A far more ambitious affair as producers Black Dog and Custom Blue underpin her crystalline vocals with subtly pattering lite beats, clever jazz inflections and humming electronic textures. [Dec 2001, p.102]

Though attempts at Amy Rigby territory ring hollow, a couple of country weepies bear redemptive powers. [May 2003, p.102]

The musicianship lifts Sad Songs... even further into the realm of the extraordinary. [Dec 2003, p.133]

The catchiest lesson in sexual politics you're likely to hear this season. [Dec 2001, p.111]

It's compelling from start to finish; if OW's main is simply "to slay," then mission accomplished. [Nov 2014, p.81]

Rough-hewn thrills abound. [Jan 2019, p.21]

Composed for the 10-strong Montreal modern dance troupe Animals Of Distinction, in ways it conforms to the template of Canadian post-rock – extended instrumentals characterised by gradual builds and ecstatic climaxes. But “Scanner” and “Grid-Wall” explore a sleek, synthetic sound palette, all glitching electronics and halogen synths. [Jun 2021, p.25]

At under 34 minutes, it necessarily swerves dense improv passages, instead highlighting the nimble, airy interplay of multiple guitars. [Feb 2022, p.29]

[It] isn't so much More Fish as it is Cheap Fish. [Mar 2007, p.81]

Benjamin "Raffertie" Stefanski invents a kind of haute couture techno-soul on this classy debut. [Sep 2013, p.94]

It's a cathartic and necessary release in these dark days of America, a riot reverberating through political resistance, social inclusion and sheer cathartic gyration. [Sep 2019, p.27]

Credit Dalhous, aka Marc Dall, for making something beautiful but still somewhat unreadable in its intentions. [Sep 2014, p.71]

A more contemplative, intimate offering that in its own heavy and soulful way is just as thrilling. [Oct 2014, p.79]

The duo's lesser songs may not stray from a familiar pocket of retro-soul, but it's a very fine pocket nonetheless. [Jul 2019, p.24]

Submerged are the country/folk ramblings of 2012's Arrow, replaced with a challenging density. [Jul 2015, p.77]

Despite the glistening production and seamless craft of it all, his wired intensity is often missed. [Jun 2019, p.32]

So Beck is finally fun again, and you suspect the person most surprised by how well Modern Guilt turned out is the guy who made it.

Super Furry Animals have just made perhaps the defining record of their career. [Sep 2005, p.100]

By expanding their repertoire, taking a few risks, and nailing those harmonies, they’ve made what feels like the first great British album of 2009.

Wainwright is newly hitched herself (to producer Brad Albetta) and I Know... is for the most part a decidedly mature singer-songwriter album.

Kath's basic approach to synth-pop means most tracks adhere to a glitchy arpeggiated formula that resembles a Faithless record, but with added indie weirdness. [Jul 2010, p.104]

While traces of heaviness remain--see the cacophonous climax to "B&E"--Guilty really finds itself in tender moments. [Apr 2014, p.78]

As with its predecessor, the album cherry-picks from the past, but comes with a contemporary sheen. It's hard to imagine her bettering this. [Aug 2016, p.80]

The standard violin-mandolin-accordian corduroy rusticity is shoved aside here and there with musical and emotional ferocity. [Jun 2017, p.34]

Among The Ghosts is Lucero's most cinematic album. [Sep 2018, p.37]

A bleakly beautiful record that smuggles moments of elation into its ambient dread. [May 2023, p.28]

I'm Bad Now feels as much a modest masterpiece as Spring Hill Fair or Tigermilk. [Apr 2018, p.32]