The result is invigorating: a passionate recommitment to the group's ethos of catharsis through rage. [Jul 2026, p.35]

[A] remarkably wise and timely album. [Mar 2017, p.18]

A satisfying whole that demonstrates Taylor's mastery of his peculiar strain of zonked late-night soul. [May 2018, p.35]

Sprints' debut delivers on thrilling live shows, with singer, guitarist and songwriter Karla Chubb providing a visceral fury, not least on the furious "Adore Adore Adore", unheard since their label released Hole's Pretty On The Inside. [Jan 2024, p.36]

The man is as affecting as ever on this most traditional of collections. [Feb 2003, p.77]

Alabama Shakes are scarcely the first ornery yet soulful rock sound to have emerged from northern Alabama, but they're abundantly worthy bearers of the standard. [May 2012, p.73]

Anyone who ever felt that David Rawlings hid his light under Gillian Welch's bushel-never getting the full credit he merited as her partner and accomplice--will greet his first solo album with a lusty cheer. [Dec 2009, p. 101]

Loveless' songwriting on Real is sharp, economical and wickedly funny. [Sep 2016, p.77]

Deft lyrical touches and a persuasive commitment nonetheless lift Happyness well above pastiche. [Jul 2014, p.74]

[Soulwax has] always been great at eroding the lines between rock and dance music, utilising and harnessing the power of the riff in an electronic context. This continues to be forcefully apparent on tracks like "Idiots In Love". [Dec 2025, p.36]

Valentine is typically sturdy--piquant observation and low-key philosophy played against an impeccable musical backdrop. [Aug 2012, p.80]

A blissful affair. [Apr 2023, p.25]

The music is straight and soothing, a band coming together in a rootsy salve as Williams returns to a favourite theme, deliverance through music. [Feb 2026, p.24]

Daniel's sumptuous offering provides some brightness in days of darkness. [Feb 2026, p.39]

Harding goes wherever her voice takes her, and like fellow apostate traditionalist Richard Dawson, she is comfortable picking for shiny scraps of melody on the hard shoulder. As a consequence, these songs command close attention but – like the messy universe around them – do not necessarily beg to be decoded. [Apr 2022, p.18]

Escovedo is as reflective as he is melodic. [Juul 2010, p.116]

There's shades of both Stevie Nicks and Neko Case in Lissie's voice, a resplendent instrument that's both husky and mellow, attuned equally to the epic and the intimate. But Really the sound and songs here are a testament to her unaffected individuality. [Aug 2010, p.86]

Companion Rises is unmistakably Chasney's journey, and it's wonderful to come along for the ride. [Mar 2020, p.34]

It isn't easy to pigeonhole, but it could just be one of the albums of the year. [Feb 2016, p.84]

By far the most compelling persona on Mr Morale & The Big Steppers is the Kendrick who is trying to make sense of his own family. ... ["Mother I Sober" is] a tour de force, almost but not quite as revelatory as "DUCKWORTH", a similar family saga off 2017's DAMN. And the best moment is when the strings swell and Lamar's voice changes. [Aug 2022, p.24]

When it ends, the impression of Devendra Banhart that stays with you is of the artful songsmith, finding a confidence to express himself in something other than riddles.

As ever with such pumped up reissues, the original album is still where the value does or doesn't lie. Most of Quadrophenia has stood the test of the decades better than might be expected. [Dec 2011, p.97]

Just as the absence of the usual guitar fireworks allows the group vocals and rhythmic elements to come strongly to the fore, the shift away from the original's angry spirit opens up a richer well of feeling in Moctar's pleas for a more just world. [Feb 2025, p.37]

From The Very Depths is unreconstructed but brutally effective. [Mar 2015, p.84]

Inscrutable, unsettling and utterly unique. [Feb 2014, p.69]

This is where the kid really comes into his own.

Think Veronica Falls meet Arthur Russell, and investigate further. [Apr 2012, p.83]

This collects all that, plus demos and live tracks, into a demonstration of how a fabulously obscure Glasgow indie group became one of the most influential of their time. [Jun 2009, p.105]