While he's got enough pure country in him to for convincing Merle Haggard-style balladry, he's best on rabble-rousers like the rightly pissed populism of "Stomp And Holler" and the de facto title song, a doomed soldier's outrageous, funny surreal travelogue grafted onto a grungy mutation of Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues." [Mar 2011, p.85]

Exactly a year since the release of his dreamy debut Causers Of This, South Carolina's Chaz Bundick is back with a very different and impressively cultured second album. [Mar 2011, p.105]

The fifth and final Streets albums suffers as a result of his self-imposed exile from the hubbub he once chronicled with such verve. [Mar 2011, p.101]

His is a paradoxical, somewhat clean version of grime, pushing every commercial button to boost his product. [Mar 2011, p.101]

Hardcore contains some of their most affecting tunes since the early singles, instrumental parts coiling around each other in graceful, liquid polyphony. [Mar 2011, p.97]

If I'm New Here was a triumph for Russell and Scott-Heron, We're New Here reveals a maverick production talent in Jamie Smith that his band's records have only hinted at. [Mar 2011, p.95]

Their take on electric jazz can seem airless: the sax leads are worthy but venture nowhere near the outer limits chartered by Ayler and Coltrane. [Mar 2011, p.93]

City of Refuge finds her back in Appalachian mode though, the songs shaded with fiddle, banjo and dulcimer and borne aloft by Washburn's airy voice. [Mar 2011, p.92]

Ejimiwe's lyrics are often vague, but the music has echoes of Tricky, Roots Manuva, and the minimal end of dubstep. [Mar 2011, p.91]

Abstract, but curiously engaging. [Mar 2011, p.83]

Allo Darlin' aren't the latest in post-Kate Nash mockney complaint pop, but instead makers of music that's unapologetically twee. [July 2010, p.101]

Let England Shake is the sound of someone as maddened as they are enthralled, aglow with anger and passion.

It's a faintly sparkling, wistful listen, where from her vocal monotone, you wonder if she's mocking those sexually stereotypical longings. Perhaps that's optimistic, but either way, it's satisfying that she's taken a different tack. [Mar 2011, p.98]

Like fellow minimalists The xx, Blake takes from dubstep an awareness of space and silence; he appreciates the power of a perfectly weighted pause. [Mar 2011, p.98]

Hotel Shampoo is a fragrant little side-project but it's a bit too sudsy to be the main event. [Mar 2010, p.96]

The results are dark, dangerous and utterly compelling. [Mar 2011, p.94]

Angels is spacier than previous outings, nowhere more so than the semi-improvised 20-minute title track. [Mar 2011, p.88]

It's a rich, invigorating and mischievous affair and, for older fans, possibly their best since 2004's The Dirty South. [Mar 2011, p.87]

Problematically for a singer-songwriter, Oberst drops personal feelings, wry asides and hip references equally lightly--ultimately, you're disinclined to believe anything he says at all. [Mar 2011, p.85]

The problem here is Beans himself, whose verbosity too often resembles a limerick writer who tries to cram, as many syllables into the last line as he possibly can. [Mar 2011, p.83]

Phil Manley's first solo album presents as a homage to the spirit and sound of mid-'70s German Electronic rock. [Feb 2011, p.90]

The Atmosphere is intimidating and nervy--a far cry from cosy campfire kumbayas. [Feb 2011, p.94]

This is a finely paced album, mirroring the rhythm of the calendar and getting choppier as it moves toward the midway point. [Feb 2011, p.99]

Under the bluster, though, frontman Ritzy Bryan adds a consistent emotional intensity best heard on "Cradle," reminiscent ofg Lush at their most bruised and bruising. [Mar 2011, p.93]

The crashing waves of "O-OnOne" immediately align the new-look Seefeel with the aggressive ambiance of Oneohtrix Point Never and Emeralds, while "Airless," Peacock's serene vocals are assailed by coarse filter sweeps and the squeals of busted circuitry. [Mar 2011, p.99]

Tracks like "Georgia" and "Holing Out" tear by with sandpaper efficiency and no little impact. Yet they have more than one idea. [Mar 2011, p.107]

It's a fearless rejection of current pop trends, fashioning a benchmark of intensity and originality that the rest of this year's albums will struggle to match. [Fed 2010, p.94]

They stand out because they combine some very familiar elements with more style and grace than their peers. [Feb 2011, p.94]

As a reminder of his consummate talent, and a place to start George's comeback, it's hard to beat. [Feb 2011, p.93]

This Brooklyn-based trio make hedonistic dance-pop with brainy-sexy lyrics informed by gender politics, third-wave feminism and Queer Theory. [Feb 2011, p.90]

Rolling Blackouts is as invigorating as their debut. [Feb 2011, p.87]

Reinterpreting these sample-and-synth-laden originals for guitar is quite an achievement, and the results are certainly fascinating. [Feb 2011, p.82]

[A] slim, but enjoyable album. [Jan 2011, p.88]

The prolific five-piece's cosmic space programme occasionally fails to launch, but at their transcendent best they harness the ragged glory of mid-'70s Neil Young with the epic fluidity of Popol Vuh and the blazing guitars of Spacemen 3. [Dec 2010, p.85]

His latest, Bella, is laden with sumptuous melodies and mordant wit. [Feb 2011, p.103]

The World Is Yours contains repetition aplenty: but no hesitation or deviation. [Feb 2011, p.93]

The collection is a little frontloaded, petering out with some tracks of solo guitar, bass and drums. [Feb 2011, p.82]

Adele is repeatedly cast as the heartbroken survivor. That role serves to foreground her mighty impressive vocals, but also encourage the showboating overkill that is a staple of the X Factor generation. [Feb 2011, p.79]

Arcade Dynamics is marginally more developed than previous releases. [Mar 2011, p.88]

There are traces of Rio's fantastic lipglossed silliness, but overall the arty party pop of All You Need IS now feels like an attempt to rescue a venerable British band long damaged by poor decisions. [Mar 2011, p.88]

It's a sequel of sorts to Democrazy, but sounds infinitely more accomplished--undoubtedly part of the technological point that he's making here. [Mar 2011, p.91]

The music is pure old-time country though, their pressed-linen harmonies already hailed by Exec Producer T Bone Burnett--on whose label this mostly covers record is released--as among the purest he's ever heard. [Mar 2011, p.92]

The downhome strum of "Stuck Like Glue" has a certain charm--at least until its horrific cod-dancehall break down--but fails to redeem a depressingly calculated record. [Mar 2011, p.101]

In places it's impressively monolithic. [Feb 2011, p.82]

The tunes remain no more exotic than a British cottage pie, and all the meat and potatoes that entails. [Feb 2011, p.79]

Mine Is Yours is the sound of a band itching to make their breakthrough. [Feb 2011, p.81]

Red Barked Tree is the most successful product to date of this examination. [Feb 2011, p.86]

It's a grim assemblage of cliche from the title downwards. [Feb 2011, p.90]

The trio still favour widescreen grandeur, epic choruses and portentous keyboards, but they've exorcised their Duran Duran and Billy idol tendencies. [Feb 2011, p.105]

Ness' songs tackle his experiences with hard, unforgiving honesty. [Feb 2011, p.99]

While there's not any unity of occasion to speak of, the cover of "Arms Aloft" by Joe Strummer And The Mescaleros is an impressively galvanising opener, new material sitting comfortably alongside older, more diffuse cuts. [Feb 2011, p.95]

There's a whole gamut of compressed pop guitar stylings; some leap out, others don't. [Feb 2011, p.95]

Like the opener, ["Rolling Stone"] promises more than it delivers, but pretty much everything in between rings the bell. [Feb 2011, p.80]

The Decemberists' most immediate and outgoing album. [Feb 2011, p.76]

Bits and pieces, even within the album's successful tracks, are overcooked and threatens to capsize the project into mere camp or noodly instrumental preening. [Feb 2011, p.91]

Content's fiery funk will have you bouncing around and beaming at the return of this inspiring, influential unit. [Feb 2011, p.87]

This fourth album is straining toward a more commercial sound, but pop crossover needs hit songs and F&M's best moments are still driven by ace rhythm section Matt Hainsby and Lee Adams. [Feb 2011, p.87]

Deerhoof are close to knocking the Flaming Lips off their exalted perch. [Feb 2011, p.82]

Sadly, Blunt's warbling renders most of them unpalatable. [Jan 2011, p.83]

This is as riveting and beautiful a valedictory address as you could hope for from these underground heroes. [Jan 2011, p.95]

Fistful Of Mercy itself is certainly Fleet of Fox, but it's also strong of cheese. [Jan 2011, p.98]

Like Blue Velvet, Forget is a lurid fever dream--and a magnificent hymn to suburban teenage romance. [Jan 2011, p.98]

One new track, "universal Child," fails to lighten the mood. [Jan 2011, p.94]

Huey's gruffy mannered vocals predominate--apparently the aim is to steer listeners to the originals, in which case, job done. [Jan 2011, p.94]

As poetry alone, it's interesting, but the music's elegance make it something more. [Jan 2011, p.93]

These 18 collaborations are a fascinating voyage through the classier end of pop, country and R&B over the past decade, and also add much needed focus to Jones (sometime insipid) mix of country and smooth jazz. [Jan 2011, p.93]

He's a man who cleary thrives on company, his stringy voice bolstered by the presence of Jolie Holland, Neal Casel, an on "No time To live Without Her," Vashti Bunyan. [Jan 2011, p.92]

Persist though, and there are countless fascinating poly-rhythms and concealed melodies in the sub-strata. [Jan 2011, p.91]

There are lots of martial bust-ups and squalls of fretboard fury that show that Buddy may be old but he's still wild. [Jan 2011, p.88]

An audacious, risk-taking tour de force, it locates itself in the upper reaches of Steve Wynn's increasingly daunting canon. [Jan 2011, p.87]

Although it's hardly Green's fault, Mark Ronson's retro-soul ubiquity makes this record sound less fresh than it otherwise might have. [Jan 2011, p.86]

Luckily, the music, a tapestry of harmonica, bass clarinets and bamboo flutes, is a florid, textured joy. [Jan 2011, p.86]

For once they look to be towing the line rather than drawing it a new. [Jan 2011, p.85]

On its own merits, rather a hoot. [Jan 2011, p.83]

"My Foolish Heart" is delivered with some delicacy, "Sunny Side Of The Street" is playful, and "Fly Me To the Moon: floats Rod's voice over synth strings and a lazy piano. Otherwise, stick with Sinatra. [Jan 2011, p.103]

Collecting from 10 years of album offcuts, Death To False Metal will be a treasure chest for the disenchanted. [Jan 2011, p.106]

The performances outshine the material. [Dec 2010, p.119]

Imagine John Fahey channelling the pulse minimalism of Steve Reich or Hendrix jamming African highlife on a digital drive pedal. [Dec 2010, p.119]

Occasional similarities to Placebo may be unfortunate, but they are countered by the record's bracing directness and infectious vitality. [Dec 2010, p.109]

Though this showcases the group;'s customary modular wit, it doesn't give Laetitia Sadier much to work with tune-wise. [Dec 2010, p.106]

Impressively artful forgeries all round--but unlikely to appeal beyond their diehard following. [Dec 2010, p.105]

Telephantasm, their latest, breaks a good deal more wind than it does ground. {Dec 2010, p.105]

This collection does him justice by featuring cuts from all seven albums in the Smith catalogue. [Dec 2010, p.105]

As he mostly prefers to copy the sound of the original guitarists rather than stamp his own unique style on these over-familiar songs, you have to ask what's the point? [Dec 2010, p.105]

Even if Rose is short on killer tunes or delivery, her oversupply of nostalgia charm is ultimately no bad thing. [Dec 2010, p.105]

It's a pleasant enough listen, but the feeling of overwhelming pointlessness is hard to shake. [Dec 2010, p.98]

Just when you think you've got the measure of Pierce's winsome tropicalia, he pitches another delightful curveball: a curiously faithful cover of The Lemonheads' "Mallo Cup." [Dec 2010, p.98]

Boasts and breakbeats are in short supply here. Instead, over gloomy strings, and pounding martial drums, Cudi rails against celebrity culture, confesses to coke-fuelled rages and even contemplates suicide. [Dec 2010, p.97]

All round, the party vibe oozes self-confidence. [Dec 2010, p.90]

Rarely has emotional repression sounded so coy, or so appealing. [Dec 2010, p.86]

Evam Caminiti and Jon Porras' third album lumbers slow as Earth's stoner rock, but throws its arms open, in a slow-burning ritual, to the infinite, star-flecked space above the Californian wilderness. [Dec 2001, p.85]

The material is designed to showcase the principals' piano playing, and skilled engineer Mike Piersante has set up the mic'ing and mix by putting Russell's piano on one side of the stereo spectrum, Elton's on the other, making the record a particular kick under headphones. [Nov 2010, p.98]

A gooey, iffaintly sickly, treat. [Nov 2010, p.101]

Drowsily beautiful. [Oct 2010, p.94]

Suffice to say that Blurry Blue Mountain is a lovely, oddly charming record. And in the unlikely event that it doesn't move you, there's a whole heap of past glories just waiting to be discovered.

This new project--fronting a five-piece band made up of mystery members who apparently contacted him on spec--has reined in his more wayward tendencies with positive results. [Dec 2010, p.105]

The album can become a little too sweet--this, however, is a moment that never cloys. [Dec 2010, p.94]

Though recorded during the same extended sessions, this archival LP is the polar opposite of its fraternal twin: big, bold, vibrantly coloured and laced with sweeping chorus hooks and towering middle eights. In a word, spectacular.