It's a deeply personal and poignant exploration of loss. [Jan 2021, p.27]

The Dharma Wheel channels the Allman Brothers, Grateful Dead, Crazy Horse and more in its generous spirit. [Nov 2021, p.29]

Where the haunted vocals and atmospheric production remain, it's in service of something bolder, more dynamic. [Jan 2022, p.22]

It feels slightly too long but there's much to like. [Mar 2022, p.36]

Their unfussy but subtle playing embellishes the simplicity of Nash’s melodies, while experience brings renewed pathos to songs like “I Used To Be A King”, “Man In The Mirror” and even something as straightforward as “You’ll Never Be The Same”. [Jul 2022, p.30]

Efterklang deal exclusively in Big Music and there are plenty of stirring passages – “To A New Day” could be Take That; Mabe Fratti provides cello – and it all flows, rather too safely, at a steady pace. [Sep 2024, p.30]

A set of lush and moody ballads boasting ripe wisdom. [Oct 2025, p.31]

Gentler hues are to the fore on the soft strum and harmonies of Teenage Fanclub's "Lonely Night", coming as near as dammit to an indie Crosby, Stills & Nash. They veer from the template just once, on the slow country rock of "Me And Magdalena". [Apr 2026, p.26]

The songs are largely Solomon accompanied only by a primitively strummed acoustic guitar, a sparse but effective backdrop to confessional odes about facing fears. [Jun 2026, p.34]

The way they smudge together sounds can feel more untidy than enjoyable, but when they get it right, as on the riff-heavy "taste" and "Spend The Night," it's exhilarating stuff. [Feb 2018, p.24]

Despite the sense of loss that inevitably pervades the music here, Steve Goodman's first solo effort as Kode9 also charts out some exhilarating new directions. [Dec 2015, p.74]

Despite a few interesting textures, New Blue Sun never really takes flight. [Jan 2024, p.25]

What went Down is their most fully realised yet. [Oct 2015, p.75]

Not everything works, but somehow everything fits. [Jun 2013, p.66]

A bumpy ride overall, but rewarding. [Jul 2025, p.37]

Frantic is packed with potential singles, as if he's decided it's not crime to enjoy himself, to embrace foolish things earthier than Avalon. This is classic Ferry, but full of surprises. [May 2002, p.92]

Witty takes on mortality showcase Kirchen's weather-beaten country voice, but it's his six-string eloquence that warms the heart on Dylan's "It Takes A Lot To Laugh..." and the breakneck brilliance of "Hot Rod Lincoln." [Sep 2013, p.91]

Virtually every song repeats the same trick, as the fervent but tuneless bark of singer Ellery Robert begins to grate. {Aug 2011, p.107]

Pretty electro-pop with jagged edges, and a lingering mood of sumptuous disorientation. [Aug 2011, p.87]

His most accessible work since Parklife. [Sep 2004, p.101]

If you've already worn out your copy of "Stay Positive," this is surely your next stop. [Jan 2008, p.94]

Swift guides Jurado through the sub-Spectorisms of "Arkansas" and "Throwing Your Voice" with a sensitive touch. [Jun 2010, p.96]

A treatise on the tattered state-of-the-nation told over 12 slices of earnest, unerring pop-punk, the lowering mood is lifted by intricate harmonies and big singalong tunes. [Jun 2010, p.88]

A bold leap forwards. [Apr 2008, p.98]

Some may find it too clean, but it's still thunderously good. [May 2013, p.75]

His solo debut respects the US traditions that nourish him while reflecting his own history. [Mar 2016, p.82]

The result is a record that demands to live not in some mythologised '80s, but in the here and now. [May 2011, p.81]

Though less avidly adventurous than his band's recent outings (or his own past activities with EL VY), the music here may be stronger for it. [Nov 2020, p.27]

They continue the template of their superb I Have Lost All Desire For Feeling cassette last year. [Apr 2014, p.78]

They remain funny, fly and fit for the future. [May 2004, p.104]

De La still think and sound like no one else. [Feb 2002, p.114]

The band's most organic-sounding record since 1996's Emperor Tomato Ketchup. [Mar 2004, p.90]

Jeremy Earl's endearing falsetto and excellent songwriting holds it all together. Aug 2011, p.107]

Songs move at a satisfying clip, with modal harmonies and woody violin scrapes creating a misty, pensive atmosphere in which their analytical tales of fleeting urban encounters feel like ancient fables. [Mar 2018, p.31]

Age Hasn't Spoiled You sees them easing off the sonic throttle as they explore other sounds, while maintaining a similar level of emotional fervour. [Jun 2019, p.29]

It's a subtler and darker sibling to The Sophtware Slump or Just Like The Fambly Cat. [Apr 2017, p.30]

Angels Of Destruction sounds like one almighty road trip, barrelling along to piano. blustery guitars and the odd honk of E Street sax. [Feb 2008, p.86]

Taking its musical cues from Dennis Wilson and Echo And The Bunnymen, the band remain human underneath the strum and bang and always make sure that, in among the fire and thunder, there are songs, and emotion and, as ever, extraordinary lyrics. [Oct 2010, p.93]

Six Organs may be a stylistic cul de sac for Chasny but, on this evidence, who needs a way out? [Apr 2011, p.92]

This is quicker, sleeker and punkier [than Water On Mars]. [Oct 2014, p.77]

Lyrical malaise is matched, as ever, by immaculately crafted electronic pop music that veers just as much into joy, elation and euphoria as it does melancholic introspection. [Sep 2022, p.24]

Snaith largely maintains the requisite club-friendly bpm rates while deftly integrating more surprising elements. [Mar 2026, p.29]

While no less intense, Ashore--a collection of 13 songs each connected to the sea--is both warm and alluring. [Feb 2011, p.99]

What makes The Eraser great is Yorke's singing. [Aug 2006, p.82]

Aguayo always has heaps of ideas, some of which work brilliantly but more often than not, he finds himself stranded in a groove, unsure where to go next. [Aug 2013, p.67]

A powerful and accomplished album. [Feb 2014, p.78]

A hardcore fan's wildest dreams fulfilled. [Jan 2005, p.134]

For the most part, tired melodies and banal lyrics make for a disappointing collection. [Feb 2012, p.83]

A much warmer, more luxurious record than the brittle debut, the shrillness wiped from Jackson's voice in favour of uncontrived and appealing attitude. [Aug 2014, p.74]

Ashes & Fire is an understated gem. [Nov 2011, p.96]

Rowdy, vivid, moving and playful, The Felice Brothers is just glorious.

This album essentially serves as a showcase for rising Brit soul singers Sampha and Jessie Ware, who add just the right quantities of sugar and grit. [Aug 2011, p.98]

Todd Terry and Masters At Work's percolating euphoria warms every groove on this intelligently realized debut. [Mar 2012, p.79]

Snatches of flute, sax, and female vocal harmony vocals add sympathetic colour to these sad yet inquisitive songs. [Oct 2012, p.83]

The results have fire in the belly and attitude to spare. [Jun 2014, p.78]

Few More Days To Go is a strong statement of intent in its own right. [Jan 2016, p.76]

It may sound like a gimmicky stunt but it produces mostly beautiful results. [Jun 2018, p.30]

It's not always successful, but if the thrilling likes of "Lead Sister" and "Renegade Breakdown" constitute a fresh start, we'll take it. [Nov 2020, p.28]

A record that pivots around like the Minutemen; delivered with a verve that comes with a clarity of identity. [Dec 2024, p.36]

The result is a fun mix of over-the-top hard rock, self-reflection and self-aggrandisation. [Aug 2025, p.29]

For now Ruins keeps First Aid Kit moving forward, empowered rather than overcome by the wrath of love. [Feb 2018, p.25]

Dolorous, soulful, a voice that speaks of total commitment--Best Coast are The Crystals of the blogosphere. [Sep 2010, p.90]

Harte's voice is sometimes a little thin to carry some songs. [Oct 2007, p.104]

Unsophisticated but utterly infectious. [Feb 2012, p.102]

Shrines sees this young Canadian duo tamper with generic electro to create often sparkling results. [Aug 2012, p.78]

These are not times for ambiguity. Ultra Mono scours like bleach, its fury a purifier. [Oct 2020, p.31]

Thorpe achieves a balance of high-shine electro-pop, gauzy ambient flow and jazzier acoustic elements that couldn't be more attuned to his formidable skillset. [Nov 2021, p.35]

The results are lively and irreverent. [Nov 2012, p.77]

[Haxan] presents the Stockholm quartet at the top of its game. [Jan 2017, p.23]

The whole thing whispers and swirls with ease, cradling the ears before and after the title track shocks the listener with a pulsating instrumental transmission seemingly beamed from the depths of outer space. [Aug 2021, p.27]

This album will not fry your brain though that's not to say that a substantial change has not been attempted. [Jan 2018, p.27]

The animal kingdom looms large but human experience is still at the core of Rennie's surreal couplets, given added portent by Brett's compellingly mournful baritone. [Jun 2013, p.73]

Their first album in almost two decades, David Roback and Hope Sandoval are on stunning form. [Oct 2013, p.71]

This follow-up finds them flitting dynamically from royal Trux-ish fuzz blues to incantatory pieces like 'Shells,' that cross "Experimental Jet Set"-era Youth with Nico. [Jun 2009, p.92]

Rather than embracing the weight of myth and geography it simply rises above it, majestic yet frustratingly aloof. [Jun 2012, p.77]

Hammer Down may just be their best yet, the quintet's intense mix of mandolin, banjo and fiddle given added zest by a recent shake-up in personnel. [Feb 2013, p.79]

These are strong songs, only occasionally hampered by the over-ripe allegorical nonsense advertized in the album's title. [Mar 2014, p.85]

They've lost none of the vigour of second (and last) album, 1988's Woodenfoot Cops On The Highway. [Mar 2014, p.85]

Heavy Love is a supremely self-confident record. [Mar 2015, p.85]

The best cuts have staying power. [May 2015, p.80]

This one finds him plugging in and creating a doleful jangle that often feels like a bedsit Velvet Underground fronted by Lawrence or Ray Davies. [Feb 2016, p.73]

An ambitious, perceptive set. [Oct 2016, p.35]

Johnston suits the form, finding a hitherto largely latent frailty and vulnerability in his voice. [Jan 2017, p.24]

"Horns Surround Me" and "Feel You" may lack the intricately orchestrated arrangements of their recorded incarnations, but they're no less thoughtful. [Apr 2017, p.32]

These unfailingly lovely late-night reflections stalk the same territory as the third VU album, Richard Hawley, The Lilac Time, and ballad mode JAMC, moving from the stark intimacy of "Over You" to the narcotic drag of "Waking Up" and Bond theme grandeur of "If The World Is All We Have." [Aug 2017, p.30]

This Swedish quartet's second album often recalls a mid-90s Matador Records release. [Dec 2018, p.25]

The smoother strains of the folk-tinged "Within Each Day" and "If You Are Leaving" make a bigger impression, confidently stepping out from his elder sibling's shadow. [Dec 2018, p.41]

There's an effortlessly freewheeling quality to the 10 songs. [Jul 2019, p.34]

Wet Tuna really find their sound in the spacier moments. [Nov 2019, p.33]

Untamed talent still. [Jun 2020, p.37]

Skelton's music has an ascetic quality that gives these tracks the sense of little rituals, pagan prayers brought blinking into the present. [Jan 2021, p.32]

The new takes largely work well, underscoring the compositional strength of the original songs. [Jul 2021, p.31]

While tracks like "Cherokee" take a gently pulsing and melodic groove and expand it into something quietly euphoric, before dipping happily back into quieter, odder moments. [Mar 2022, p.25]

Old-school techno beats dominate as Flür cuts a dance-pop swathe through his own history and back. [Apr 2022, p.26]

Spencer Gets It Lit is the strongest recorded offering from the rocker since the Blues Explosion’s 2012 album, Meat + Bone.

American Romance is agreeably heart-on-sleeve. [Jul 2025, p.31]

There's much to like, though the groovy, Frank Ocean-adjacent "Cherry" stands out. [Apr 2026, p.34]

As long as nobody mentions Aled Jones, this is exhilarating. [May 2010, p.94]