It's all a very respectable, and closer "P.I.G.S" is great, just slightly disappointing if one had hoped for more than acceptable continuity soundtracks. [Jun 2010, p.90]

Results range from sumptuous to the exotic and baleful, while Mark Lanegan's climactic swansong as post apocalyptic lounge lizard provides a stylish send-off. [Jun 2010, p.106]

As is generally the case with Loaf's oeuvre, the ridiculousness of the enterprise is redeemed somewhat by a recognition of its own absurdity. [Jul 2010, p.112]

Here's To Taking it Easy is a bold record steeped in the golden, rich sounds of classic rock and country. [Jun 2910, p.101]

It's hard going, but one can only applaud the ambition. [Jun 2010, p.83]

It's a short album, just 30 minutes, and "Weird Feelings" is one song that stands for most: full of hooks and sparks it's fun while it lasts but over in two minutes and too easily forgotten.

Relayted manages to be both comfortingly familiar and devastatingly futuristic. [Jun 2010, p.90]

Thee Oh Sees manage to simultaneously evoke Suicide, Them and The Fall on their latest album of echoey, dense psychedelia. [Aug 2010, p.96]

Tahita Bulmer, once the coy mistress of nu rave, now singing lines like "we wake up in the morning and tyhe glass is empty" in a portentous tone, oddly reminiscent of early-'80s Hazel O'Connor, but no more engaging than her erstwhile deadpan party mode. [Apr 2010, p.95]

They appropriate Thin Lizzy's strutting grooves and harmonised guitars on "Dream City" and Psychic Lighting," while other tracks gleefullly work in a careening analog synth as if it had just been invented. [Jun 2010, p.86]

It's the natural, assured way in which Heaven Is Whenever moves between building on past glories and breaking fresh ground that's so impressive. [Jun 2010, p.85]

Oddball, but articulate, brimming over with a delight in language, "Bury" is a wonderful example of Mark Smith's transformative science fiction, and pretty much what one would hope to find on The Fall's first album for Domino records.

The album is reliant on the Scene's female associates--like Lisa Lobsinger on the lovely Moroderish cosmic disco of "All To All"--to bring character to whtat remain some pretty hazy jams. [Jun 2010, p.83]

Woozy, off-track beats blend with video game blips and organic strings, harp and sax, while a cameo from Thom Yorke is woven neatly into this lush, psychedelic fabric. [Jun 2010, p.86]

The guest list is impressive. But it'd take a very straight face to refute the frequent echoes of The New Seekers or Fleetwood Mac, while "Silver Jenny Dollar" sounds like something Mike Batt might have knocked up for The Wombles. [Jun 2010, p.97]

Producer Joe Chiccarelli curbs their proggy tendencies in favor of chromed-out, geometrically precise arrangements embedded with bull's eye melodic and instrumental hooks. [Jul 2010, p.115]

The Latin syllables are well suited to Patton's croon and snarl, and he attacks Fred Buscaglione's cavalier "Che Notte!" with relish. [Jul 2010, p.117]

The veteran Frankfort duo's rather sterile approach to arty club bangers such as "divine" and "Regenerate" leaves them creatively stranded, scoring a hair-gel as on the VIVA channel. [Jun 2010, p.83]

With every element wound so tight, the relentless pace grows exhausting over the long haul. [Jul 2010, p.108]

A deceptively sweet concoction. [Aug 2010, p.79]

So Runs The World Away is vivid, artful, expressive and more besides. [Sep 2010, p.100]

Their debut is a good deal more engaging thgan any number of Bloc Party or Daeth Cab For Cutie comparisons might imply, however apt. [Mar 2010, p.88]

Far too many songs here are conducted in a mid-pace. [Jun 2010, p.90]

Sub Pop reckon they've unearthed a gem in the form of 18-year-old Avi Buffalo frontman Avigor Zahner-Isenberg; the superior West Coast jangle of his debut album suggest they might well be right. [May 2010, p.92]

The idea was to expand Gogol Bordell's palate to accommodate the Ukrainian-American's recently adopted homeland of Brazil. The Good news is that it doesn't matter--if Gogol Bordello still sound like an Eastern European answer to The Pogues, it still means they're doing something nobody else is. [Jul 2010, p.108]

Despite its meaty themes Our Inventions feels rather slight. [May 2010, p.94]

Heavy on stately soul pianos and produced by singer-songwriter Richard Swift, its strength-through-adversity feels is held back from flight by Burhenn's entirely earthbound voice. [Jul 2010, p.115]

Frog Eyes' fifth album has been three years in the making and is every bit as much of an epic as its acclaimed predecessor "Tears Of The Valedictorian." [May 2010, p.90]

Cornershop's 2009 incarnation may not have the kinetic energy of the 2002 model, or the accidental pop brilliance of "Asha", but it isn't short on inventiveness.

Banjos, xylophones and 12-string guitars sound oddly unfolky in this context, instead taking an almost symphonic dimension on tracks like the lead single "SDP." [Apr 2010, p.88]

Working with former Lamb partner Andy Barlow for the first time in six years, her marriage of vocal and acoustic guitar is raw yet rewarding. [Apr 2010, p.97]

It is his most beguiling release yet. [May 2010, p.85]

The music starts to grip most powerfully when it's more allusive and introspective.

You couldn't imagine anyone else pulling all this off with such grace and style. [Jun 2010, p.96]

B-Real and Sen Dog's adenoidal cartton raps about beefs and bongs can still raise a smile when matched to a sparse, elastic beat, but the novelty of a Cypress Hill comeback has long since worn off by the 15th track. [May 2010, p.86]

It's this pretence of overbearing world dominance which is realised on Thing. [May 2010, p.108]

This terrific album casts its net wider though: as well as Dinosaur fans, this will appeal to admirers of T. Rex, Thin Lizzy, Reigning Sound ad Alex Chilton, too. [May 2010, p.108]

These songs are full and rich, with longtime foil The Strangers creating honky-tonk, country shuffles and even Tin Pan Alley backdrops that often explode with life. [May 2010, p.98]

That it so compellingly rescues a cache of unforgettable songs and signals the unlikeliest of artistic revivals, must rank it among rock's most trascendent tales. [Jul 2010, p.109]

It features vernal song titles and sleeve imagery, in contrast to the half-whispered, wintery beauty of their last LP, which was echoed by its snowy cover scene. [Jul 2010, p.108]

Fire Away makes an energetic fist of recapturing in the studio their raucous collision of salsa, hip hop, funk and R&B. [Aug 2010, p.91]

This terrific record is the first on her own Everso imprint and seems to finds her more settled. [Oct 2010, p.89]

This is a wilful and lovably eccentric second album from a band who've had a sniff of being pop stars and decided they'd much rather be weird and esoteric, thanks all the same.

's the urgent but effortless certainty that Matsson was born to sing these songs. [May 2010, p.108]

Featuring gently swooning arrangements by Nico Mhly, four duets with Beth Orton, three nimble reworkings of children's singing games and an affectionate R Kelly cover, I See The Sign inhabits an enchanted universe, not a million miles from Sufjan Stevens' "Michigan." [May 2010, p.83]

Yes, Beck was always unpredictable, but this is one weirdly unfocused album. [May 2010, p.83]

Texturally, the mood is one of warm, sensual dreaminess, of hushed vocals and woozy analogue synth. Prins Thomas isn't, though, wanting of strong grooves. [May 2010, p.102]

This is the best Raw Power has sounded since it was first humiliating people's turntables in the 1970s.

With their stuttering beats, AutoTuned vocals and cheerfully foulmouthed lyrics, these genetically modified mongrel tunes are mostly misfires, which only makes them more intriguing. [Sep 2010, p.101]

Unfortunately, Scouting For Girls occasionally meander out of their depth. [May 2010, p.102]

There's sparse evidence of their supposedly influential stay in Mali with desert bluesmen Tinariwen here, and ultimately their sonic porridge ends up a tad unsalted. [Mar 2010, p.98]

It's almost as if the quieter tracks allow her to relax, while the full band numbers--fleshed out rather over-eagerly by a group containing several Mumfords and a Whale--subdue and constrain her. [Apr 2010, p.101]

As long as nobody mentions Aled Jones, this is exhilarating. [May 2010, p.94]

Here Lies Love could do with a lot less reportage and a great deal more drama, melody and wit. If anything, with morem not less, artistsic licence. [Mar 2010, p.99]

For all the effective arrangements, most of the songs sound a bit anonymous. [Jun 2010, p.92]

Wolf's twofold skillfulness and stirring guest performances compensate for the sometimes overcooked arrangements. [Apr 2010, p.109]

This album finds him in complete mastery of his musical range and lyrical fancies. [Apr 2010, p.91]

The understated gospel-style fervor and steely determination of "Nothing But The Whole Wide World" with Neko Case stands out. [Jun 2010, p.84]

Only on "Faces" and the concluding "Poolside" does the stifling fug of rock'n'pop traditionalism lift a little bit. [Jul 2010, p.108]

Predictably, Slash is most at home snuck behind Kid Rock and Iggy Pop, and accompanying Lemmy's below on "Doctor's Alibi." [Jun 2010, p.98]

Mi Ami makes a joyfully ungovernable tribal noise on this second album. [May 2010, p.99]

More by accident than design, it works sometimes. [Aug 2010, p.79]

Steve plays all the instruments, aside from drums, and records on studio equipment of comparably venerable vintage to Steve himself. This fundamentalist approach inevitably places a huge burden on the singing and songwriting.

It's a neat homage to '60s girl groups and C86 bands they inspired, spooked-out bubblegum delivered in singer Dee Dee's naive but infectious sing-song. [Jun 2010, p.98]

It's far from hip, but unfairly dimissed. [Jun 2010, p.91]

Outbursts takes them full circle, back to their salad days as a melodic, acoustic folk-pop duo on simple, ringing, uplifting songs such as "Sea Change," "never Stops" and "Will Power," while the Radiohead-influenced "Radio Silence" hint at a grander ambition. [Apr 2010, p.106]

There are flashes of grouchy greatness from all three--but only flashes. [Jul 2010, p.115]

The Living Sisters have put their respective groups aside to concoct a delicious LP straddling the genres. [May 2010, p.97]

The attempt to stir his inner shitkicking garagepunk isn't always successful but a handful of tracks here are creepily sensual. [May 2010, p.85]

This fine collection is actually more enjoyable than the Shjips' second album proper. [Apr 2010, p.109]

Cacophonous, chaitic, and a lot of fun. [Apr 2010, p.83]

Once again, Daschanel demonstrates a deep understanding and irony-free love of innocent, old-school pop craft in her writing, but too many of the chorus hooks pass by without sticking, and aome of the stacked-up vocal arrangements sag under their own weight. [May 2010, p.102]

From a band as previously as stylishly provocative and adventurous as Goldfrapp, these knowing cliches and lush pastiches suggest a band playing it distinctly safe. [Apr 2010, p.88]

Although Autechre;a futristic manifesto has remnianed largely static for tow decades, the xylophone massacre of "O=0" and trippy space-carnival collage "d-sho qub" provide welcome glimmers of pleasure and humour during an otherwise rigorously intellectual labraroery experiment. [Apr 2010, p.81]

Though featuring young musicians, this album is antique rathe r than groundbreaking in feel, pleasing evoking a sweet, after hours blues cellar fug, all slide and sax. [May 2010, p.83]

Rarely has the deep past sounded so stirring, or so modern. [Oct 2009, p.94]

Putnam's songs still walk a fine line between brittle psychedelia and morosely tuneful pop. But there's a wrinkle in their textures, courtesy of a new rhythm section of bassist Be Hussey and drummer Stevie Treichel. [Jun 2010, p.97]

Intriguing, enigmatic and one of a kind. [May 2010, p.90]

This is a brief--a mere eight tracks, just under 40 minutes--but incredibly intense wall of sound. [Apr 2010, p.92]

Slowly, these immensely crafted songs bed in, emerging as some of the best and most accessible that Oldham has ever written. [May 2010, p.84]

"Say Valley Maker" and "Rock Bottom Riser" are hypnotic highpoints, but best of all is "Diamond Dancer," an incongruous slice of hillbilly funk on which he channels his inner Gil-Scott Heron. [Jun 2010, p.83]

The Big To-Do, it's pleasing to report, rocks as hard and loud as anything they've previously done. [Apr 2010, p.78]

The Replacements-inspired tattered intensity of the band's first two LPs is still present, but working with multiple producers has brought enough variety to keep the surprises coming. [Apr 2010, p.109]

The combo of an unadventurous set-list and cutting between several different shows makes Under Great White Northern Lights an oddly detached experience. [Jun 2010, p.111]

It's a smart collection of songs full of inner turbulance, delivered in an emotional voice that at times recall Guy Garvey. [MAr 2010, p.90]

Their albums have got better and better since 2005, with saxophonists Pete Wareham and Mark Lockheart entering into ever more engaging dialogues while the rhythm sections flail around inventively. Here Leafcutter John, who usually makes odd noises with a sampler, switches to guitar addng a clunky alt-rock feel to tracks. [Mar 2010, p.93]

There are wildcard influences--"Fire Lies Down" references English folk, "Warm Blood" moves into prog--that suggests Seabear could movie in many different directions. [Apr 2010, p.98]

There's so much tunefully wild enjoyment on offer it's hard to pick highlights. [Jul 2010, p.110]

Surely the last flogging of a heavily Photoshopped horse. [Apr 2010, p.100]

Those who enjoyed "Noise Won't Stop" smoochier moments will relish Liquid Love. [Mar 2010, p.95]

There's excitement her in 'ATX' and the title track, but when the bluster's died down, disappointingly little is left. [Oct 2009, p.89]

It displays a sonic ambition, an openmindedness and a melodic gift that puts so much modern pop to shame. [April 2010, p.85]

Sisterworld is an impressive record which lurches menacingly between euphoria and tranquility. [Mar 2010, p.89]

"high Road" is melodic enough, for sure, and Mercer is a clear-voiced singer, but the album's interest palls when Mouse's answer to life, the universe and everything proves to be "pedestrian breakbeat." [Apr 2010, p.83]

The words are often stark and painful, the singing is almost religious, and the tunes tend towards exultant. When they remember to be lovely, as on "Yes I Would," the chemistry is intoxicating. [Mar 2010, p.84]

On Tomorrow, In A Year, The Knife have reinforced everything that makes them such a brilliant, endearing group. [Apr 2010, p.93]

Scattershot, but so frighteningly intense and packed with ideas that you can't help but be impressed. [Apr 2010, p.100]

jj No. 3 is an irresistibly light-headed trip through lush, electronic pop. [Jun 2010, p.91]