Their first album doesn't quite match the hype, but is still an appealing piece of go-ahead indie-[pop, with a certain charismatic bagginess and wit that points to a bright future. [Apr 2009, p.91]

Elsewhere, Garner sounds like he's been spending time with Revolver, while songs like "The Ballad Of Little Jane" and the genial swirling "Lullaby" further the rich tradition of Dutch psychedelic pop. [May 2013, p.71]

It's the more spartan, folksier tracks, like "Greeny Blue," that hint at better things to come. [Apr 2012, p.81]

Sharing lead vocals with the immaculately Hardy-esque Darcy Conroy, Alary concocts wistful chansons and widescreen waltzes with an elegance and deadpan humour that evokes Sebastien Tellier, Stereolab and Matthew Herbert. [Feb 2011, p.84]

It suffers somewhat from inevitably diminishing returns, in that it simply isn't anywhere near as good as their canonical records; that said, not much is. [Oct 2019, p.33]

As is the case with most of his releases the past decade or so, Ringo addresses his own career with a heavy dose of nostalgia. [Dec 2019, p.32]

Features more of the uncomplicated Californian country-rock fare that was hinted at by the cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Save Me A Place" on last year's Between EP. [Jul 2006, p.116]

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]

Replica feels less dreamy, more disquieting. [Dec 2011, p.92]

If a few tracks see them flirt with Eno-esque avant garde, thes wayward tendencies are balanced out by pretty folk ballads. [June 2008, p.88]

Flowers is occasionally emotional, but really, Kinsella is all about an off-the-cuff approach. [Jul 2009, p.90]

Too many tracks wrap mildly neurotic musings in self-consciously quirky, deadeningly tasteful, grown-up indie-pop crooning. [Aug 2017, p.25]

New Clouds is at once both denser and groovier. [Nov 2009, p.113]

The album stands or falls by the seductiveness of its atmospheres and the memorability of its hooks--and here, it must be said, Release fails to imprint itself, leaving an impression mainly of dejected weariness. [May 2002, p.95]

On disc the effect can be bludgeoning--although you can hear that onstage it must make for a wild night out. [Mar 2017, p.26]

Some old punk hands (notably erstwhile Black Flag guitarist Dez Caden) conjure up some acceptable punk bubblegum. [Dec 2011, p.90]

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

An album which is a little too anodyne, but redeemed by an engagingly human warmth and unforced sincerity. [Jan 2013, p.83]

If 2005's "Z" flirted with cautiously with funk synths and a more direct pop sound, Evil Urges makes it a full-blown, messy tryst.

Mick Barr's guitar work is hugely impressive, apparently concerned with documenting an infinite number of riffs, but the length of the compositions--often around 12 minutes--rather test the limits of endurance. [Aug 2011, p.90]

Some odd production choices slightly blunt the impact of straighter rockers like "Piss Pisstoferson," but "Onions Make The Milk Taste Bad" confirms their skill for combining the heavy, the catchy and deliriously strange. [Nov 2014, p.77]

His first album in 14 years sounds more like a Ronnie Barker pastiche, constantly playing for laughs and often reworking the calypso rhythms of "Annie I'm Not Your Daddy." [Nov 2011, p.89]

Howard Devoto's arch art-rockers deliver a fresh set of oddball studies. [Dec 2011, p.90]

Just prepare for a Rogue Wave deluge. [June 2008, p.102]

The beauty of those opening moments suggests that Condon's future really does lie in soundtracks, where you can imagine him collaborating with and finding inspiration in the baroque visual inventions of an Anderson or a Gondry, and where his restless musical wandererings might yet chance upon the truly undiscovered countries of the imagination.

Revels in its own thudding nastiness but brings few new ideas to the table. [Dec 2004, p.138]

The once robust voice is thinner but still gruffly effective. [Oct 2020, p.39]

Their drowsy lullabies and minor-key melodies are now so commonplace... that much of it seems unremarkable. [Dec 2005, p.109]

As ever with Canadian German duo King Khan & BBQ Show, this offers little in the way of subtlety and a lot in the way of entertainment. [Dec 2009, p. 100]

Despite Wolf's best efforts, he's not built for homely pleasures--and you sense his need for drama straining at the leash. [Jun 2011, p.103]

The pace and register of the record seldom alter: the soundscape is always more baked earth than lush foliage. [May 2005, p.103]

Trick is the Bloc Party singer's comedown record: confessional, emotional and, in places, a bit much. [Nov 2014, p.76]

Where earlier material flowed freely, here his fiddly funk and plastic grooves contrive a kind of new-age electro that at times is suave and smooth but rarely settles into anything satisfying; as much as they exude a sense of wellness. [Aug 2022, p.23]

Phantom Limb mine a solid seam of Southern soul, rock, country, and gospel. [Mar 2012, p.97]

A solid set of songs. [May 2015, p.81]

Afropop sparkle to jazzy bounce and shoe gaze shimmer, but too often these exotic ingredients feel like undigested dilettante dabblings. [May 2013, p.74]

At best, Varshons is a joy forever. Even at worst, it’s a forgiveable, even likeable, labour of love.

Haines' references are as forensic as ever. .... Buck, meanwhile, rolls out his repertoire of languid 12-string jangles, swaggering glam riffs, psychedelic phrasing and jittery feedback. [Aug 2025, p.31]

Fascinating, though fans of their later work are advised to approach with caution. [Dec 2022, p.48]

It's a stylish dark, literate affair. [Feb 2011, p.94]

It's quite fun picking off the trio's various folk-pop influences, with traces of The Mamas & The Papas, Astrud Gilberto and Natalie Merchant filtering through the mix. [Jan 2008, p.90]

But this band has no interest in putting everything in plain view; you have to meet them halfway, and that entails traversing bleak terrain on the way to sharing in their hard-earned sense of release. [Dec 2009, p. 98]

While everything is played with gusto and the songs themselves are well constructed, the album perhaps lacks enough surprises or detours from its sturdy formula to make it especially memorable. [May 2014, p.80]

He has gone for the full trip hop/psych-rock concept album--a major hazard given such previous near-missees as UNKLE's Psyence Fiction--but it's not at all bad. [Apr 2003, p.118]

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]

Despite some pleasant enough tunes, she lacks the vocal charisma to stand out from other wannabe Rihannas, Mileys and Dua Lipas. [Aug 2019, p.29]

Assured, yes, but there's very little rebellion here. [Dec 2018, p.23]

It's an awkward, not entirely likeable mix. [Jul 2005, p.106]

Madlib stretches out impressively without vocalists to contain him, but you sense the real bangers have been saved for another occasion. [Jun 2006, p.106]

The sound's core remains Matthew Caws' candyfloss voice, but Doug Gillard's guitar adds mettle. [Feb 2012, p.94]

Less startling than its predecessor Ft Lake, but it's still a brave departure for a 4AD band previously synonymous with ethereal whimsy. [Nov 2002, p.118]

Emeralds and Oneohtrix may do this kind of hypnotic synth drone stuff better, but Blanck Mass is still a fairly potent concoction. [Jul 2011, p.77]

Some occasional local-band lyricism proves to be an Achilles Heel. [Sep 2005, p.108]

Vicious Creature is more compelling than Mayberry's Chvrches material, but may not be thrilling enough to take her where she wants to be. [Jan 2025, p.39]

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

Occasionally, his nostalgia curdles into bombast, but there's a fondness to his reminiscences that contrasts nicely with his famously gruff vocals. [Feb 2018, p.32]

Hey Venus! is an attractive album with a broad appeal – Rough Trade wanted a pop record and got one--but it also feels like a missed opportunity, a consolidation of affairs rather than a step forward.

They haven't downsized: the rock is (well played) bog-standard retro, but themes cover Guantanamo and the afterlife. Amid the Dylan raps and Yardbirds licks (and if The Charlatans made this, they'd be garlanded) there's a welcome sense that they're smartly chuckling at themselves.

To say Ladyhawk offer a pretty straightforward rock trip make them sound unadventurous, which they probably are, but also doesn't really do justice to the sheer head-nodding, play-loud-and-prosper enjoymenet this offers. [May 2008, p.102]

The Sea And The Cake's refusal to budge from their original MO for the last 14 years seems like an admirable show of restraint. [Nov 2008, p.119]

As the lounge-like 'Will Get Fooled Again' segues into the glitch-funk of 'Orphaned,' you'd have to concede it's a fine idea. [Nov 2008, p.120]

Here childrren's voices, crazed yelping, psych-surrealism and Jesus freakouts combine to create a phantasmagoria that is fun, disturbing, inspired and childlike all at the same time. [Jan 2008, p.90]

Few of the 23 artists involved here resist the shackles of taste. [May 2014, p.81]

Big Dada, Beans, Sayyid, Earl Blaize and High Priest riffle through more fresh ideas in the opening six tracks than contempoary hip hop will in as many months. [Oct 2009, p.91]

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

It's less a Kelis venture than it is a showcase for the various producers Virgin could afford. [Feb 2004, p.72]

Opener “I Suck At Grieving” is a musical marvel, a song about losing a parent that’s genuinely fun to sing along to. “Jealous” is a garage-rock Gen Z remake of Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated”, while “Pretty Good For A Bad Day” – a duet with All Time Low frontman Alex Gaskarth – offers a clever sense of perspective. [Jun 2024, p.33]

The effects are over-stylised, however, rendering her impressive vocals precocious, ad the uniformly mid-paced tempos can become wearying. [Aug 2015, p.80]

Fortunately, the sturdy rock instrumentation of Green Day producer Rob Cavallo serves to tamp down her pervasive air of self-importance while minimising the cringe factor in her lyrics. [Jul 2006, p.98]

Solid, competent stuff, but it's difficult, but it's difficult to imagine anyone wanting to listen to this in isolation. [Dec 2011, p.89]

With every album that he writes HIM mainman Ville Valo gets closer to his dream fusion of Metallica, Depeche Mode and Ozzy, while still remembering to add some distinctly gothic beauty. [Oct 2007, p.93]

When the shuffly mountain music is bolstered by some unobtrusive electronics it sounds more natural than it should. [Mar 2008, p.84]

The Vaselines were more of an idea than a reality, but this revival, with Kelly joined by founding member Frances McKee, Belle And Sebastian's Stevie Jackson and Bob Kildea, plus 1990s drummer Michael McGaughrin, shows they have finally perfected the art of being Just Dumb Enough. [Sep 2010, p.108]

Songs remain huge, sitting just the right side of overblown, ornate but never delicate, as if hewn from stainless steel. [Feb 2009, p.93]

The song themselves are thoughtful, ambling between folk, country and mid-paced roots-rock. [Aug 2009, p.100]

Throughout, Lawrie's voice is buried so deep in the mix as to be virtually inaudible, like a Mary Chain 7" slowed down to 33rpm. [Aug 2017, p.38]

Sahel Folk pushes no boundaries, but it's a charming, lo-fi set from northern Mali, delivered by a man who has been a quiet force for some years. [Feb 2011, p.103]

Bad Love takes a less romantic view of life, but sonically, the retro filter is still very much on. [Aug 2015, p.81]

The austere brand of retro-rustic Americana sometimes sounds overly tasteful, but there are spine-tingling beauties here too. [Oct 2018, p.30]

Ultimately, In My Mind falters through narrowness of vision. [Dec 2005, p.120]

While there is much here to admire, at its overblown worst Neon Bible is one of those records that takes itself too seriously to be taken seriously. [Apr 2007, p.90]

Melody Gardot actually makes a better album than Shakin' Stevens and Peyroux with My One And Only Thrill. [Apr 2009, p.82]

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

Extremely mixed results. [May 2006, p.119]

This vaguely "concept" album comeback mostly consists of polished jazz-pop and coffee-table Americana with faint echoes of Steely Dan, Tom Waits and Prefab Sprout. [Nov 2011, p.83]

It's occasionally redolent of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, but the likes of 'Hornett' retain a heady, defiantly exploratory quality. [Dec 2008, p.92]

This is a bold howl for attention from the backwoods of folktronica. [Apr 2009, p.89]

While all perfectly pleasant and expertly played, there's a nagging wish that Richey would break out of her comfort zone more often. [May 2013, p.76]

The record arguably lacks a killer track, Chrissie seemingly on autopilot throughout, although the sultry "In A Miracle" contains the occasional echo of past glories. [Jul 2014, p.76]

A sampling tour de force, but short on soul. [Apr 2006, p.112]

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]

The somber mood is finally blown away by Crazy Horse-style closer "So Long" as The Lumineers churn into intriguing new territory while doggedly holding onto their entrenched melancholy. [Apr 2025, p.35]

Pleasant enough, but The Magic Numbers do this stuff for warm-ups. [Sep 2010, p.87]

Here they continue their mission with bashes at Wilco, Pink Floyd, and a straight-but-great take on Yes' 'Long Distance Runaround.' [Dec 2008, p.81]

At times it's too MOTR for its own good, verging on easy listening - but who would blame these two, 82 and 73 respectively, for kicking back in the autumn of their years. [Jun 2025, p.39]

Opening cut "I Got You" promises faith and solidarity "even if they start to build that wall," and both the strident funk of "Above The Law" and the testifying "Pressure" lament the rise of inner-city crime. [May 2019, p.30]

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]

The Devil, You + Me is no milestone of experimentation, but The Notwist win extra points with their emotional restraint, lyrical maturity and elegantly complex arrangements. [Aug 2008, p.101]