A resounding power chord marks the confident introduction to this fine debut album. [Nov 2010, p.113]

Tasteful without being sterile, diverse but grounded in Knopfler's melancholy mumble and quicksilver guitar, Privateering is a quietly soulful triumph. [Oct 2012, p.83]

The fragility in her performances is delivered with just the right amount of internal integrity. [Oct 2014, p.79]

The breadth is a big part of the charm. [Jul 2015, p.83]

The overall effect is a carefully constructed, complex yet breezy, psych-pop collection. [Dec 2015, p.69]

A much-devalued word--and probably one of the creator despises--still seems apposite for this lovely album: ethereal. [Jun 2016, p.75]

There are stormy rockers and stately, fevered ballads. "Music For Love," meanwhile, condenses Sweet's philosophies into one joyous singalong. [Aug 2017, p.38]

Like a long walk in the woods, it's richly and deeply transporting. [Jun 2018, p.35]

Mix[es] up The Bends and OK Computer with a pinch of late Fugazi and Talk Talk. [May 2019, p.37]

A funny, peculiar, epic piece of pop minimalism that could be no-one else but Hannon. [Jul 2019, p.27]

There's a uplifting buoyancy to these eight tracks. [Oct 2019, p.30]

The songs are uniformly strong, for one thing; the delivery is smart, a kind of airy, gently gothic arch-pop, completed by Jean's conversational vocals. It's a wonderfully dynamic set of songs. [Apr 2020, p.28]

Fear Of Death plays mortality for dark laughs, while The Lemon Twigs and Foxygen's Jonathan Rado help Heidecker to whip up a note-perfect Randy Newman sound. [Dec 2020, p.30]

A heavily disguised break-up album, which secretes its sorrow beneath waves of gushing pop. [Dec 2021, p.29]

It's the restlessly inventive guitars, from silvery solos to swaggering glam rock, where Metallica find ageless redemption. [Jun 2023, p.32]

For the acoustic half, she genuflects a little too readily, but the limberness of her voice hades new contours for the songs; the electric half takes a while to ignite, but "Like A Rolling Stone" is gorgeous. [Dec 2023, p.27]

The result is a revelation. “As Above So Below” and the joyous, sax-assisted “Love Weapon” positively glow, Clément’s gentle chanson like a golden cord that guides you through their labyrinthine twists and turns. [Dec 2024, p.35]

They can still surprise, too, with tinges of organ psychedelia, anxious time-signatures and, on the sweet acoustic reverie of "Salt Water", evocative found sounds. [Dec 2025, p.29]

You’d be even more surprised to hear that it features 'songs'--proper, beautiful, well-crafted songs.

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.

With Fallen Angels, Bob Dylan, like Linda Ronstadt and Rod Stewart before him, has seen fit to continue his exploration of the Great American Songbook begun with such unexpected poise and humility on last year’s Shadows In The Night.

"Dirt" and gentle gut-wrencher "Showdown", on which Baker takes vocal lead, boast the same sparse, clear-eyed lyricism of her 2021 album Little Oblivions, while Scott's earthy alto is the perfect foil, whether campfire storyteller or wisecracking sidekick. [Apr 2025, p.27]

Great, if a little pointless. [Apr 2012, p.77]

With I Can't Imagine, she's hit on the right combination of inspiration, kindred spirits and setting. [Jun 2015, p.78]

Collett's debut album reveals him as an alt.country confessionalist akin to Paul Westerberg. [Apr 2006, p.108]

Skittishly improvisational without undermining the overall serenity. A good time for your chakras guaranteed. [Dec 2018, p.18]

Broke is an pleasant surprise. [Feb 2015, p.73]

Love Hates lacks some of the naive charm of their debut and a couple of attempts at Garbage-style industrial pop set the album off on the wrong foot. But the all-or-nothing passion that courses through "The Breath Of Light" and "For The Wild" is quite something. [Feb 2019, p.29]