Yes, Paper Airplanes is mindful of the past. But it's never held back by it. [May 2011, p.92]

Sadly beyond these two standouts ["Perfect Stranger" and "Katy On A Mission"], Brien's album swiftly degenerates into faceless Top Shop dance-pop filler. [Apr 2011, p.75]

There remains a belligerent subtext to his nostalgic fantasias. [Mar 2014, p.73]

While this is a deeply experimental record, it is also subtly stunning in parts. [Jan 2025, p.31]

Confess is largely an impeccable sequel to an immaculate debut. [Aug 2012, p.82]

[Kids] sees her punching through with aplomb, via 13 lean, attitudinal songs with a bass music and hip-hop/trap chassis, fitted out with pop hooks and featuring her fine, versatile voice. [May 2021, p.25]

Over the course of 80 compelling minutes they roam laggardly through rural post-rock, prog, folk, ambient and doom metal pastures without ever trying your patience. [May 2009, p.80]

Aldred's third album as Cherry Ghost is so unashamed in its embrace of the warm croon, the twinkling keyboard, the swelling orchestra and the poignant chorus that its 10 songs might stretch the patience of anyone who wants some jagged edge in their melancholy MOR classicism. [Jun 2014, p.73]

His debut LP impresses, in large part thanks to smart deployment of guests. [Sep 2016, p.70]

The best tracks retain a vestige of Spank Rock's energy. [Sep 2020, p.35]

Whenever he [frontman Jeremy Gaudet] does lose his footing, the band’s imaginative take on mid-2000s indie rock – all churning guitars and zigzagging synths – steadies this Chopper. [Sep 2022, p.26]

The band's first full-length project with prolific writer-producer dan Carey mostly stays within familiar punk-funk parameters, but is generally an infectiously kinetic, richly detailed, timeless affair. [May 2024, p.29]

It’s proof that, when he escapes from awkward, self-conscious navel-gazing, Oberst can be a songwriter of some note.

Songs In A&E swells with tender, cautious optimism.

A vague air of missed opportunity hangs over this frustratingly short snapshot. [Dec 2001, p.124]

An extremely moving and potentially radical record. [Sep 2003, p.99]

Whereas the fucked-up, punk attitude [Ryan] Adams feigned on Rock'n'Roll was based on little more than pique, The Heat is all genuine passion, brimming with energy, anger and great tunes sandwiched between the dense guitars. [Jul 2004, p.114]

His seventh sees few stylistic changes. [Apr 2011, p.78]

The Joe Henry-produced LP is full of subtle beauty and rich imagery, but there's so much of it. [Oct 2013, p.72]

Joining the fun are pals such as Ethan Miller, Stephen Malkmus and Cass McCombs, who add to the sense of chaos, but do not diminish the cohesion that make these diverse jams so stupidly, thrillingly rewarding. [Dec 2015, p.79]

Tin Can Trust is a masterful album from an undeniably great American band, at the peak of its considerable powerers. [Sep 2010, p.88]

The addition of vocals is hugely welcome, even if they are only Panda Bear-style chants. [Apr 2012, p.77]

Some of the most exuberant and immediately engaging music they've ever recorded. [Aug 2017, p.22]

Deafman Glance picks up the thread he's laid down with the stronger songs on Golden Sings That Have Been Sung. [Jun 2018, p.34]

He's a minimalist/multi-instrumentalist who manages to find warmth in what could otherwise be sparse and unforgiving--note the breathtaking pauses between chords in "arise Arise" or the unremitting lilt of "All Day Monday And Tuesday." [Nov 2009, p.117]

The backing is beautifully understated but it's Becky Stark's pure, unaffected folksy sigh that's a thoroughly comforting presence throughout. [Dec 2012, p.73]

A real treat. [Jul 2005, p.92]

Reveals a side to Broadcast rarely heard: that of a band who are relaxed, at play and in places almost carefree. [Sep 2006, p.76]

Cheatahs brings to mind the era's second-tier acts, such as Swervedriver and Drop Nineteens--faint praise, but praise all the same. [Mar 2014, p.73]

Recording at home, [lends] Moh Llean its rougher edge. [Apr 2017, p.40]

Beneath the catchy hooks, a collection of bleak songs about nihilism and failure are revealed. [Sep 2009, p.92]

It’s an extravagantly orchestrated set, but with Marc Ribot as lead guitarist and the Dirty Three’s Jim White on drums, the playing remains off-kilter, to quite thrilling effect.

One of his most engrossing albums yet, a gorgeously unsettling collection of itchy electronics. [Apr 2016, p.81]

Their fourth album sees them on more soulful, though no less seductive ground, having worked up old song ideas into 12 new, mid-tempo tracks which are compositionally and emotionally diverse. [May 2024, p.35]

Vanishing Point is a riot of dirty--yet never cluttered--Detroit riffs and Mark Arm's laconically enrage vocals. [May 2013, p.74]

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.

Although Autechre;a futristic manifesto has remnianed largely static for tow decades, the xylophone massacre of "O=0" and trippy space-carnival collage "d-sho qub" provide welcome glimmers of pleasure and humour during an otherwise rigorously intellectual labraroery experiment. [Apr 2010, p.81]

There's barely a wrong-placed note on the whole magnificent album. [Jun 2013, p.81]

A promising debut.... But across a full album the monotony that fuels their material threatens to snuff out any sparks. [Oct 2013, p.65]

Seven Dials seamlessly weaves many of the best elements of Frame's past into a work of consummate craftsmanship which also references the likes of Steely Dan, The Cure, The Beatles, Bowie, Fleetwood Mac, Van Morrison and Bob Dylan. [Jun 2014, p.68]

Wrangler's LA Spark is textbook industrial electropop--nothing wildly new but at its best on "Lava Land" and "Space Ace" it's a compelling listen. [Jun 2014, p.85]

The band pursue numerous fractured trends through a breakneck 34 minutes and manages to corral them into an acid-drenched but cohesive whole. [Nov 2015, p.83]

At its heart, though, this is essentially a great pop album. [Jul 2016, p.83]

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]

Bidin’ My Time draws from every corner of Hillman’s long career, mixing folk rock and country rock and bluegrass into an amiable sound, somehow both modest and ambitious.

Here are 10, funkily inventive delights that fuse the driving, percussive-heavy folk tradition with his own "jibber jabber," using guitar, drum machine and electronics. [Sep 2020, p.32]

Most of this album is more laudable than listenable. [Jun 2023, p.26]

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

Take the modulated soundscapes of, say, Terry Riley or Max Richter, add some beats, more warm analogue synth arpeggios and some fuzzy vocals and you've got a close approximation of Gush. [Sep 2025, p.39]

Lurching from inspired to confounding, it's ragged, erratic, but never boring. [Mar 2011, p.94]

Passages of modish electro show that they're certainly on top of things, yet their heart remains pure pop. [May 2013, p.75]

Sherwood's two live mixes almost capture the intensity of their stage show. [May 2016, p.78]

An intriguing collection that reveals more of itself with every listen. [Jun 2025, p.31]

Essential and sublime. [Mar 2014, p.76]

The recording quality isn't the great, but the Family sound like the funkiest, most exhilarating house band you ever heard. [Sep 2025, p.47]

Watershed feels like a declaration of independence. [Feb 2008, p.87]

The premise may sound gimmicky and cerebral but the results are mostly playful, poppy and accessible. [Apr 2019, p.32]

An adept stylistic reboot. [Nov 2015, p.83]

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

POTR are up to the challenge, delivering concise, dynamic performances a la Petty's Heartbreakers. [Aug 2019, p.35]

Another delightful exercise in musical brevity and lyrical snark. [Oct 2019, p.24]

The results range from flights of lysergic beauty on “Rainbow Ball”, “Split Screen” and “Seen” to a burst of jagged, early-days energy on “Nothing To Do”. For the first time in ages, they’re not overthinking it. [Jun 2024, p.36]

Full of hooks as stubborn as burrs. [Aug 2005, p.94]

There's something curiously inviting about this understated music. [Nov 2006, p.120]

Amiably gentle but uplifting follow-up. [Aug 2023, p.25]

One of Amos' most deeply felt, spiritually astute and finest albums. [Dec 2002, p.138]

Booth's increasingly Morrissey-esque voice has a richer and more expressive timbre these days, even if the band's loose, liquid melodies sometimes lack focus. [Oct 2010, p.97]

The visionary meditations of John Tavener are a touchstone, and though used sparingly in the film's final cut, this dark, unsettling music stands proudly on its own. [May 2011, p.87]

Unfidelity is too turbulent to be purely scenic in the Boards Of Canada sense, its plaintive melodies hemmed in by the gurgles and clanks of some sinister, unmanned waste disposal plant. [Apr 2014, p.73]

Only those with blind faith could love everything here, but dipping in randomly produces gems. [May 2015, p.91]

An unqualified triumph. [Jul 2016, p.73]

While the material is frequently just serviceable, the arrangements are inspired thanks to the virtuosic interplay of JaRon Marshall's gilded piano, Brendan Bond's percolating basslines and Quesada's sizzling solos. [Dec 2023, p.27]

Another 21 songs of baffling titles, ingenuous melodies and charming amateurism. [Jul 2012, p.73]

They exhale the kind of swirling 'perfect pop' that was the default setting of late '80s Creation releases, leaning into the crosswinds of Fairport-era folk-rock. [May 2005, p.100]

His latest mixes John Fahey-like acoustic work with occasional brief bouts of his familiar electric shredding. [Sep 2014, p.75]

The way the elements hang together effortlessly on "Cataract" is worthy of Bat for Lashes, or even Bjork. [Apr 2010, p.109]

BRM's second is a dazzling stylistic display. [Oct 2021, p.25]

This is essentially the same clutch of B-sides, outtakes and live tracks you'll already own if you shelled out for 2002's Slanted And Enchanted (Luxe and Reduxe) edition, sans the mother album itself. [Sep 2015, p.94]

This could be his masterwork. [Sep 2004, p.108]

Frequently utterly mesmerising. [Nov 2003, p.124]

If it all seems a bit contrived, the end result is harmonious and -- remarkably -- never kitsch. [Aug 2002, p.99]

A bunch of amazing songs that combine the passion of early Sinead O'Connor with the craft of Christine McVie. [Jan 2005, p.124]

It's a maddening inversion of all the conventions of songwriting, but a brilliant one nonetheless. [Dec 2006, p.102]

Belatedly, it turns out to be great: seven prescise, insurrectionist ramalams that somehow fit somewhere between the MC5's high Time and Dead Boys' 'Sonic Reducer.' [Mar 2009, p.82]

What's absolutely consistent is Young's almost alchemical ability to mesmerise with the sparest of tools - his reedy quaver and sturdy but unflashy accompaniment providing the only embellishments to his elliptical lyrics and aching melodies. [Jan 2010, p. 120]

Unsound is a corker, sounding fresh and full of great hooks and ideas. [Aug 2012, p.77]

[This is] probably their best--a fine LP of crisp, clever chamber pop. [Oct 2012, p.79]

A great leap backwards. [Feb 2014, p.80]

Amid the cheap preset funk and curdled interludes, Bouaziz enchants with moving pieces such as "Heartbeats" and "Hero." [Aug 2014, p.74]

Their inspiration occasionally wanes. [Jul 2015, p.81]

Indie slackers Hooten Tennis Club demonstrate some unique charms on their debut album. [Oct 2015, p.77]

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]

There's nothing eruptive here: effects-drenched guitars, synths and electronics conjure a hushed, hypnotic ebb and flow that's bleakly comforting if over familiar. [Mar 2019, p.34]

The sweetness of her voice often masks tough sentiments. [Apr 2019, p.34]

Often feels more afterthought than addition. On form, however, few write or sing human frailty with Neil Finn’s poise. [Jul 2021, p.25]

The chiming and charming likes of "Scratching At The Lid" and "Wanderlust" are typical of the second effort. [Sep 2021, p.31]

Another batch of weapons-grade psychedelic reggaeton that buckles and grooves with sinuous grace. ... The sole clanger is "Born Yesterday." [Jan 2022, p.21]

Though these tracks are fluid and often meandering, they never lose their immersive, pulse-like groove. [Jul 2023, p.24]