RTZ helpfully collects together a bunch of Chasny's rare early jams, proving that his eldritch guitar studies--at once intense, devotional and not a little creepy--have remained consistent for a decade now. [Mar 2009, p.103]

His pieces for banjo, like the revenant lyricism of the title track, are charming, moist eyed miniatures. [Jun 2013, p.74]

At the fluttering heart of this 10th album is the voice of Karen Peris. Her phrasing and tonal glides are as distinctive as those of Victoria Williams or Iris DeMent. [Aug 2018, p.28]

Though Chasny’s folkier inclinations generally prevail over Six Organs’ equal affection for psych explosions, it’s still thrilling to hear him set the controls for the big red sun in the final minutes of “Summer’s Last Rays”. [May 2024, p.41]

If art is love, and love is art, then this hyper-stylised, characteristically idiosyncratic break-up album, in the end makes a perfect kind of sense. [Mar 2017, p.36]

In short, Legend does for trad-soul what Oasis did for The Beatles. [Dec 2006, p.116]

When he's not making party music, he stretches out and delivers deep fluid grooves. It's the naggingly simplistic melodies and dumb call-and-response choruses of tracks like 'U Want Some?' that spoil the fun. [Aug 2009, p.92]

Not every track gels, but the duo's easy chemistry never feels like gimmicky contrivance. [Jul 2014, p.81]

Recorded in Nashville with Ken Coomer producing and former Sturgill Simpson guitarist Laur Joamets adding minimal country flourishes, it goes some way to understanding what to do with Oren's voice, a low, conversational rumble which manages to disguise the clipped poetry of his lyrics as easy conversation. [Dec 2017, p.32]

At its blissed-out best, as on "Saw You Twice" and "Feel So Right," her new direction conjures the kind of streetwise reverie rarely heard since the days of AR Kane and One Dove. [Feb 2018, p.28]

Luckily, the music, a tapestry of harmonica, bass clarinets and bamboo flutes, is a florid, textured joy. [Jan 2011, p.86]

With Arcade Fire arranger Owen Pallett draping the songs in sympathetic strings and producer James Ford working overtime on drums, the result is a widescreen epic, full of high fevers and crystal-clear vocal performances.

Themes of mind control are sprinkled throughout the record, whose highlights include storm opener "Paradise," the semi-rapped title track, the funky "The Planet Of Straw Man" and closing song "Maria 63." [Oct 2019, p.39]

This simply sounds like junior Jay-Z. [Mar 2008, p.96]

The most peculiar aspect here is the sound of Oldham shaking off his customary moroseness in "Poems, Prayers and Promises" and "Milk Train" and positively radiating joie de vivre. [Mar 2013, p.75]

Grandfeathered is no great progression from last year's Everything Else Matters, but there is genre-defying richness and depth to [the] tunes. [Apr 2016, p.78]

Alone is filled with tremendous vocal performances. [Dec 2016, p.24]

14 beautifully broken-hearted tunes about just what the album title says. [Dec 2017, p.33]

The band's range has expanded impressively from their debut. .... Again is the confident fulfilment of the promise of Lush Life, from a band with the spirit and the songs to match their work ethic. [Dec 2025, p.22]

Not an easy listen, but an accomplished one. [Dec 2013, p.67]

Illum Sphere has been well-placed to see how dubstep fragmented into house, garage, minimalism and avant-garde gestures, and he reflects all of these in his debut LP. [Mar 2014, p.78]

Increasingly straight, maybe, but Wooden Wand still possess a magic touch. [Mar 2013, p.79]

Either annoyingly sweet or refereshingly well-adjusted, depending on your mood. [Oct 2002, p.107]

There are clever couplets and wry winks, but the melancholy is authentic. [Jan 2004, p.112]

A sublime suite of semi-ambient glitch-pop. [Dec 2001, p.106]

He's dispensed with the grittier elements and plumped for a straightforward US college rock backing, with dismal results. [Nov 2003, p.112]

From Every Sphere is the ultimate grower, which moves, in your mind, from quite nice to utterly compelling and addictive over a matter of days, or better, nights. [Album of the Month, March 2003, p.94]

The schizophrenic tone changes recall the experimentation of Deerhoof, yet the overall sound is as natural as The Flaming Lips. [Jan 2005, p.132]