Their fourth album is reassuringly familiar. [Jun 2014, p.73]

A fairly ravishing seven-song set of instrumental jazz that reveals a softer, more considered side to the multi-instrumentalist. [Mar 2023, p.36]

Trouble No More presents a very humane portrait of a man on a serious spiritual quest, which makes it as biographically fascinating as it is musically frustrating. [Jan 2018, p.34]

"Blue Noise, Black Lake" and "Rusty Machines, Dusty Carpets" both overdo the tension-release dynamics--but it is always compelling. [Dec 2016, p.35]

It's the dumb, heads-down rockers that show BRMC at their best. [Feb 2018, p.24]

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]

As ever, Lewis's lyrics are the standout. [Mar 2025, p.35]

These are smart, confident and mostly fine-boned songs, though epic closer “Posing For Cars” leans on a lachrymose, slow-mo, alt.rock guitar passage. [Jul 2021, p.27]

An album heavy on immersive ambience. However, as the title suggests, there’s plenty of static to be found too – along with touches of deconstructed techno. [Aug 2021, p.24]

On their second release for Thrill Jockey they sometimes clear space in the pummeling blizzard of delay, fuzz and reverb. [Apr 2012, p.88]

A 40-minute guitar wig-out at the end of the immense White Numbers--filling two CDs or three LPs--will delight Bevis Frond fetishists, but the toytown pop of "More Chalk" and teary madrigal "She's Just Like You" better showcase the cottage industrialist's skills. [Jul 2013, p.71]

Another batch of weapons-grade psychedelic reggaeton that buckles and grooves with sinuous grace. ... The sole clanger is "Born Yesterday." [Jan 2022, p.21]

Over the course of a whole album, a little more ribaldry is required. [Aug 2014, p.81]

[Brace The Wave] sounds like it was recorded in a toilet, with Barlow playing an adapted ukulele. The songs, though, are as good as anything he's done with Sebadoh or Folk Implosion. [Oct 2015, p.71]

It's very earnest. [Sep 2012, p.79]

Compton is a solid reminder of both Dre's skills and the depth of his contacts book. [Nov 2015, p.75]

At 15 tracks it rather drags its anchor, but there's much promise here. [Jul 2023, p.23]

Less, often, is more. The home demos of "sans" is powerfully raw. [Jan 2018, p.39]

This album will not fry your brain though that's not to say that a substantial change has not been attempted. [Jan 2018, p.27]

There's a clear confidence in their third album. [Dec 2015, p.74]

A newly acquired taste for Gilbert O'Sullivan-style upright piano puts the accent on cheeky fun on his ninth solo album. [Dec 2013, p.66]

Aged 85 and in grave health, Scott's superlative countertenor was weakening, but his expressive gifts are unerring. [Mar 2017, p.39]

Though the more rhythmic nature of tracks like "Oblivion Theme" prevent the album from dissolving into ambient haze, the deep bass rumbles and rich textures provide plenty of pillowy comforts for other weary listeners. [Jun 2020, p.30]

People Helping People is evenly split between eerie, washed-out rumblings and more frenzied outbursts of Sonic Youth-ful skronk and motorik madness. [Oct 2022, p.33]

Strongly evokes a member of Foo Fighters attempting a modern Americana album, and as such is largely a punky take on the stomping arena country of Brad Paisley. [Aug 2019, p.36]

Her fourth sees her exploring darker, richer tones, drawing herself up to mythic height as she conjures a fiery, fantastical rebirth. [Nov 2020, p.29]

The industrial-inflected sound Numan has explored since Sacrifice remains a bedrock, but "Bed Of Thorns" and "Pray For The Pain You Serve" realise the concept neatly, blending crunchy synth riffs and brooding choruses with fragments of Arabic melody. [Nov 2017, p.35]

A convincing demonstration of the group's rejuvenation and reorganisation after the departure of longtime frontman Duke Amayo. [Jan 2026, p.27]

Producer Luke Potashnick (Paloma Faith) has collaborated in a polished sound, as Motown-style brass lifts Bailey's gritty soul shout on "Take A Step Back". [Feb 2026, p.30]

Plurality is the key to Clark Jr's appeal here. It also has to be said that this is a pretty safe, porous realm in which soul, hip-hop, Princely funk and ringing electric blues feed into one another. [Nov 2015, p.73]

The outer skein of mystical mystery shelters a clutch of slyly insistent melodies. [Jan 2019, p.21]

On the feverishly catchy bubblegum punk of tracks like “Talk About It” and “Petals” they sound something like Dolly Parton fronting Blondie ... And, on tracks like “Happy Hour” and “Crossing Lines”, the interplay between twin guitarists Adam Johnstone and Fergus Sinclair is reminiscent of Television, which adds to the CBGBs vibe. [May 2022, p.35]

We Are Nots is an impressive, if punishing, introduction. [Jan 2016, p.78]

The songs are warmly hypnotic: pitch-perfect pop. [Dec 2013, p.66]

Showing off a musical muscularity built up from three years on the road. [Feb 2020, p.35]

The teenage tyrants of "Girls From Mars" fame may now be chasing the tail-end of their forties, but they've lost little of that youthful vigour. [Nov 2023, p.25]

At times it bewilders. ... But Pulse Of Defiance has a lushness of texture that makes the compositional knottiness slide down easier. [Apr 2021, p.29]

A magisterial set. [Feb 2014, p.75]

A spare and seductively lonesome pooling of bluesy folk and electronics that eschews "folktronica" and nods to Martyn, Hollis, Crosby and Jason Molina. [Sep 2021, p.25]

Hardly Electronic comprises 14 impeccably jangling, harmonic pastiches of Bacharach, McCartney and Free Design, with only Sasha Bell's sardonic vocals striking a welcome sour note. [Aug 2018, p.27]

The best moments are often the most self-excoriating. [Aug 2016, p.75]

Instead of fusing elements, Korwar lets them converse, drowning blinkered British racism out. [Aug 2019, p.31]

The faithful arrangements deprive the collection of any real edge – "Elle Et Moi" should be sexier – but this is not the place for surprises. [Dec 2021, p.25]

Tight but loose, Are Possible sits nicely alongside other hypnotic, folksy acts like 75 Dollar Bill and Natural Information Society. [Sep 2024, p.29]

The bewitching tone varies from languid to experimental. [Jun 2023, p.35]

Crowell conjures a collection both wryly whimsical and devastating sincere. [Jan 2019, p.19]

It's a record that walks a fine line between joy and sorrow. [Apr 2026, p.36]

It would make a perfect soundtrack to traversing chilly landscapes, but an emotional current runs through Fables that elevates it beyond mere background music. [Mar 2026, p.36]

Johnston suits the form, finding a hitherto largely latent frailty and vulnerability in his voice. [Jan 2017, p.24]

Fuses the hormonal aggression that put Green Day on the map with punched-up modern-day production courtesy of Butch Walker and a razor-sharp mix by Tchad Blake. [Mar 2020, p.29]

Few More Days To Go is a strong statement of intent in its own right. [Jan 2016, p.76]

Songs from the wellspring of third-album VU; a few nods toward New Order; some charming turns of phrase. And on it goes.... [Apr 2014, p.83]

The Arkestra's rich, gestalt thinking makes these pieces simmer and spark, building ritualistic power. [Nov 2022, p.36]

Her sophisto-pop range expands with each album, although the winning warmth of her live performances is largely absent here. [Jul 2017, p.35]

He stretches out into these songs, inhabiting them comfortably and casually, almost always finding a way to make the familiar sound fresh. [Aug 2018, p.32]

While they lack a reedy falsetto, guest vocalists such as Blaine Harrison, Euros Child and Holly Miranda bring discrete personalities to bear on songs which trippily track the lightly fantastic. [Aug 2016, p.72]

A lush and ambitious piece of progressive pop music. [Sep 2017, p.38]

His vocal lines are often so casually intoned that they mingle imperceptibly with those of his back-up singer Suad Khalifa, over gently pulsing twilight liaisons that yearn to be a little more sophisticated than they actually are. [Jul 2015, p.77]

Inpressive stuff, but like the Beastie Boys' tinnitus-inducing whines, Northern State's gonzoid yelps suffer from diminishing returns. [Jun 2003, p.110]

It's clear that if he wants to, he could easily command proceedings alongside his pals Walls and Four Tet. [Sep 2012, p.75]

Curiously nonconformist to the last. [Jan 2021, p.27]

Soft keyboard lines wow and flutter tastefully. [Feb 2020, p.28]

Mark Nevers, on production, ensures Singer's grave is the lushest Oldham LP since Beware, and "So Far And Here We Are" is a stinging all-new effort. Motives, though, remain even less clear than usual. [Nov 2014, p.71]

Two Gallants can swagger and rage like The Black Keys, but they can also find moments of ambient bliss to complement songs of helplessness and regret. [Mar 2015, p.82]

American Romance is agreeably heart-on-sleeve. [Jul 2025, p.31]

HudMo has toned down the high contrast and adopted a softer, soul/R&B-pop style. [Jul 2015, p.77]

65daysofstatic's soundtrack to the highly anticipated No Man's Sky Game loads up on pile-driving guitar sequences reminiscent of Mogwai, but it's industrial-sized programming, moments of tranquility and chilling electronica confirm the Sheffield quartet's visionary ambitions. [Jul 2016, p.67]

Mono are masters of the emotionally saturated slow build, though they have their own variations on the dark/light dynamic, as in “Reflection”, which moves with a casually graceful swing, and “Holy Winter”, where an upright-piano motif shapes the celestial whole. [Jul 2024, p.38]

Taken on their own merits, Royce Hall and Dorothy Chandler are prime examples of Young in early ’71 … but maybe we can move on to other territory now? [Jun 2022, p.43]

Off-kilter chamber pop telling ear-pricking tales: worth staying in for. [May 2021, p.31]

His workmanship persists. Forever on the skids, but still upright. [Jul 2020, p.27]

The loss of drummer Ryan Sawyer has gutted their alt.rock muscle, making Out of It less visceral, but ultimately more singular, affecting and timeless. [Apr 2012, p.87]

An abrasive but soulful post-punk. [Jul 22017, p.23]

Their inspiration occasionally wanes. [Jul 2015, p.81]

Noise, which might frustrate hardcore types because despite the promise of its title--delivered via speed-metal monster "Quicksiler" and 18-minute, FX-strafed-epic, "Angel"--it leans on their melodic shoegazing tendencies. [Jul 2014, p.70]

Despite the air of contemplation, there's plenty of energy. [Sep 2004, p.98]

Turkey is less throwaway than its scrappy, Bandcamp-released predecessors. [Oct 2015, p.78]

White digs deeper into the seemingly symbiotic, drums/keyboard relationship, playing both with intuitive flair to hypnotic effect. [Review of the Year 2025, p.29]

This second album tips a stetson to the neglected Western heritage of his native country, from the stark beauty of "Saskatchewan In 1881" to the deliciously luminous cover of Wilf Carter's "Calgary Round-Up." [Nov 2018, p.37]

There's an edge that's been absent in recent years. [Jul 2005, p.99]

Grace Potter returns to her stylistic comfort zone with Daylight. [Jan 2020, p.28]

Gibson's follow-up to 2016's Empire Builder finds her tinkering with the complexion of her sound, bringing piano and strings to the surface, mostly at the expense of guitar. It turns out to be a clever fit for the songs. [Nov 2018, p.29]

Everything is done with the casual-sounding confidence that comes with hard experience. [Dec 2016, p.38]

It's a beautiful record. [Oct 2006, p.112]

Now in her seventies, her voice is deeper than it once was, but it remains an instrument of impressive power. [Review of the Year 2024, p.27]

Their sound is accordingly pared down, the overall tone downbeat and perhaps appropriately rueful. [May 2026, p.34]

The likes of "Scapa Flow" and "Rose With Smoke" are assured orthodox shoegaze, while "Tarantula" reflects a more playful, almost power-poppy tendency. [Dec 2023, p.28]

The album is drenched in Hawaiian guitar and wah-wah, making the title perfectly apt. [May 2012, p.67]

The tight knit trio waste nothing creating their dream dancefloor from sultry rhythms, mischievous drum beats and a glorious disco sheen. [Oct 2020, p.25]

"Blue Motel," with its drunk payday regulars, is a classic Penn narrative conceit, while "One Of These Days" nods to mortality at 78, but this craftsman keeps working. [Sep 2020, p.35]

Fairly conventional, but done with plenty of panache and alluring bad-girl swagger. [Sep 2016, p.69]

Hardly groundbreaking, but bursting with charm. [Aug 2023, p.26]

A revolutionary step in the band’s catalogue this is not, but the sound of Dwyer and co having a lot of fun in his basement radiates throughout, as does the band’s seamless knack for tapping into any strand of punk they turn their hand to. [Sep 2022, p.28]

The top line melodies don't always cut that deep, but with such intriguing decoration, we're still enchanted. [Jul 2020, p.29]

There are a few moments of longueurs, where the songs come off a little too session muso. But this new, becalmed Perhacs reveals a clear eco-political message articulated with subtlety and nuance. [Apr 2014, p.79]

The pair's [singer James Mercer and producer Greg Kurstin] pop instincts ultimately prevail over more esoteric ambitions. [Apr 2012, p.86]

Their fourth album is authentic in the resistant lyrics of Yildirim originals. [May 2025, p.39]

Fun for all the family. [May 2014, p.80]