It reads like a compendium of retro cool that leans on the cinematic, instrumental style of DJ shadow and Peanut Butter Wolf. [Dec 2012, p.67]

Thanks to her Valley Girl charisma and omnivorous sexual gaze she mostly succeeds. [Dec 2012, p.73]

It's a blend of the mostly throwaway and occasionally essential. [Dec 2012, p.71]

It certainly recalls the space-age jazzers whose careers ran parallel to them. [Dec 2012, p.75]

The new varnish appears to add little to an already sumptuous-sounding set.

It's a decidedly sparser backdrop for his erudite, torch-like confessionals. [Dec 2012, p.76]

There are plenty of enjoyable moments on Winterval, but this masks a slightly hollow core. [Dec 2012, p.79]

Throughout, there's evident delight in lexicographical obscurity that echoes James Joyce or Will Self: no bad thing in itself, though when allied to the sometimes impermeable, abstract constructions, the results can be frustratingly opaque. [Dec 2012, p.61]

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

Although its boundary-stretching ambition is cheering, Hidden ultimately struggles to engage. [Oct 2012, p.87]

Ultimately Bailiff sounds too much in thrall to her shoegazing peers. [Dec 2012, p.69]

American Soul is more rewarding than Phil Collins' recent album of Motown covers, but is ultimately defined by a similar sense of futility. [Dec 2012, p.72]

Lux works on a pragmatic and egalitarian level as more or less the ideal ambient record. [Dec 2012, p.66]

[The] rather slight songs raise the suspicion you would get more out of listening to Clinic's record collection than the band themselves. [Oct 2012, p.68]

Assbring has succumbed to the same fate as her country-woman Lykke Li, forsaking early charm for a vague sense of attitude that's largely devoid of presence. [Dec 2012, p.69]

His is a personal, emotive take, and it proves very effective. [Dec 2012, p.72]

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

The emphaiss here is on standalone songs, with each bandmember apparently harking back to teenage memories. [Dec 2012, p.73]

The real ace up their sleeves is their exquisite harmonies. [Dec 2012, p.77]

Lonerism is more melodic and expansive then 2010 debut Innerspeaker, connecting the disparate dots with real elan. [Nov 2012, p.84]

As sublime as much of Instrumental Tourist is, it rarely fulfills that promise of improvisation, of a real sonic engagement or play, and struggles to exceed the sum of its parts.

Despite the silly title and gorilla sleeve, this 3CD compilation proves a respectable primer.

The first four tracks are surprisingly limp-leaved, pastel-shaded electro-synth in a decidedly retro vein. From then on, it gets better. [Dec 2012, p.71]

Sonnymoon offer a fresh and forward-thinking new voice in experimental electro-soul on this beautifully assured self-titled debut. [Nov 2012, p.83]

A bit Mariah Carey on paper, but startling in practice. [Dec 2012, p.77]

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]

The period pieces--string-laden ballads by Ella Fitzgerald, Helen Forrest and Jo Stafford-provide some light relief, as does the Art Ensemble Of Chicago-style junkyard jazz of Greenwood's "Able-Bodied Seaman." [Dec 2012, p.72]

While the LP is patchy, some of the miniature studies for circuitry, essayed by Flanagan and collaborator Dean Honer, are beguilingly eldritch, and the second half's run of pop songs are joyous and odd in equal measure. [Nov 2012, p.72]

There is a knowingness to Burning Daylight that sometimes verges on Pastiche, but Cowgill's Mordant deadpan means the mask never slips. [Nov 2012, p.77]

The new versions are, to all intents and purposes, exactly the same as the old versions, they're just more so, if that makes sense.

Honor found in Decay confirms that they are a metal band, yes--but one reminiscent of Silver Mount Zion or Swans as any more traditionally heavy-rocking concern. [Nov 2012, p.73]

It sees them caught between nostalgia and futurism, uncertain which way to move. [Dec 2912, p.71]

This follow-up is cleaner, from the grand arrangements to the lyrics about true love rather than tits and ass, but is never bland. [Nov 2012, p.71]

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

Yet for all its attributes, this fine debut stirs as much for its sense of what The Lumineers may yet become as for what they currently are. [Dec 2012, p.70]

No boundaries are broached, but everything works just fine. [Dec 2012, p.69]

This self-titled debut is a joy. [Dec 2012, p.64]

Certainly, there's a familiarity here, the thin guitar lines and washes of synth, topped off with Banks' despondent croon, though in lyrical terms, there is a more confessional tone. [Dec 2012, p.67]

In practice, it's suggestive of the luvved-up terrace thug moment of the late '80s, but with the ultraviolence retained. [Dec 2012, p.67]

A startling, inspirational comeback. [Dec 2012, p.68]

"Pluze" and "Branches" resemble Air in their languid electro-revisioning of jazz-funk and prog, while the title track pulls back sparkling synths for a noble and histrionic sax break. [Dec 2012, p.68]

2 deals in lugubrious late-night lyricism and equals Kurt Vile and Cass McCombs for warmly melodic meanderings that beguile rather than baffle. [Dec 2012, p.69]

"Ye Ye's" Chicago house snares and claps crop up throughout the record, turning the pretty "Lights" into a sweaty jack-fest and giving deranged effects of "Springs" a rigid framework. [Dec 2012, p.69]

His first solo outing has enabled Ben Gibbard to try on new stylistic contexts as if they were outfits. [Dec 2012, p.71]

When your attention drifts you barely notice it's there. But when you do, it evokes a warm and evocative pleasure. [Dec 2012, p.72]

First-time producer Justin Townes Earle has succeeded Jack White as guardian of the Wanda Jackson sound, guiding her through a fascinating mix of covers and originals. [Dec 2012, p.72]

Brothers Jake and Jamin Orrall plough a familiar semi-feral blues-punk furrow for the most part, with varying degrees of success, but are best when they depart from the template. [Dec 2012, p.72]

These stark, largely unadorned folk-country songs are given added edge by Irwin's faintly metallic voice, with delicate shadings from the like of producer and multi-instrumental wizz Tara Jane O'Neil and pedal steeler Marc Orleans. [Dec 2012, p.72]

"Heaven" is a decent stab at '80s synth pop; "Looking Hot" and "Push And Shove" mix bubblegum R&B with ragga-inspired middle eights; the rest is rather forgettable. [Dec 2012, p.75]

Newman's a decent songwriter whose songs never quite ignite--their seemingly light touch feels rather hard-won. [Dec 2012, p.75]

Orton remains a luminous presence among often monotone peers. [Dec 2012, p.75]

Prekop's lyrical ruminations on distance and direction never lag. [Dec 2012, p.76]

They have produced a cohesive work that marries gauzy dreampop with more robust indie-rock. [Dec 2012, p.77]

[The] second album painstakingly recreates the sounds and melodies of peak-era My Bloody Valentine, Cocteau Twins, The Jesus And Mary Chain and Joy Division with a slavish devotion that borders on the obsessive-compulsive. [Dec 2012, p.77]

Ultraista never quite shake off the sense of a session-muso studio supergroup dressing down in indie clothes. [Dec 2012, p.78]

Looser in feel and texture than their last couple of discs, with Dylan's husky vocals leading the way. [Dec 2012, p.78]

Stripped of the usual bells and whistles, and backed by unplugged instruments, it's left to his voice to do the work and, given the length of the thing, it soon starts to grate. [Dec 2012, p.79]

Earl has often been overshadowed by bands on the Woodsist label he runs, but here Woods are allowed to stand out from the trees. [Dec 2012, p.79]

La Futura sounds at times overly relaxed, but never less than a fun, frill-free ride. [Dec 2012, p.79]

The three-disc set brings the artist's life and times into sharp focus. [Dec 2012, p.87]

[An] affectionate charity project to benefit the victims of floods and fires in Tennessee and Texas. [Dec 2012, p.95]

Pleasant but faintly drippy folk-pop. [Dec 2012, p.65]

Mystic Pinball is another assemblage of breezy balladry and snarling storytelling, delivered in the familiar Cookie Monster drawl. [Nov 2012, p.75]

Hayes sounds comfortably cocooned in her familiar musical skin with little need to venture outside the safety zone. [Nov 2012, p.75]

Their terrific Wilco-esque third album, the emphasis is on storytelling. [Nov 2012, p.73]

Every note, lick, snarl and spit on this album is precisely no more and no less than might be expected of a Lynyrd Skynyrd album. [Oct 2012, p.84]

It's confident work, with faith in the power of a few elements. [Oct 2012, p.79]

His fourth solo album is structurally ambitious, obtuse and occasionally brilliant. [Nov 2012, p.83]

If there is a more beautiful and ambitious song this year than "White Foxes"... well, there just isn't. [Nov 2012, p.83]

[This LP] is rammed with coming-of-age songs masquerading as outlaw tales, driven by Smith's happy knack for finely chiseled narratives and a great blustery voice that roars through bluegrass shanties. [Nov 2012, p.85]

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]

To some, Psychedelic Pill will seem like a monumental work of self-indulgence. To others, though, its heft and eccentricity make it one of the purest expressions of Young's genius to date.

The standout tracks here are the most melancholy and experimental. [Nov 2012, p.71]

Smart, elegant and affecting, this is surely her best yet. [Nov 2012, p.85]

Inventively employing computer "tweakery," Lytle concocts synthesized symphonies and celestial chorales, with emotional charged results. [Nov 2012, p.77]

Donald's back in his self-referencing sweet-spot, and all's right with the world. [Nov 2012, p.69]

Bugg's references are strictly retro, but his debut boasts a pleasing absence of stodge. [Nov 2012, p.71]

The Haunted Man she's exorcised some of those ghosts and gone some way to becoming her own woman. [Nov 2012, p.70]

All in all, an interesting exercise, far less arch and shamateurish than Kisses On The Bottom. [Nov 2012, p.74]

Like Golightly's solid output since burying Thee Headcoatees in the late '90s, Sunday revolves around amped-up reinventions of mid-century hillbilly, honky-tonk, blues and country. [Nov 2012, p.75]

Tempest explores electro-dub and Four Tet-like glitch. [Oct 2012, p.87]

With its mix of electric piano and harp, gospel choir, distorted bass and rap, Halcyon seems uncertain where it belongs--low-lit lounge or heaving club. [Nov 2012, p.75]

His keen-eared blending of Beatles-style melodies and psych jangle with the snarling attitude of Mudhoney and Melvins' malevolent heaviness is oddly invigorating. [Nov 2012, p.81]

The addition of Ethiopian singer Cabra Casay evens up things on "Ane Nahatka," otherwise this prove a collaboration too far. [Nov 2012, p.85]

Fletcher's three-chord trick comes up trumps once more, every sha-la-la-la, every woah-woah. [Nov 2012, p.85]

Together they achieve a level of fervent interplay that's exhilarating to hear. [Nov 2012, p.81]

The album's only real flaw is a penchant for sketchy, banal lyrics that can jar with the imaginative and highly polished musical backdrop. [Oct 2012, p.71]

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

There are a few too many tracks here that don't quite achieve lift-off. [Oct 2012, p.74]

It is readymade for a kegger; the problem is, on this, their third LP, they have yet to shape their influences into a sound they can call their own. [Oct 2012, p.77]

He can be relied upon to sprinkle a few brilliant tunes on each release, and this is no exception. [Oct 2012, p.81]

Amos teams up with the Metropole Orchestra to revisit songs from her '92 debut onward, adding sumptuous, bejewelled dimension to the rich expressive like of "Precious Things" and the conceptual epic "Yes, Anastasia."[Nov 2012, p.69]

The results are lively and irreverent. [Nov 2012, p.77]

This album pursues a theme of escape from the more lurid temptations of early adulthood, and Darnielle locates an aptly urgent yet reflective tone. [Nov 2012, p.79]

The further Merritt strays from her default setting, the more affecting she is. [Nov 2012, p.79]

Thankfully, more often than not Eitzel is on great form. [Nov 2012, p.82]

A scene of glorious, twilit devastation. [Oct 2012, p.75]

The result is a high;y accomplished and warmly uplifting country-soul album that easily holds its own amid both musicians' back catalogues. [Oct 2012, p.73]