Even if the production pores over old memories, when they fire on all cylinders the combination of their best MCs creates more than a nostalgia trip. [Dec 2017, p.33]

Humble back-porch jams to relieve the monotony of lockdown. [Jan 2021, p.27]

It's back-to-basics good fun garage rock, and while it's familiar territory it's undeniable that the band know their way around a hook. [Sep 2023, p.28]

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

Cinderland is undeniably, suitably eerie. [Apr 2017, p.30]

More fun are the African-tinged "Radio Bemba," "Odeon," where New Orleans meets Irish tin whistle, and the Mexico-meets-Chopin "Black Hibiscus." [Mar 2014, p.80]

It's a warmer, less brittle listen that still pushes at production conventions. [Jul 2025, p.26]

Though lacking a defining identity, at its best it's like listening to a long-lost compilation playing all the AM radio hits that never were. [Jun 2016, p.78]

Another generous serving of sparklingly cinematic guitar rock, largely inspired by (and dedicated to) band confidant, producer and musician Richard Swift, who died in 2018. But this is no sombre remembrance, rather a full-throttle celebration of the unifying power of music. [Oct 2020, p.29]

It's a chronological trip, serving as a scrapbook of memories for Gedge himself, borne out by his lively track-by-track annotation. [Nov 2025, p.51]

Overly indebted to its inspirations - among them Ghetts, Stormzy and The Streets - it may be, but the stroppy "I Bhfiacha Linne" and "Rhino Ket", a moody techno/dancehall hybrid, are hard to deny. [Jun 2024, p.36]

It's taut urban blues business as usual. [Dec 2021, p.26]

Songs such as "Heels Over Head" and "Van Gogh's Ear"--like Ben Watt backed by John Martyn's fingerpicking guitar--are digitally mutilated with glitchy effects and field recordings, while Emma Smith provides elegant flourishes on Violin and clarinet. There are also a few witty lines. [Nov 2017, p.26]

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

The likes of "22 Days" and "Devil In Me" exist in a world where only John Lee Hooker and The Stooges have ever made records.

The songs are very much of their time, reflecting shifts in popular taste and featuring numerous covers. [Dec 2017, p.43]

Ganglion Reef configures plenty of their benefactor's favourite modes of garage rock into moderately fresh, often terrific new shapes. [Oct 2014, p.80]

Her vulnerability is more affecting on the wistful break-up anthem "Losing", before "Younger & Dumber" closes the set with a pedal steel-laced paean to the woman she used to be. [Jul 2023, p.24]

It manages to be forceful and intricate in equal amounts. [May 2006, p.129]

Ultimately the Barrs sound like themselves. [Dec 2014, p.71]

The most rewarding moments, though comes on those tracks which retain a more authentic Ethiopiques mystery. [May 2020, p.31]

The band's pivot away from fuzzed-out jangle pop to something closer to shoegaze adds to the dreamy feel. [Nov 2022, p.25]

These days her winning innocence has turned to mature craft, but she's lost none of her integrity or emotional honesty. [Dec 2002, p.129]

It blasts a path for an album of gentler (but nevertheless raucous) Americana-rock evocation of the likes of Lucero or The Damnwells. [Aug 2018, p.35]

The drowsy pacing and solemn tone drag at times, but these slow-burn ballads from a lo-fi Lynchian netherworld are most achingly beautiful. [Dec 2025, p.37]

The uncluttered folk-rock arrangements and a voice that has acquired a richer Patina since her '90s country hits contribute to the loveliest and most profound album of her career. [Sep 2012, p.74]

Lyrically, Richards sometimes relies too heavily on the Random Stones Lyric Generator. But Richards has always worn his humour and his soul well, and these qualities are sympathetically served here. [Oct 2015, p.70]

While the calibre of artists lining up to pay tribute to Macca on this two-disc set is undeniably impressive, there's little in the way of surprises when it comes to execution. [Dec 2014, p.83]

Night Fiction emerges as an engaging sampler of his range as well as his virtuosity. [Feb 2016, p.78]

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

A series of typically charming, if not overly adventurous, indie-pop songs. [May 2016, p.78]

The band's arch, apocalyptic howl is frequently interrupted by industrial pummelling and passages of heads-down skronk, to the point where you genuinely have no idea what they're going to do or say next. [Apr 2014, p.71]

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

McFarlane paints elegant, jazz-literate shapes over digital beats, syncopated hand drums and glitchy systems noise.[Sep 2020, p.32]

Cox's wistful croon and a proto-motorik chug are as wonderfully deadly as ever. [Jun 2013, p.71]

This is old-time spiritual soul shot through with urgent, electric energy. [Jul 2016, p.79]

At times all this vim can slip into noise. [Jul 2012, p.74]

Addresses the stained beauty of all things LA via psychedelic washes of keys, honking sax and country stomp. [May 2004, p.100]

Whereas the band's grand ambitions have sometimes led to music that can feel unduly grandiose, "Uden Ansigt" and "Verden Forsvinder" mark a welcome return to the more intimately scaled music of their early years. [Nov 2019, p.25]

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]

Exercises proves Silver is in good shape. [Sep 2012, p.74]

Entertainingly eccentric pop, even if at times it seems to pull in too many directions. [Jun 2006, p.103]

The songwriting is impressive throughout. [Dec 2012, p.79]

A couple of the more freeform screamers may be a holler too far for some ears, but there's no denying the passion and power of Bradley's formidable lungs. [Apr 2013, p.67]

Barlow's spiky, spindly diary entries remain an abject lesson for indie losers everywhere. [Jun 2019, p.34]

Lovett has gone (partly) socio-political with his third. [Sep 2020, p.35]

Hit singles are in short supply, but WIXIW has an atmospheric, immersive quality that puts one in mind of Kid A's soporific drift. [Jul 2012, p.77]

Blood Red Roses is as stylistically varied as its predecessors. [Nov 2018, p.37]

A sparky and honest mess. [Mar 2005, p.94]

Power's voice is improving with age, especially confident and commanding on the closing, psych-baroque "Birds Heading South". [Feb 2026, p.33]

[Rainford] was haled as a return to form, and Heavy Rain--an album of re-versions helmed by Sherwood accompanied by a suite of guests--feels similarly vital. [Jan 2020, p.28]

After the lackluster Touch, Mantasy at least captures the bonhomie that permeates the best releases from his house and techno label. [Nov 2012, p.77]

This is more than mere virtuoso performance. [Aug 2006, p.90]

Recorded live: there's a twisting, doomy intensity to these 10 instrumentals. [Dec 2014, p.73]

A very fine record, for sure, but Earle has a nagging habit of stopping just short of the hands-down classic he's capable of. [Feb 2015, p.78]

It's all well-crafted, but the end result can often sound like a slightly disjointed compilation album. [Feb 2013, p.70]

"Earth 1" demonstrates the band's ability to pursue any number of loopy tangents without losing the woozy charm that comes more strongly to the fore in the dreamier "Heaven 7". [Apr 2025, p.39]

Golden Hour doesn't carry quite the same bite as either 2015 predecessor Pageant Material or 2013's Sam Trailer Different Park, preferring a more loved-up vibe that favours pillowy sophisti-pop over bittersweet country. [May 2018, p.30]

Hookworms twist "The Sky Of all Places" into a Mary Chain approximation of Metal Machine Music and Factory Floor make desiccated disco mincemeat of "sink," while Loop guru Robert Hampson, Death In Vegas's Richard Fearless, Ride's Andy Bell and Mogwai's Stuart Braithwaite demonstrate the oldies' appetite for deconstruction.[Apr 2016, p.79]

Fandango, their fifth album, is built of the same stuff [as 2011's Buffalo], though with a grander sense of scope and ambition. [Jun 2013, p.78]

The Don Was-produced album proceeds at an unhurried pace, featuring Jackson Browne-like confessionals and Young-style, harmonica-accented shuffles. [Jul 2012, p.77]

Drum machines clank and scrape, evoking not just early acid house but industrial post-punk and '80s sci-fi soundtracks. ... Yet these potentially abrasive, alien sounds are marshalled into fresh, inviting shapes. [Sep 2018, p.30]

One True Vine is a seamless sequel. [Aug 2013, p.70]

Hot Panda have produced a terrific album, one which combines intellectual and lyrical heft with a sure ear for a catchy riff. [Sep 2012, p.79]

A triumphant, ridiculous mess. [Dec 2014, p.73]

This expertly wrought debut is an impressive platform for twentysomething polymath Heloise Letissier. [Apr 2016, p.71]

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

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]

Its focus is tighter, its punches more considered. [Dec 2022, p.26]

It's melodically sharper... occupying Stereolab's old ground with a surprising commercial edge. [May 2003, p.106]

Every one of these 15 songs is a perfectly-crafted masterclass in great American songwriting. [Aug 2002, p.99]

Their trademarked scuffed jangle sparkles on the likes of “Pine For You”, and such downbeat cuts as “Rifled Through” demonstrate that none of their facility for the lachrymose epic has ebbed since “Taillights Fade”. [Jun 2024, p.29]

Why Me? Why Not. ticks a number of boxes for his fanbase. [Nov 2019, p.25]

[An] elaborate, sophisticated collection. [Sep 2012, p.79]

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

A typically frantic burst of speed metal/punk, but underpinned with plenty of hooks and changes of pace to maintain interest. [Dec 2014, p.75]

The fizzing alt.rock of the follow-up sounds like a determined effort to be his own man. [Apr 2013, p.77]

Beneath the edgy smarts there's always been an undercurrent of anxiety, and now they're plunging into choppy emotional waters, minus irony's lifebelt. [Jul 2017, p.26]

It's a savvy and sweetly skewed set. [Jun 2015, p.73]

Spookily smooth. [Dec 2003, p.122]

This luxuriant collection is one of Moby's most consistently inviting and uplifting in years. [Jul 2024, p.38]

It's united by the long shadow of Ibizan euphoria that hangs heavy over his genre-crossing dance music. [Sep 2013, p.95]

At times (“Matter Of Taste, “Got A New Car”), the inventiveness lands with a clunk. However, it’s a generous record, emotionally fearless and thoroughly likeable on first listen, while Perry’s voice can’t help but convince. He’s only just begun.

A fine album that suggests more pleasure to come. [Jul 2023, p.23]

The duo seems to be pursuing a more focused vision than they do in the rambunctious, eclectic Men. [Dec 2014, p.75]

The music here should captivate anyone who ever imagined what a Burial remix of Arthur Russell's World Of Echo might resemble. [Feb 2017, p.33]

The songs are autobiographical, but not always straightforwardly so. [Apr 2018, p.22]

Sounding as hale and hearty as they did on last year's The Machine Stops, the rejuvenated band attain the same state of cosmic ragged glory several more times on Into The Woods. [Jun 2017, p.30]

The evenness of the performances here is striking. [Jun 2015, p.74]

It's her most enjoyable record yet. [Jul 2006, p.92]

Like 2011's Tao Of The Dead, IX is a big thing, which sometimes rings rather hollow. [Dec 2014, p.71]

A slice of life in all its messy, complicated and ultimately doomed glory. [May 2021, p.25]

A strikingly confident record. [Feb 2016, p.74]

"Relay Runner" and "Jornada" boast more muscular sensibilities, with pulsing rhythms that bust through the layers of eerie drones and noises that make Loma as unsettling as it is compelling. [Mar 2018, p.28]

He's an engaging singer-songwriter whose instinctive, winning wryness takes the edge off some occasionally ruggedly confessional material. [Apr 2016, p.69]

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

A loose, luscious listen, with a timeless sound. [Apr 2024, p.32]

At just 25 minutes, it’s very much a listen-through, though the percussive clattering and ominous synthesiser hum of “Names Make The Name” constitute a standout. [Apr 2024, p.41]