The familiar finger-picking textures and soft-sung romantic paeans of 2019’s Cala have been superseded by an almost ghostly atmosphere, as echo-swathed, lysergic-sounding reveries evoke spellbinding romantic visions. [Dec 2024, p.37]

There are rum choices (Ex-Easter Island Head, Craven Faults), generic pumpers (Sally C, Shanti Celeste, Daybreakers) and moody mates (Mogwai, The Twilight Sad, Deftones' Chino Moreno), while surprising highlights include Daniel Avery's "Drone:Nodrone" widescreen prowler. [Jul 2025, p.26]

These are songs ripe for revisiting. [Oct 2025, p.35]

"Turn Your Heart Back On" shows the pair can still cut it when the moment is right. [May 2026, p.33]

Funnily enough, it's the lyrics that let Ringleader down the most. [Apr 2006, p.94]

This is a soundscape bordered by The Flaming Lips and the Pixies, and mapped with verve. [Mar 2010, p.81]

An album that bounces airly between teen pop sublime and the aging rebel ridiculous. [Apr 2011, p.95]

Like all perfumes, its impact fades. [Aug 2015, p.71]

There's often a giddy, even ecstatic feel to Pierce's exercises in personal exorcism, one that connects the exuberant indie-pop that was The Drums' stock and trade during their breakout a decade ago with his more smiths-y and synth-laden music here. [Dec 2023, p.28]

One trick ponies, yes, but it's a good trick. [Jun 2009, p.83]

This album subtly expands her metrical, folksy songcraft to the point where songs like 'Heard It All Before' and 'Fireheads' are just one spoonfed breakbeat from being charttoppers. [Oct 2008, p.113]

You can't turn the clock back, of course, but in "Sad Days And Lonely Nights" you completely understand how the simple groove and ringing of the strings might act as a revivifying tonic. [Jun 2021, p.23]

There's little on OFOW that he hasn't done already. [Nov 2002, p.128]

Where in the past he has often impressed rather than engaged us, here there's an emotional warmth that makes it by some distance the best record he's ever made. [Apr 2003, p.110]

The bulk... is given over to rolling, near-baroque piano balladry. [Nov 2004, p.102]

The joyous hooks and choruses remain, but they're tempered by a welcome moodiness. [Dec 2002, p.129]

It's like Belle & Sebastian slopping sorbet with early Jonathan Richman. [Feb 2004, p.82]

This album will appeal equally to hard house and handbag crowds alike. [May 2002, p.113]

His is a gentler, pastoral treat. [Nov 2005, p.111]

The acid test of any recorded OST is its ability to stand independent of image and dialogue and on that count, Hill's latest as Umberto more than measures up. [Dec 2012, p.78]

Hermetically sealed but beautiful. [Jul 2013, p.80]

Tame Impala/Pond and Unknown Mortal Orchestra are kindred spirits, but it's KG's hyperactive tendencies that distinguish them. [Jan 2015, p.74]

Ethan Johns' stripped country settings on Willie Nelson and The Milk Carton Kids tunes immediately find Sir tom's grit and gravitas. [Nov 2015, p.77]

The fifth season might be more art piece than album, but is no less intriguing because of it. [Oct 2020, p.32]

There's excitement her in 'ATX' and the title track, but when the bluster's died down, disappointingly little is left. [Oct 2009, p.89]

Their best work moves beyond pastiche into broader sonic terrain. [Feb 2015, p.82]

A communicable joy in weird noise. [Sep 2018, p.35]

Keren-Ann Zeidal has been covered by Jane Birkin and Francoise Hardy, but here progresses from chansons to create a spectacularly produced pop-art. [Apr 2011, p.85]

A fascinating document of exactly how far he's travelled. [May 2005, p.117]

He can't muster much more than a compose-by-numbers Boards Of Canada kit that's destined for little more than wildlife documentary syndication. [Mar 2005, p.102]

Since rising to attention with 2009's Me Oh My, Cate Le Bon has turned out four albums of arch, otherworldly guitar pop, of which Crab Day is surely the best yet. [May 2016, p.75]

Baez's worn voice retains its majesty, and also the sanctimony that has set so many teeth on edge over the years. [Oct 2008, p.81]

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

On occasion, the chintziness of the production undermines Maine's sentiment, but at least now he's learning to be himself. [Mar 2016, p.77]

The follow-up [to 2009's Warm Heart Of Africa] is similarly energetic and eclectic. [Aug 2012, p.83]

The pair specialise in primitive house tracks drizzled with acid, which work best when one of their male vocalists drawls sweet nothings deep in the mix. [Sep 2019, p.33]

There's so much tunefully wild enjoyment on offer it's hard to pick highlights. [Jul 2010, p.110]

The album's languid pace and lack of real bite often renders it a little pedestrian. [Dec 2015, p.69]

The resultant raggedy, in-the-moment feel suits the Neil Young-ish "Show Me" and harmonica-hinged "Guardian Well," as well as "I've Got Reason," less so "Feel It All," which drags its feet over five minutes. "Lost A year" is a sax-assisted winner, though. [Nov 2019, p.24]

A late flowering triumph. [Jul 2010, p.117]

The effects are over-stylised, however, rendering her impressive vocals precocious, ad the uniformly mid-paced tempos can become wearying. [Aug 2015, p.80]

Utterly thrilling. [Sep 2020, p.32]

Old Punch Card is surprising and, at points, quite brilliant--it'll make your ears double-take. [Nov 2010, p.97]

It has an effortless momentum and addictive melodic pull that renders serious criticism redundant. [Dec 2012, p.73]

The Way is a terrific, club-attuned set that renders them barely recognizable. [Jun 2014, p.83]

Inevitably, youthful anger has been replaced by pettier bourgeois concerns (traffic wardens, the congestion charge), but there’s a sensitivity and playfulness that’s still hugely endearing.

An obsessively dark record. [Oct 2012, p.79]

Sinclair's knack for storytelling, wordplay and a warm voice carry sufficient wit and energy to ride the jazzy undercurrent. [Apr 2014, p.81]

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

His voice of loss is shrouded in inventive production. [Dec 2015, p.74]

A set of eloquently sombre, Americana songs heavy on pedal and lap-steel. [Jul 2016, p.79]

Portico's rejuvenated quartet status brings with it more of the jazz-influenced stylings that first made their name, [Oct 2017, p.36]

Tracks such as "Nihilist Abyss," "Fatal Gift" and "Minefield Of Memory" grapple with the "deceptive deal" of experience, while her elliptical melodies recall Elliott Smith in Figure 8 mode. [Oct 2017, p.30]

Tunes like Burt Bacharach's "blue On Blue" and The Young Rascals' "How Can I Be Sure" are perfect for Almond's pirouetting croon. [Oct 2017, p.23]

Inventively produced by Jacknife Lee, All The Colours Of You is a winning synthesis of James’ anthemic tendencies and their more instinctive weirdness. [Jul 2021, p.27]

No overhaul then, but the BB alure still holds. [Nov 2022, p.26]

Intriguingly odd in small does, Wannerstrom's cheerless, unschooled voice and rudimentary guitar chordings can get mighty oppressive over the course of 50 minutes. [Feb 2009, p.82]

The exhilarating collision of muscular breakbeats and ripe trance synths makes this one of the most enjoyable dance albums in recent memory. [Apr 2012, p.84]

Just about every song is not what it seems. [Mar 2015, p.78]

Dengue Fever come on like an art-trash cross between Talking Heads and X, with a crucial side order of B-52's. Their irreverent pop clinches the deal on "Cement Slippers." [Jun 2011, p.80]

Some of her most formal and prettiest pieces. [Jan 2018, p.23]

Her mother had died, but she had also found love. Musically, she's equally diverse. Mostly, there is the voice, a swooping instrument that swirls and eddies beneath sparse folk rhythms. [Jul 2018, p.24]

They don't sound so zeitgeisty anymore, but [single] "Mosquito" caterwauls mightily, and the closing "Wedding Song" is a feat of lip-quivering sensitivity up there with "Maps." [May 2013, p.79]

Their combination of riff and sneering recalling at times the strut of Raw Power Stooges. [Jul 2012, p.79]

The new versions of songs are all better than the originals. [Aug 2017, p.45]

They pull off shifts in mood and tone with routine aplomb. [May 2015, p.83]

There is unlikely to be a more distinctive album released this year, simply because so few artists would dare put out anything so gleefully deranged. [Dec 2014, p.74]

Their excellent debut album is a neat mix of somnambulant balladry and ragged high drama. [Oct 2011, p.105]

Animal Races offers few departures, being exploratory and decidedly retro, but it's appealingly rendered. [Sep 2016, p.71]

It largely manages to avoid vapid repetition and provides plenty of charm and promise for the future. [Sep 2017, p.37]

Suffused with optimism and defiance. [Aug 2020, p.34]

From present to future at Warp factor. [Mar 2009, p.86]

After tinkering with their lineup for this fourth album, Baltimore's Arbouretum have emerged heavier, moodier and better than ever. [Mar 2011, p.83]

Five long pieces allow for the tussle of improv. [Jun 2014, p.71]

The live-off-the-floor Peaches! is the antithesis of 2024's overcooked Ohio Players, the duo's nadir, and a delectably scuzzy sequel to Delta Kream, complete with another seductively squalid William Eggleston cover photo. [May 2026, p.26]

An erratic mix of mundane, London-centric Skinnerisms and out-of-focus political ire. [Sep 2005, p.100]

It's sensitively poised and technically perfect. [Mar 2014, p.80]

The journey takes a variety of fascinating detours along the way, not least the digressive folk-prog of "Pretty Little Lazies" and "Boogie Lover's" spacey approximation of classic Hawkwind. [Jun 2019, p.24]

Brun's vocals can be spine-tinglingly gorgeous and annoyingly mannered, often in the same song. [Jan 2012, p.81]

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]

Lyrically, as ever, Garvey's skill lies in combining romantic poeticism with sandpaper wit. [Dec 2015, p.80]

The result is a beautifully atmospheric travelogue on which their voices and guitars, plus occasional harmonica, are accompanied by nothing more than the sound of the rails humming and a whistle blowing. [Oct 2016, p.34]

There is much to love about this new, more earthen mode. [Jul 2020, p.30]

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]

The message is heavy but the music is tremendous fun. [Nov 2022, p.38]

Ironic jape or not, Shangri-La captures the DFA label aesthetic perfectly, blending electro post-punk, disco and art-pop with conceptual elan, and icing the cake with dance-friendly production. [Jul 2011, p.103]

T Bone Burnett combines his vast understanding of American roots music with Randolph's vital grounding in gospel on the sacred steel virtuoso's third studio album. [Jul 2010, p.117]

He shines brightest on the slower material.

This stripped-down set from the Palace/Bonnie songbook is a reminder of what a great singer Oldham has become. [Jan 2019, p.23]

DMA's showcase their ever-evolving chops as they continue to appropriate the sounds of '90s/early Y2K bands such as Oasis, Stone Roses and Doves. [Aug 2020, p.29]

Electric glitches and intriguing lyrics add to a quietly seductive package. [Nov 2025, p.27]

The album's hard-slapping boom bap, laced with confident social realist flow, could only ever have come from New York. [Mar 2015, p.71]

Gonzalez's cooing voice tends to sing the same pentatonic scale over the same minor chords on every song, which does make things a little repetitive. [Oct 2010, p.98]

Its eight songs are distinct and stirring. [Jul 2013, p.80]

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

If their third album is perhaps not quite as austere as previous offerings like 2012's Clay Class, it;s still like sticking a quarter-inch jack into a George Foreman grill. [Jul 2015, p.81]