Mostly, familiarly sombre patterns of piano and string quartet dominate this lovely album. [Dec 2003, p.118]

Global fusion at its most democratic and exhilarating. [May 2014, p.73]

The focus is on the sad-sounding uke and kohl-eyed vocals Simmons brings. [Nov 2020, p.34]

Kane has now made what he has called a "grand, souly album". And at times his bold move pays off. [Feb 2022, p.31]

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

Some of them meet him in his world, while others drag him into theirs. ... A third way to approach these songs: Fiona Apple and Robbie Fulks manage to pretend that their world is Mose's. [Jan 2020, p.24]

Infatuated by the noirish romance of European coldwave, the likes of "Portland U" and "Collene" cast Stewart as something of a bedroom modernist. [Jan 2017, p.22]

Something gets lost in translation in these inter-cultural patchworks, sure, but more often than not something weird and wonderful is born. [Jan 2018, p.38]

Along with kitchen-sink detail, there's real poignancy in the Canadians' second set. [Mar 2016, p.77]

A set that feels avant and outre and yet deliriously danceable at the same time. [May 2016, p.75]

The best songs are the ballads. [Jun 2016, p.79]

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

fter the snarling insensitivity that once defined The Stranglers, it’s reflective and poignant. Even if you strip away the late touches acknowledging Greenfield’s loss, the mood is suddenly grave and inevitably valedictory. [Oct 2021, p.20]

Shook unpicks destructive relationships, self-determinism, mental health struggles and romantic yearning over backings that switch between rockabilly, mid-tempo ballads and ringing outlaw country. [Apr 2024, p.41]

There's little of the playful invention of 1997's astonishing Fantasma, but imaginative details abound, even at these slower tempos. [Sep 2017, p.24]

A witty and fresh response to America's current commander-in-chief. [Sep 2019, p.34]

It's the album's deft balance between Sitek's freewheeling and darkly ambient aesthetic and the familiar sub-Beatles melodies that make BE a bold leap forward in the mould of Paul Weller's recent psych-inspired reinventions. [Jul 2013, p.71]

Sheff's novelistic lyrics and the dextrous blend of country, folk and nervy indie-rock suggest a band approaching the peak of their powers. [Aug 2005, p.87]

If the Valentines' inspired drone-rock of "Hammond" suggests a more stoned Spiritualized, their commercial future will depend on refining relentless glam-stomps "This Mess" and "Steal Their Gold." [May 2007, p.115]

It's all very polite and reserved. [Jan 2015, p.79]

Reviver is a plugged-in, dreamrock album that owes more to the beardy Brooklyn scene. [Feb 2013, p.70]

So far, so far out. [Feb 2014, p.89]

It's a typically sharp uppercut from the former lynchpin of The Broken Family Band and Singing Adams. [Apr 2016, p.67]

The songs are introspective, reflective and fretful. ... It's best moments are its quieter ones. [Nov 2021, p.26]

Greys are able to take these influences forward on tracks like "Cold Soak" and "Guy Picciotto," which seethe, howl and rock, combining the energy of hardcore with some of the more abstract sounds found in contemporary noise rock. [Jul 2014, p.74]

1982 has some nostalgic moments. ... But there is forward motion too. [May 2023, p.25]

Intriguing, endearing and, given time, surprisingly addictive. [Jun 2005, p.104]

Appealing collection of African folk songs played on curiously tuned guitars and percussion fashioned from farm implements by a trio of survivors from Rwanda's ruinous genocide. [Dec 2019, p.27]

A vision of some shadowy Arcadia, its minimal Timbaland beats and lurking Mezzanine-style bass presented with mud and moss under the nails. [Oct 2013, p.67]

Thanks to a glut of albums by introspective piano students, there are elements in these largely reflective pieces that may seem familiar, but James Heather is still capable of subtly defying expectations. [May 2022, p.29]

It's business as usual with sludgy riffs marrying metal and punk. [Mar 2021, p.32]

The overall mood is bright, hovering somewhere between the lyrical directness of Jonathan Richman and the West Coast energy of Tom Petty. [Mar 2017, p.37]

A glistening second album that lands somewhere between the empyrean vision of Broadcast and the starry-eyed pulsating of Tame Impala. [Jun 2021, p.25]

It's the bruised and pensive love songs, such as "Broken Thoughts" and "Ninja," and the sci-fi sleaze of "Chainsaw," that stick and make The Ascent a contrived pop product with its heart and mind intact. [May 20113, p.79]

Co-producer Tucker Martine pulls out all the stops, building the tracks from subdued openings to majestic climaxes that support but never overpower Israel Nebeker's songs and vocals. [Oct 2016, p.26]

Her newest pushes the format to its fullest form, wrapping expansive and intricate interpretations of the decade's sonic touchstones - synth washes, gated drums, pulsating beats, guitar jangle and romantic vocals - into tidy three- and four-minute packages. [Apr 2023, p.36]

There is a minimalist anti-folk vibe to Dermody's songs. [Nov 2016, p.37]

Even at its most languid, this album retains a faintly manic, frazzled quality that prevents it from descending too far into retro pastiche. [Dec 2017, 9.28]

Spread over two discs, it can get a little samey, but "Here Comes Revenge" and "Moth Into Flame" have plenty of bounce. [Jan 2017, p.27]

There are no giant leaps here, it’s very much Interpol as you know them, but there’s plenty of micro evolutions, impressive production and subtle tweaks to make this a welcome addition to their catalogue. [Aug 2022, p.28]

The album flags a bit in the middle but maintains enough propulsion to easily glide past those saggy moments. [Dec 2023, p.34]

Halo's assertive pieces, with Oliver Coates on cello, heighten the experience. [Jun 2020, p.29]

A slight problem is that the London quintet are third-generation mimics: "You Are Not An Island" could be Broadcast, and "Magician's Success," complete with cartoon effects, occupies Stereolab's former territory. [Jul 2019, p.36]

Ghostly, atmospheric, intense, Colt is an impressive, if somewhat remote, debut. [Jul 2018, p.37]

Real-life challenges also inform fromtman John Pelant's plaintive delivery of lyrics such as "Hold On To Tonight", mourning late loved ones, and "Ring My Bell"'s plea for emotional connection. [Sep 2025, p.37]

A few tracks fell like sketchy fragments, but the best have real grandeur and ambition. [Feb 2023, p.28]

These seven piano/voice tracks, recorded and mixed live to tape by Tucker Martine, are immediately seductive, balancing spare, bittersweet melodies and billowing space. [Oct 2016, p.26]

Lovely stuff. [Dec 2019, p.29]

A better-than-respectable restatement of many of their original virtues, the primary being the flair for sunny, Hollies-like melodicism. [Apr 2022, p.25]

Close to monomaniacal in their passions--weed, Satan, vintage British horror--Time To Die nonetheless introduces a gnarly edge to their downturned churn. [Nov 2014, p.73]

Devil Music's relentless velocity and heaps of fuzz and reverb are easy to savour even if it could use more songs as strong as "Lion's Den" and Patterns." [Jan 2017, p.27]

Fearless seldom surprises--he's been doing this kind of thing long enough to know what works--but is quality is consistent. [Dec 2019, p.26]

Something more intimate and traditionally crafted, exploring the highs and lows of human interaction. [Feb 2015, p.77]

It successfully pins down black American sources, though it's occasionally marred by dated production. [Mar 2002, p.97]

Luke Haines' trilogy of rock follies concludes with this perverse mediation on New York punk. [Jun 2014, p.78]

Baby Man is an impressive display of unfettered emotionality, but you may miss Johnson's usual luminous band arrangements and bass-driven grooves. [Oct 2025, p.27]

Kath pillages heartily from Belgian new beat, braindance, electroclash and EDM cheese to forge brutally effective industrial lullabies. [Oct 2016, p.26]

The high concept here is a paean to the ancient Greeks, inspired by the derring-do of gods and heroes: "Diana By My Side" and the breakbeaty "Mars" are suitably Elysian. [Jan 2017, p.28]

Comes closer to capturing their arse-shaking live performances than any of its predecessors. [Jul 2006, p.104]

What are we left with? A handful of wonderful "new" songs, some interesting also-rans and alternative choices, and the sobering realisation an entirely different double album from The River: a work not quite of equal quality, but still of a remarkable standard. [Jan 2016, p.86]

Bastards sounds like a new Bjork album rather than a cursory add-on. [Jan 2013, p.71]

Ultimately, what CMAT has done with CrazyMad, For Me is create a new pop music, centered around melody, heartache, and resolve, and filled with more than a dash of gallows humor to boot.

Cumulatively Morning Phase can feel too consistent in mood and pace. [Mar 2014, p.65]

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

These smooth edges still cut deep. [Aug 2017, p.38]

A sleek and satisfying sixth album--their best since 1994's Snivilisation. [Jul 2004, p.110]

The musicianship is exemplary throughout, with a stronger focus on roots traditionalism on "The Traveller" and "Ships At Sea." [Aug 2014, p.71]

Mellow but heartfelt. [Aug 2014, p.70]

Bright, socially and emotionally engaged, justifiably righteous in places, and not quite the right sort of fun for the New York scenesters. [Oct 2002, p.104]

Nine Black Alps possess a secret weapon befitting a band whose emergence sparked a transatlantic A&R scramble: tunes. [Jun 2005, p.104]

“You Possess Me” and Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” are out-and-out power ballads, while the ramshackle roar of another cover, The Undertones’ “Teenage Kicks”, is arguably closest in spirit to what went before. [Nov 2024, p.40]

Swedish pop producer Patrik Berger brings a new clarity to Boman's work without disturbing the delicacy of her performance. [Feb 2020, p.25]

Their gem-like guitar pop songs start meandering a little. Altogether, though, In Mind feels like a collective exhale. [Apr 2017, p.37]

Even if Mr. Dynamite sometimes feels like a light-hearted sideshow to more established musical careers, these moments of transcendence make the detour well worth while. [Apr 2018, p.32]

The few weak moments on their third album stray into rambling hippy-busker terrain. But standout tracks, like the fuzzy0warm collective singalong "Friendship (is a Small Boat in a Storm)" and Right Off The Back," sound like relics of some lost jam session between Curtis Mayfield and Carlos Santana. [Apr 2017, p.25]

The Messenger isn't an album that will blow any non-believer away. It is old fashioned, in many ways. [Mar 2013, p.65]

Simple, unforced piano ballads sit besides florid pop singles. [Nov 2016, p.37]

The playing is empathetic throughout. [Oct 2016, p.39]

It's an elegant yet earthy hybrid of jazz, UK soul and highlife. [Mar 2021, p.35]

Though garlanded in elegant strings, it's as furiously seething a record as she's made in 20 years. [Mar 2007, p.82]

It's a giddily emotive affair, primarily slow and sensual. [Jan 2015, p.86]

[van Wissem's] solemn, minor-key lute lines become ensnared in Jarmusch's riptide of guitar feedback and fading chords. [Jan 2013, p.74]

Singer Ciaran McAuley's words get lost in the dry ice a little, but a sense of quasi-religious wonder prevails. [Feb 2014, p.80]

Whether it's the ramalama of "Dorner Party," sleazy synth jam "Funny" or the brooding "Do The Vibrate," revved up and slightly ramshackle is how BL troll across this superior barroom set. [Apr 2014, p.69]

The "before" is fractious, two-chord Velvet Underground cool - the sultry "August," the minute-and-a-half burst of "Time Walk" - the "after" like eavesdropping on something private. [Sep 2021, p.25]

Occasionally things get somewhat overcooked into Del Ray-ish melodrama. The More understated moments--"Fool" and "All Of Me"--are beautiful, slow-burning torch songs. [May 2013, p.68]

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]

There's a sense that the artificiality in the sound is being used to anaesthetise the raw emotion, but the sonic fractures can't disguise the loveliness of "A Sport And A Pastime" and "My Fair Lady." [Sep 2016, p.78]

While You Were Sleeping is a curious amalgam of '70s soul, '90s R&B and the epic manoeuvrings of stadium rock. [Aug 2014, p.74]

Acoustic English folk is central here, dipped in a thin electronic glaze and layered with gentle washes of psychedelia and shoegazey pop. [Jan 2022, p.31]

The second album is a little more groove-oriented than the trio's 2014 debut LA Spark. [Nov 2016, p.40]

DiFranco remains an utterly singular performer. [Mar 2005, p.91]

Unquestionably the work of a band with ambitions rekindled. [Jul 2005, p.92]

There's nevertheless an easygoing air to the duo's otherwise experimental-minded pieces, which began as spare guitar instrumentals by Portner that were then warped, distorted and reshaped into beguiling psych-folk forms. [Jun 2026, p.29]

Pearl Jam remain at their formidable best as a pure-hearted rock'n'roll band. [May 2020, p.32]

The added muscle suits them and you wish there were more of it. [Mar 2016, p.76]

The resulting 10 tracks, each maintaining a single key throughout, conjure interstellar space in all its sublime beauty and ominous unknowability. [Dec 2023, p.28]

Slasher House is not so different to the last Animal Collective album, 2012's bristly Centipede Hz. [May 2014, p.69]