, p.39]

Echoes of early MGMT also haunt the like of "Delete Ya", but he's at his best when he lends a touch of falsetto-sung acoustic soul to "Potion" and "Fly" floats off into wistful wanderlust. [May 2025, p.29]

In the end, it comes down to little moments of bliss, and those seven or eight words. "I don't know how I made it" Scott sings, as Taylor Goldsmith essays an angelic harmony. "but I made it". As a funeral march, it's a humdinger. [Apr 2025, p.22]

Though still hyper-literate, the sound away from the semi-spoken ballads tends less frantic than The Hod Steady, from the Cars-like new wave of "postcards" to the distinctly Springstonian "Luke & Leanna". [May 2025, p.29]

It's relentless, formulaic and irritating - and although things improve hugely when they drop the bombast on later tracks such as "where It Belongs", "Blood On The Page" and the gorgeous "Carry On", by then it's almost too late. [May 2025, p.33]

Melodic beauty at times gives way to oversweet twinkling, but "Modigliani" and "Most Wanted Man" are winners. [May 2025, p.29]

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]

Bulat's reliably warm-hearted songs still benefit from the rejuvenating effects of the twinkling synths that fill "Spirit" and "Laughter". [May 2025, p.28]

Captivatingly widescreen stuff. [May 2025, p.27]

Listeners anticipating some sort of shoegaze supergroup will be neither entirely wrong nor remotely disappointed. "A Different Girl" and "8th Deadly Sin" especially demonstrate that Berenyi retains her knack for wrapping languid melodies around waspish lyrics. [May 2025, p.28]

By "Carousel", the feedback feels cleansing, as authentic anti-heroes and alter-egos merge with the purging heaviness. [Apr 2025, p.35]

Often have a touch of the Broadway musical to them, but some are great. .... But it's only on "When This Old World Is Done With ME", a hymnal elegy where a weary-sounding Elton accompanies himself on piano, that we get a glimpse of genuine emotion. [Apr 2025, p.32]

The best tracks revisit some older collaborations: "Hildebrandlied" is an acid house belter while Belgian techno producer Fabrice Lig hits the synth-pop jackpot with the Pet Shop Boy-ish "Cinema". [May 2025, p.31]

Awash with Crosby, Stills & Nash chemistry, 12-string trills and the Joni-inspired "Seemed She Always Knew". [Apr 2025, p.28]

"You Were The Ones I Had to Betray" is a heady opener, the title track is a rich stunner, while the brilliant, bittersweet "Yesterday's Hero" is a bold missive from a songwriter who is still producing some of his best work. [Apr 2025, p,39]

Songcraft conventions - choruses, recurring riffs - are daringly absent. On repeat listens, though, the meandering strands - from the dreamy acoustica of "Two Horses" and choral harmonies on "Mary" to the Philip Glass-like horns of "Nancy Takes The Night" - begin to stick, aided by frequently arresting lyrics. [Apr 2025, p.28]

It's a strikingly bold venture, and a refreshing take on the Roxy soundworld. [Apr 2025, p.29]

There's an enduring warmth to the record that comes from the fuzz of psychedelia that holds everything together. [Apr 2025, p.27]

The enigmatic ensemble head out on taut, Teutonic disco manoeuvres on "Dancing In Transit" before making like a feral 808 State as they imagine Raoul Duke and Don Quixote in conversation on "Raoul". [Apr 2025, p.35]

"Earth 1" demonstrates the band's ability to pursue any number of loopy tangents without losing the woozy charm that comes more strongly to the fore in the dreamier "Heaven 7". [Apr 2025, p.39]

Airy arrangements, wonderfully agile musicianship, songs pooled from numerous sources into flowing ensemble pieces. [Apr 2025, p.33]

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]

Now in his forties, Lakeman may no longer be the great white hope of English folk music - but he's never sounded more compelling. [Feb 2025, p.36]

This is a much more expansive and impressive affair [than his 2022 debut]. [Feb 2025, p.39]

These songs insinuate via a vaguely vintage sound that recall both Jonathan Donahue's spangled dreaminess and the (s)weary brio of Father John Misty. [Apr 2025, p.29]

A record as sonically rich as it is lyrically bold. [Apr 2025, p.35]

The effect is somehow lush and minimalist at the same time, and utterly immersive. [Apr 2025, p.35]

The quintet's most vibrant album in two decades. [Apr 2025, p.35]

Constant Noise is a majestic state-of-the-nation polemic, novelistic in scale, eclectic in sound, humane and lyrical even at its most nihilistic. [Apr 2025, p.28]

As ever, Lewis's lyrics are the standout. [Mar 2025, p.35]

Plenty of charm and style, not much originality or depth. [Apr 2025, p.29]

Polished but never bland, and comes dotted with a wealth of special guests. .... But a big part of what makes Tonky compelling is how he stitches his tales into a wider fabric of African-American experience. [Mar 2025, p.36]

Unashamedly shaggy compared to the sibling' meticulously crafted Lemon Twigs LPs. .... An illuminating look under the hood of the creative process. [Mar 2025, p.31]

It's unquestionably a more electronic record, but the band show that they still know how to make a racket. [Mar 2025, p.33]

The mix of prog, neo-classical and folkish influences, with Anderson's flute as ubiquitous as ever, is exactly as you'd expect, yet he has plenty to say of contemporary relevance in songs about Israel ("Over Jerusalem"), climate change ("Savannah Of Paddington Green") and the avarice of politicians ("Dunsinane Hill"). [Apr 2025, p31]

Beautifully harrowing music. A trove of demos, alternative takes, live cuts and liner notes, but the main draw are the Fundamentals, half-hour studio experiments that contain Tweedy's first stabs at so many familiar tunes. [Feb 2025, p.55]

It's all fairly dry, but listen closely and its charms emerge. [Mar 2025, p.41]

Showcase[s] the melancholic beauty of Zauner's songwriting, her storytelling skills honed across mediums. [Apr 2025, p.31]

Though this set is necessarily reflective, nostalgia and self-pity don't get a look in. [Apr 2025, p.33]

Once again ably embracing a broad range, from the knelling, Marty Robbins-ish "Death Of Bill Bailey" to the string-drenched Billy Sherrill-style ballad "This Crazy Life" to "Jamestown Ferry". [Apr 2025, p.28]

"South Coast" and "Albatross", especially, are the sound of a band growing no less peculiar and wonderous for their familiarity. [Mar 2025, p.41]

Her strikingly rich, four octave voice is the axis around which producer Andrew Broder has directed dark, ambient, degraded bassmusic, industrial pop and dungeon synth, with feedback and software fubars playing their part. [Apr 2025, p.28]

It's clever, surprisingly enjoyable and utterly insane. [Apr 2025, p.39]

Musically, the tunes blend pop stickiness with sonic experimentation, but there is a strong sense of place. [Mar 2025, p.24]

It's more of a halfway house, with both acts' distinctive styles diluted as they server up '90s breakbeats ("Kokiri", "Fleece") and light industrial spoken-word pieces ("Nowhere"). Only the jangly promise of "passerine" sung by Emma Acs, hunts at a newish direction. [Mar 2025, p.35]

Amid opiated baroque arrangements, Allison's impressive vocal abstraction stays the main attraction. [Feb 2025, p.33]

A vivid, endlessly beguiling listen. [Mar 2025, p.34]

Commits to the craft, shooting through stadium-sized choruses with mischievous humour. [Mar 2025, p.37]