Brothers is really all about The Black Keys; swaggering journey from sub-White Stripes curio to one of the best rock'n'roll bands on the planet. [Jun 2010, p.81]

There are moments where this French-Algerian collective truly get deep into "acid house". ... Elsewhere, three decades of Western club culture are put through the prism of North African music. ... Best of all is the galloping afro-house of "Habaytak", featuring the haunting voice of Ghizlane Melih. [Mar 2023, p.23]

It wouldn't be wildly inappropriate to identify American Life as an early 21st-century update of Love's Forever Changes, effecting as it does a similarly eerie ambivalence with its fusion of mind-altering sonics and mellow acoustics. [Jun 2003, p.94]

Atmospheric, heart-rendering and infused with myriad old souls, Imaginary Man is a richly dramatic, poignant singer-songwriter opus. [Sep 2015, p.71]

This is a lovely addition to an organic, forest-themed catalogue that works on the macro and micro levels. [Mar 2022, p.29]

Some of her finest vocals, full of wit and humour and immense loneliness. [Jan 2026, p.34]

Rats On Rafts are shooting for something bold on their third LP. They land their shot too. [Mar 2021, p.35]

He too, has become more of what he always was. And somehow he's achieved that by paring his music down t its rawest essence. [Jul 2023, p.26]

Amazingly, it somehow avoids the drivel of The Darkness by sheer gleeful abandon. [Jun 2006, p.98]

Mov[es] through electronica, folk, folktronica, big beat, psychedelia and Krautrock, all guided by Kid Millions' astounding drumming. [Sep 2006, p.91]

They nevertheless sound irresistibly fresh and zesty. [Feb 2017, p.23]

There is no better evocation of the dawn of a new, more questing consciousness than Joni's early albums.... Unfortunately, Joni's Jazz Odyssey leads her into less agreeable territory on the double-album Don Juan's Reckless Daughter and Mingus, the tribute album of songs co-written with the late Charles Mingus.

They demonstrate a unique approach, building unsteady sonic sculptures from bizarre beatboxing and sped-up samples and bringing them to life with rapturous soul testifying. [Apr 2018, p.37]

Not a decline, but a deliberate descent. [Apr 2016, p.92]

With Lisa Milberg sounding like a cross between Nico, Bjork and Yoko Ono, WYWH is one deep, dark, sexy reinvention. [Dec 2010, p.87]

With Dave Cobb's production reinforcing their boisterous dynamism, Volunteer surveys the sacrifices Old Crow make for their music, the camaraderie of the bandmates and heroes at the expense of the stability of family and home. [May 2018, p.29]

Fishing For Fishies encapsulates many of their musical charms, foregrounds their deeper lyrical concerns and also shows they don't need to rely on gimmicks to get their point across. [Jun 2019, p.25]

The music is cinematic in scope, offering Armageddon and salvation in turn. [May 2020, p.25]

It fuses disparate cultures with such joyous irreverence that, for 40 inspirational minutes, entire notions of national borders and racial divides cease to exist. [Apr 2011, p.77]

A Small Death charts her return to functionality with eloquence and real panache. [Aug 2020, p.28]

There are a handful of stunning instrumentals, but the revelations here are Lanois' singing and songwriting. [May 2003, p.102]

Diaz deftly carries the torch, fusing stripped-down, bleeding-heart acoustic meditations with bursts of fiery instrumentation, her glossy voice at once tender and insistent, rhythmically narrating her loveworn journey with precise, clever turns of phrase. [Sep 2021, p.27]

Alongside collaborator Warren Ellis [Nick Cave has] mastered the subdued, unobtrusive yet sinister piano ripple and the occasional unsettling rumble, gilding them with rare, understated vocals.

But perhaps the most effective retread is Talking Heads' "Listening Wind": Gabriel removes the funk, parks the dance, and leaves the words to do the work.

Two albums on and they're still assembling a uniquely imaginative mythology. [Jul 2011, p.82]

Demos - impressive for Elton's ability to nail a song on first take, amusing for his repertoire of Goons voices - and songs from the Feb 1972 Royal Festival Hall concert which amounted to his showbiz coronation. [May 2023, p.46]

Her faintly punch-drunk voice sometimes sounds just a kilojoule of energy (or lack thereof) from uninterested, but just as often she's as winsomely weary as she is vulnerable, and the impeccably stylish decoration seals our seduction. [Nov 2018, p.25]

It's a stunning comeback that whets the appetite for an autumn tour. [Oct 2014, p.74]