There's always a sense of menace, but it's surprisingly restrained. [May 2015, p.78]

This is more Wilshire Boulevard than Cyprus Avenue, trading largely in a kind of light Vegas-y swing. [May 2015, p.77]

Froot is another big, unabashed pop album astutely balanced with sufficient melancholy and restraint to stop it from all getting too Katy Perry. [May 2015, p.77]

A (rap-free) triumph. [May 2015, p.77]

[A] flat-out sensational album. [May 2015, p.77]

Escape From Evil is a record about grief, and at times hits hard. [May 2015, p.76]

[An] utterly wonderful record. [May 2015, p.76]

There are missteps--the tinny horns of "fanfare," or the mantra of "Vitriol," which is silly in the same way Kula Shaker were silly. Straighter Moments hit, though, largely thanks to drummer Greg Fox's athletic disposition and some mighty crescendos. [May 2015, p.76]

The Great Pretenders inhabits that dreamy lysergic terrain staked out by The Flaming Lips and early MGMT. [May 2015, p.77]

They're best when dialing it down a few notches. [May 2015, p.75]

Despite this gaggle of helpers, If I Kill This is a surprisingly muted affair. [May 2015, p.75]

The washed out pastel shades and electronic frills on the likes of "Doctor M" and "Cross Off" help ensure that any latent familiarity with Johnson's influences is outweighed by reverberant production reminiscent of Broadcast's spooky psychedelia. [May 2015, p.73]

This third album also boasts that customary lazy Australian twang, but allied with some fine songwriting and a deft lyrical touch. [May 2015, p.72]

A usefully pungent backstory enlivens this decent collection of head-nodders. [May 2015, p.73]

Semi Detached is stuffed with perverse gear such as acid shanty "Deep In The Mine." [May 2015, p.71]

When Sexsmith does finally pull a heartbreaker out of the bag, it's a doozy. [Apr 2015, p.83]

It could all feel a little too knowing were the songs not so exceptionally strong. [Apr 2015, p.73]

Their sixth album is their most direct and uplifting yet. [Apr 2015, p.83]

It's exasperating at first, but the rewards are there for the dedicate dreamer. [Apr 2015, p.77]

Evocative, but with plenty of open spaces. [Mar 2015, p.75]

It’s astonishing that they managed to come up with several of the most thrilling pieces of primal UK R’n’B, before going on to invent the rock opera, following one of the more creatively intriguing examples of ’60s pop’s transition from mod to psychedelia.

A highly assured debut. [Apr 2015, p.75]

Their sound has nonetheless developed in intensity and sophistication.... Beautiful. [Mar 2015, p.83]

[An] unassumingly seductive set. [Apr 2015, p.80]

Some of Wold's tracks here with a full band don't descend into pub-blues mediocrity. [Apr 2015, p.83]

Drum machines and brass add a little range to the prettily strummed ethereal balladry. [Apr 2015, p.77]

Gonzales' conceptual stunts never detract from the music's inherent prettiness. [Apr 2015, p.76]

All she lacks is a really killer song. [Apr 2015, p.72]

Rousing epics "Dull Care" and "Genuflection" are soaked in hearty man tears. [Apr 2015, p.75]

Primrose Green is disorientating, casting new light on modes you thought you knew well. [Apr 2015, p.65]

If it all seems a little too familiar, the hooks here are undeniable. [Apr 2015, p.76]

A kaleidoscopic trawl through formative memories, cascading with melody and intimate reminiscence. [Apr 2015, p.83]

It's honest and immediate, but predictable. [Apr 2015, p.73]

Courtney Barnett has managed to expand her lyrical preoccupations and musical interests outwards and upwards, while still retaining the magic of her past peak. [Apr 2015, p.68]

For all the ideas and juxtapositions that illuminate these songs, none feel jarring or tokenistic. [Apr 2015, p.79]

The result is unmistakeably LB. [Apr 2015, p.78]

Out of the pain and anger, Moorer has fashioned the finest album of her career. [Apr 2015, p.80]

Ambarchi and O'Rourke bed their extended compositions down in richer tones, with glassing electronic hums and roiling organs moving on shifting sands. [Apr 2015, p.71]

His eighth solo album will no doubt satisfy dedicated fans, but for those lulled into inattentiveness somewhere along the way, Tracker also makes an excellent case for re-engagement. [Apr 2015, p.70]

A hugely accomplished and banging debut LP. [Apr 2015, p.76]

Eskmo's sweet, pop-toned vocals add an unexpected element to his expression of the sublime, although he lets his club-floor impulse rip on "The Sun IS A Drum." [Mar 2015, p.76]

Michael Nyman's elegant, pulsing scores are evoked on "Requiem" and "Black Madonna," while "Coat Of Arms," with soft vocals and mournful oboe, moves with quiet dignity. [Apr 2015, p.72]

Its glowering landscape is reminiscent of Actress' Ghettoville, but without a similar supporting mythology Pearson Sound can feel rather cold. [Apr 2015, p.81]

This set combines recordings from a number of indie EPs, and while the ensemble always combines a bemused, tongue-in-cheek quality with a rock'n'roll fanatic's mindset, Dungeon Golds spinning out smart, graceful pop hooks and hard, Dukes-Of-Stratosphear-type psych--gazes hard at mortality. [Apr 2015, p.80]

Spaces Everywhere has arch, but craft aplenty. [Apr 2015, p.80]

Marling's fifth takes vast steps forward musically, as ever. It's more defiant and distinct than anything she's done before. [Apr 2015, p.74]

The tautly controlled power of the performances meshes with the barely harness emotion of Ban Gibbard's impeccably sculpted, tortured lyrics. [Apr 2015, p.73]

A gorgeous confection. [Mar 2015, p.77]

A heavy trip indeed. [Apr 2015, p.71]

It takes some skill to make these sentimental songs sound this effortless. [Apr 2015, p.77]

It is a more energetic, and in places darker, record than its predecessor. [Apr 2015, p.82]

It's strong but uneven. [Apr 2015, p.71]

The departure of bassist Alanna McArdle to front Welsh noiseniks Joanna Gruesome doesn't seem to have dented the band's bruised vitality and pleasing lyrical spikiness. [Apr 2015, p.75]

Far greater than the sum of it's parts, Vulnicura can be a challenge but, once immersed, it's hard to tear yourself away. [Apr 2015, p.85]

The dream-logic mixing is a strength, where folk songs from Adele Diane and Songs Of Green Pheasant tumble to the forefront, but most tracks are limp, effete and boring. [Mar 2015, p.84]

While After lacks the appealing chaos of predecessor Ripely Pin, it compensates with bright choruses that contrast with a dark, decaying lyrical scheme. [Apr 2015, p.78]

A ramshackle, frequently over-the-top barrage of familiar rock tropes appropriated in the service of an unmitigated romp. [Apr 2015, p.72]

Spedding's ever-luscious quiff a measure of his stylish, if eternally backdated MO. [Mar 2015, p.83]

By the end of the album, you crave some drama, what you're left with is actually pretty serene. [Apr 2015, p.69]

The brilliant "Oya" places the sisters' voices front and centre, swinging from Bjork-like vocal gymnastics into a Yoruban spiritual. Elsewhere, Russell winds the pair's cajon and Bata beats into wonky boom-clap rhythms that smartly complement the romantic "ghosts" or "Think Of You." [Apr 2015, p.77]

He's backed by an orthodox guitar/bass/drums trio, which sometimes renders inert his unorthodox rhymes. [Apr 2015, p.76]

Like most albums by reformed bands, it reminds you what you liked without opening up an essential new chapter. [Apr 2015, p.84]

Shadow Of The Sun includes strong takes on the familiar Johnson Schtick of Spacemen 3 throb and ambulatory guitar solos. [Apr 2015, p.80]

Plays Chris And Cosey, more than justifies its existence. [Mar 2015, p.73]

Hardly radical, then, but the familiarity breeds contentment. [Mar 2015, p.72]

There remains the faintest hint of gothic romance, a kind of Dead Can Dance Class. But you are likely to slip off trying to locate any kind of edge. [Apr 2015, p.83]

All in all, A Thousand Miles is a diverting curio, but no substitute for the original. [Apr 2015, p.78]

Ten dark and lovely reasons why love hurts. [Apr 2015, p.84]

Nite Fields' debut album is a far grittier prospect than the neon-lit, 1980s-flavoured spelling of their name suggests, thanks largely to its predominant mood of nocturnal gloom. [Apr 2015, p.81]

McMurtry's flair for the cinematic shines brighter than ever. [Apr 2015, p.78]

Entirely unoriginal, but the sort of thing that, 55 years after it was invented, it's still hard to get enough of. [Apr 2015, p.77]

The intricacies and frustrations of relationships dominate, while the arrangements are kept crisp and simple. [Apr 2015, p.76]

Old friendships contribute to the good vibes, and an atmosphere that's at once rambunctious and exploratory. [Apr 2015, p.76]

Bursting with good ideas, albeit often self-defeating in its kaleidoscopic complexity, much of Aureate Gloom sounds like the great psychedelic retro-glam rock opera that Graham Coxon might one day compose. [Apr 2015, p.81]

Rebel heart almost gets the balance right, but at 19 tracks, most in the industrial party-pop style of cheeseball producers Diplo and Avicii, there's simply too much going on. [Apr 2015, p.78]

"The Right Stuff" is carried along by a nifty percussive shuffle and lovely layered brass that make you wish the entire album carried their production imprint. [Apr 2015, p.76]

The album endures as a bequest to the bogglement of the ages. [Mar 2015, p.95]

[An] atmospheric and generally likeable debut LP. [Mar 2015, p.76]

As history lessons goes, it's a lively one. [Mar 2015, p.81]

It's never a challenging listen, evoking distant, blinking skyscrapers, buzzing streetlights and echoes of the previous night's warehouse rave. [Mar 2015, p.78]

For the first half of The Republic he extracts effervescent hisses and trills from his gear, fashioning a fragrant if unremarkable video score, while in the final section he lets loose, relatively speaking. [Mar 2015, p.80]

The most striking thing about Citizen Zombie is how young and naive and happy it all sounds. [Mar 2015, p.74]

EarthEE feels both comfortingly familiar and thrillingly alien, without striving too hard to be either. [Mar 2015, p.83]

The album captures both Matthew Houck's heartbreaking delivery--rendered even more gorgeously cracked by the strain of live performance--and the sinewy charm of his backing band. [Mar 2015, p.80]

A lucid and accomplished departure. [Mar 2015, p.76]

Pierson's first outing without Fred Schneider and co is produced to sound immaculately (and blandly) like 1980s American new Wave pop; enough to make "Love Shack" seem cutting edge. [Mar 2015, p.80]

More heartmelter than skullsplitter--but just as ruinous. [Mar 2015, p.73]

It lives and dies on its guest vocalists: female MC Tink shines on "Wanna Party," as does grime veteran Riko Dan on "Speng." Elsewhere, a reliance on drab Auto-Tune crooning can drag. [Mar 2015, p.76]

Songhoy Blues take the fusion of West African desert rhythms and rock'n'roll a further step down the road trodden so thrillingly by Tinariwen. [Mar 2015, p.81]

The trio [Badbadnotgood] create nuanced, immersive contexts for the rapper's narratives: occasionally dialed in, at times surprising. [Mar 2015, p.71]

Probably the closest anyone has come to capturing the 40-year-old virgin spirit of the seminal Modern Lovers album. [Mar 2015, p.84]

Rich and evocative, The Race For Space is the sound of two young men gazing heavenwards and dreaming. [Mar 2015, p.80]

It's beautifully played, and Earle's songs are respectful of their heritage while (mostly) sufficiently confident and idiosyncratic to transcend pastiche. It's just difficult to believe this is the best imaginable use of Earle's time and talent. [Mar 2015, p.72]

Preposterous on first listen, more utterly beguiling with each repeat. [Mar 2015, p.71]

Occasional interludes--echoing number recitations; bumbling English voices on crackly wax cylinders---feel integral, while smart Julian House artwork completes the package. [Feb 2015, p.71]

Dying is at once a queasy and exhilarating listen, made more unnerving still by the lyrical fragments about addiction, insomnia and depression that emerge from their clamour. [Mar 2015, p.

Mostly, though, it reasserts Bishop's status as wide-ranging guitar master, gently amused by any such assumptions of grandeur. [Mar 2015, p.71]

The results are fascinating. [Feb 2015, p.78]