For now Ruins keeps First Aid Kit moving forward, empowered rather than overcome by the wrath of love. [Feb 2018, p.25]

Encore is a perfectly good record. ... But one can't help but wonder how Dammers' wayward genius might have added a level of glorious unpredictability to proceedings. [Mar 2019, p.22]

“Concrete Tunnels” and “Hari” communicate the cold isolationism of deep space. But deeper in, the album deftly channels the film’s themes of memory and consciousness, with “In Love With A Ghost” achieving a kind of terrible beauty. [Aug 2021, p.29]

If some of Teena's mid-80s belters betrayed an eagerness to over-emote, her technique here is more restrained, which suits her voyage into Indo-tinged soul and a few delicious slow jamz. [Mar 2013, p.90]

The joyously unhinged waltz "Better In My Day" is an amusing piss-take of nostalgic bigotry; while Bernholz's whispered vocals on tracks like "Hobby Horse" come with an undercurrent of menace. [Nov 2018, p.29]

Surging volume is still far outweighed by wispy melancholy, but the contrast is rewarding. [Mar 2005, p.104]

Raymonde elicits gorgeous performances from guest vocalists. ... Even more welcome are the deviations from the sumptuous dream-pop and ethereal acid-folk modes you'd expect of Ojala. [Dec 2017, p.28]

Her keenest yet. [Jul 2006, p.108]

This incarnation features plenty of impressive fusion pyrotechnics from guitarist John Etheridge and saxophonist Theo Travis, but the highlights dig deep into Soft Machine's legacy. [Mar 2026, p.36]

With her voice repaired to the mesmersing breaking point of There's Always Glimmer, the closeness of her almost-whisper is startling on "Everybody Around Me Dancing" and "Moon Not Mine", although it's her light-touch production - vaguely New Age and recalling Cassandra Jenkins - that truly elevates this intimate folk record. [May 2026, p.33]

It's a rather ragtag collection. .... You do, however, really get a sense of what a playful, unique and ahead of his time composer Garson was. [Sep 2023, p.42]

The Warlocks return with an album that intensifies their drifts into darker and experimental territory while also tipping a nod to some of their US inspirations. [Jan 2014, p.79]

Andrew WK's most lucid slab of party politics since his 2001 debut I Get Wet ditches the improv piano to embrace the 39-year-ld's steroid-enhanced take on cutie-pop. [Apr 2018, p.37]

These 18 short tracks comprise a refreshingly un-self-conscious reinterpretation of lo-fi punk, '90s slacker rock, shoegaze an d bedroom electronica, but each one dodges categorisation. [Mar 2014, p.78]

Both share an inclination towards the transcendent, and Totality offers further proof they're operating on much the same wavelength. [Jun 2025, p.35]

Day Of The Dead is an exemplary way of proving to a sceptic that at the heart of the Dead's digressions are great songs. [Jun 2016, p.66]

It's a testament to Gonzalez that after a dozen numbers we know far too much about him but still crave more. [Aug 2020, p.29]

His twittering creations... use hip hop as their base but defy all attempts at categorisation and recall artists as diverse as Keith Jarrett, DoseOne and Smog. [Jun 2003, p.104]

The album never lags completely, but its fair to say that the band aquit themselves far more strongly on "You Haven't Got A Chance" and "I Watch You" than on rather less comprehensively developed garage rock like "Go Blow A Gale." [Jun 2013, p.69]

Not everything hits the target, partly due to strangely sluggish pacing, but impassioned weepies like “Work Today (And Tomorrow)” and the sarcastic, agreeably sloppy “Everybody’s Somebody” showcase an impressive vocal and emotional range. [Apr 2014, p.31]

It doesn't always Gel. But a horn heavy take on the Stooges' "Dirt" is satisfyingly ballsy. [Jul 2012, p.70]

Mitchell's sophisticated Memphis funk gives Green's voice the fuel to float. [Apr 2005, p.97]

The Dirty Nil relive those innocent times when callow rock'n'rollers made noise designed to drive grown-ups batshit. [Feb 2021, p.27]

It all takes a bit of getting use to.... [M:FANS} is yet another fascinating maverick move. [Feb 2016, p.70]

Here he bans repetition of verses and choruses, compacting a double album's detail into 40 minutes. [Feb 2025, p.35]

For the acoustic half, she genuflects a little too readily, but the limberness of her voice hades new contours for the songs; the electric half takes a while to ignite, but "Like A Rolling Stone" is gorgeous. [Dec 2023, p.27]

It's moodily compelling, rather than electrifying. [Jul 2017, p.39]

His melancholic optimism is uplifting and his melodies surprisingly plush. [Dec 2002, p.140]

It all feels quite timely. with Butler exploring the state of the world. [Nov 2020, p.27]

Richter's own work sits as comfortably alongside these as Schubert and Rachmaninov, and there are further contributions from Low and Rachels, as well as Bach, and, inevitably, Steve Reich. [Oct 2017, p.52]

10 idiosyncratic pop songs marked by her cool, tremulous timbre, unusual cadence and almost bluntly conversational lyrics. [Mar 2023, p.35]

It's all done with a wry, matter-of-fact wit rather than self-pitying sadness, and the spirit and sound of Pulp hang over much of the album. [Nov 2018, p.37]

Attempts several tasks at once - and pretty much delivers on all of them. [Jan 2021, p.47]

An exhausting yet improbably exhilarating listen. [Jan 2026, p.31]

High Flyin' is like a snapshot from a long-ago holiday romance. Sweet, sometimes spine-tingling to recall. But you maybe won't linger over it too often. [Jun 2023, p.48]

Alex Cameron returns to the more overtly acerbic studies in modern male toxicity that established the Australian singer-songwriter as a suave provocateur. [Apr 2022, p.25]

Madly ambitious and deeply heartfelt, it's a grand folly in the great tradition of British rock. [Nov 2006, p.96]

Sounds astoundingly like an album from his '70s heyday.

Drift captures frontman Mark perro in an unusually subdued mood. ... Drift risks seeming incoherent; no-one can say The Men ever fail to surprise, though. [Apr 2018, p.30]

Her strikingly rich, four octave voice is the axis around which producer Andrew Broder has directed dark, ambient, degraded bassmusic, industrial pop and dungeon synth, with feedback and software fubars playing their part. [Apr 2025, p.28]

Lord Huron's fifth album lives up to its title, cranking up the celestial jukebox and filling the room with a breezy, blithe spirit. [Aug 2025, p.33]

The ballads are typically wry and pretty, however, especially the Christopher Cross-alike "Crack The Case," through "Feed The Fire" might have benefited from more rigorous editing. [Aug 2018, p.26]

Made with members of Guns N' Roses, the Chili Peppers, Jane's Addiction plus the late Taylor Hawkins, who provide a professionally truculent background to tracks like the loose and slinky "All The Way down" or the terrific "Modern Day Rp Off". a self-deprecating Stooges Pastiche. But Iggy's voice is the star. [Feb 2023, p.35]

Tasjan has a pop at contemporary politics on the crooning "The Truth Is So Hard To Believe," but is stronger when he tackles domestic concerns. [Oct 2018, p.34]

At their best when strings and horns--even a sousaphone--let some air flood through a dense mix, they could even be an American Supergrass in waiting. [Sep 2006, p.89]

Voyager is awash with cascading Jean-Michel Jarre-ish Eurosynths and pulsing Moroder-esque Rhythms. But Arbez-Nicolas eventually diluted his plan by adding contemporary beats, noises and guest vocalists. [Feb 2017, p.38]

This highly agreeable live set assembles some of the choicest bits, harnessing prog, slinky space-funk and vivacious free-form jamming. [Jan 2016, p.73]

An expansive, atmospheric reboot of the muscular melancholy of 1985's Once Upon A Time. [Mar 2018, p.32]

A fascinating portal into one of the great musical minds. [Jan 2014, p.89]

Kirk's fondness for gloomier realms prevails, especially in his noteworthy wordplay and on the ominously noisy title track. [May 2017, p.40]

They've added influences from '80s Brit-funk ("Just Can't Wait") and '90s R&B ("My Father In Heaven") to timeless psych-soul ("Together We Are"), joining up the dots across the black music diaspora. [Aug 2025, p.33]

What continually redeems this acid flashback to a more well-meaning era is its endlessly metamorphosing soundscape, its kaleidoscope washes of virtual psychedelia. [Oct 2002, p.101]

While these 12 songs shake no foundations, they hold their own. [Sep 2019, p.34]

There's a new muscularity to Pete O'Hanlon's basslines, while guitarist Josh McClorey employs a broader range of techniques to stretch the band's sound. [Aug 2015, p.81]

Songs like "Let's Make A Mistake Tonight" and the restless "Forbidden Doors" vividly capture intimate moments in a shared existence. [Apr 2023, p.36]

About Farewell is a gentle, rueful, often beautiful record. [Aug 2013, p.75]

A follow-up that is more knowing and nuanced, although the expansive dance grooves remain uninhibited. [Nov 2018, p.32]

It feels slightly too long but there's much to like. [Mar 2022, p.36]

On first listen, Cellophane Memories sounds reliably Lynchian in its hypnagogic moans, bluesy torch songs and voluptuous slow-motion noir-scapes. But it also pushes beyond these familiar tropes, notably by layering, intertwining and tape-reversing Zucht’s sultry mezzo-soprano vocals on deliciously weird stand-outs. [Sep 2024, p.29]

The result is a record that's primarily dedicated to beauty but with an engagingly playful spirit. [Sep 2012, p.83]

Electa is at its best when the folk rears its head. [Jan 2017, p.32]

It’s a big, bolshy set, slightly dated by its industrial-rock dynamics, but there’s no denying the Depeche Mode-ish “Godhead” or (especially) the giallo-ish critique that is “A Woman Destroyed”. [Jul 2021, p.27]

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

They've drawn their inspiration from a wider constituency. [Oct 2020, p.25]

The bleak piano ballad "Hello I'm Right Here," the suicidal "Hold My breath Until I Die" and the slow-burning synth-pop of "We Don't Have Fun When We're Together Anymore" all find curious joy in pain. [Nov 2019, p.33]

Languid without being lazy. [Mar 2005, p.93]

This follow-up sees their experimental instincts tempered rather than tamed, with more focus on song structure and melody, and Susman's expressive vocals softened. [Apr 2026, p.34]

This is more of the same bucolic electronica and smudgy rave that Fake does so well. [Mar 2026, p.32]

Even if the orchestrations on their first album together are more sentimental than cinematic, father and son harmonise gloriously, finding new emotions within 20th-century standards. [Review of the Year 2024, p.31]

Bitter but sweet enough. [Dec 2013, p.71]

Hymns sounds refreshed. [Feb 2016, p.73]

Laibach's most pop album to date - five tracks are co-produced by Richard X - and at least as curious and contrary as any of its predecessors. [May 2026, p.32]

Cobb recorded the record at Macon's legendary Capricorn Sound with Georgian musicians, and it sounds it. [Oct 2023, p.27]

Leithauser has worked solidly on his strengths - muscular and expansive, pop-rock songs with standout lyrics - to distinctive effect. [Apr 2025, p.33]

The excellent military beat of "The Aphorist" and almost genteel "Worm In Heaven" are fine point of entry, even if the cacophonous likes of "Michigan Hammers," "Modern Business Hymns" and "I Am You Now" are more typical representations of the band's disorienting sound. [Aug 2020, p.36]

The recordings capture the band at a satisfyingly burly midpoint between Lemmy's punchiest moments on Hawkwind's Warrior on The Edge Of Time and Motörhead's eponymous debut the following year. [Sep 2025, p.46]

The DJ, producer and singer-songwriter's solo third suggests there's no shame in sticking to your retro-futurist guns, as long as you fire off the odd unexpected volley. [Jun 2013, p.76]

Even on stopgap releases like this relatively repetitive mini-album, DeMarco's lysergic balladry and hangdog puppy love have an unbeatable effortlessness. [Sep 2015, p.72]

They display an exuberant charm that's trashy and infectious. [Aug 2013, p.77]

The core trio of Chris Gunst, Brent Rademaker and Farmer Dave Scher, plus various friends, excel on the breezy optimism of “Falling Forever”, while the mellow vibes of “Faded Glory” recall Teenage Fanclub at their sunniest. [Aug 2024, p.31]

Haiku Salut deepen and widen their electro-pastoral sound on this mostly sublime third album. [Nov 2018, p.30]

[An] effervescent, sun-dappled debut. [Aug 2005, p.103]

Built To Spill's blend of expressive guitar playing and light to moderate whining plays as well today as it did when the band emerged nearly 15 years ago. [Jul 2007, p.96]

Friko's second is sonically ambitious but just as immediate. [May 2026, p.29]

An odd mix, maybe, but a believable one. [Mar 2017, p.31]

As ever, OCMS manage the deft balance of embracing tradition without lapsing into curatorial piousness or zany pastiche. [Nov 2023, p.31]

The results are stiff at times, the LP overlong, but Branch's country songwriting sounds all the more compelling and idiosyncratic in this setting. [May 2017, p.25]

Melodic beauty at times gives way to oversweet twinkling, but "Modigliani" and "Most Wanted Man" are winners. [May 2025, p.29]

White has found his sweet spot in the downhome elegance of Nashville's golden age, collaborating with venerable songwriters Whisperin' Bill Anderson and Booby Braddock, while Muscle Shoals bass legend David Hood anchors his studio band. [May 2019, p.37]

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

Jungle's well trusted blend of neo-R&B, French Touch and retro-disco gains new zest on the duo's third album thanks to stylistic detours into acid-jazz classiness and David Axelrod-style psych splendour. elsewhere the formula wears a little thinner . [Sep 2021, p.28]

Divorced from the visuals, Music From First Cow is just as mesmerising, its 26 minutes of repeated themes, mostly on acoustic guitar and banjo, mixed with muttered dialogue and sound design from the film. [Jun 2020, p.38]

It shuns the cliches of oceanic atmospherics. [Aug 2015, p.73]

The songs about his children risk tipping over into twee, but it's hard to disparage such a warm, consoling record. [Mar 2023, p.25]

An album of grungy, earnest rock that pivots from deluges of Hole-inspired chaos to more restrained, melodic fare. [Nov 2017, p.24]

Much of this album resembles the kind of murky '80s proto-techno recently unearthed by Trevor Jackson for his Metal Dance comps, with Nik Colk Void's monotone vocals ceding centre stage to the restive machine rhythms that constantly threaten to rise up and over throw their human masters. [Oct 2013, p.67]

Contains the usual assortment of slurred tirades and workmanlike riffs, but it also features a smattering of minor Smith classics. [Nov 2005, p.96]

This doesn't disappoint. [Jun 2006, p.114]