The air of melancholy on display throughout is as enticing as Beirut's. Impressive. [Nov 2009, p.94]

Fragrant ballads "When The Night" and "Marie Cheri" add a softer dimension to a bold collection on which Annie rarely puts a foot wrong. [Nov 2009, p. 81]

This is the challenging, take-no-prisoners result, an audacious fusion of the reliable and the experimental, as daniel and Eno continue into the new decade a musical conversation as lively and uncompromising as that of Jack and Meg White. [Feb 2010, p.99]

Often, she comes across as heir to songwriters such as Todd Rundgren and Randy Newman--raising a jaded, critical eye to the world. [Sep 2017, p.38]

It’s an instantly captivating set – 10 resonant but unfussy songs distinguished by a balance of up-close intimacy and understatedly elegant composition, attuned to the power of repetitive flow.

One of Amos' most deeply felt, spiritually astute and finest albums. [Dec 2002, p.138]

Waits -- now in complete mastery of his unique art -- knows what he's doing, and the stark, unforgiving brutality is leavened, or granted grace, by passages of purple pathos. [Co-Album Of The Month, June 2002, p.106]

The songs are neither dogmatic nor whacked out. Like fine pop writers before him, Oberst's simply wrestling with something troubling he feels thick in the air. [Feb 2005, p.72]

True, this may have benefited from the inclusion of, say, 2013's "Lucinda Byre," but the man's unerring ability to quietly lift the heart with melody as he foes in "Rumer" and "Josephine" is ultimately the more valuable sensation to hang on to. [Nov 2017, p.30]

The set's ordering is exemplary, especially given its size, but diving in at random reaps the richest rewards, throwing up unexpected complements and contrasts. ... It's a trip for devotees and newcomers alike. [Jan 2019, p.41]

For anyone who fretted that Glory Hope Mountain might have been a beautiful fluke, No Ghost confirms The Acorn's credentials, building thrillingly on the band's ability to access a variety of moods and textures. [Jul 2010, p.121]

It's easily her most accessible album yet. [Jun 2026, p.32]

This lovingly compiled box is the perfect place for anyone curious about The Staple Singers' remarkable 50-year career to get acquainted. [Feb 2020, p.46]

Let It All In is all kitchen-sink realism and mordant one-liners best exemplified in the TS Elliot-influenced "Some Day Better."

The duo can do softer moments like the melancholic "The Mothership," but are at their best when offering principled and comedic disgust. [May 2020, p.28]

Much darker successor to How To Die In The North. Utterly compelling it is too. [Sep 2018, p.26]

Exquisitely crafted, lightly experimental chamber-folk album. [Jan 2022, p.21]

This is chamber music taken into a different dimension. [Jan 2022, p.30]

Jeremy Earl's endearing falsetto and excellent songwriting holds it all together. Aug 2011, p.107]

It is, in fact, a portrait of life’s triumphs and travails, its joys and sorrows rendered in wholly compelling detail.

Heavy and heady, free jazz shot through with the urgency of spoken word and pleasure of experimentation. [Jun 2023, p.32]

A gorgeous neo-Krautrock thump of a record. [Oct 2016, p.31]

Whereas The Thrills' second album fizzled commercially because of an increasingly arch knowingness which many found alienating, Hal--perfectionists, eschewing irony--keep the envelope taut, the air fresh. [May 2005, p.106]

Witty, tragi-comic lyrics layered over busy beats, strings and electronic flourishes which never sacrifice intimacy. [Nov 2005, p.114]

There's a lot to take in, but the standard is remarkably consistent and occasionally dazzling. [Nov 2016, p.31]

Reveals a side to Broadcast rarely heard: that of a band who are relaxed, at play and in places almost carefree. [Sep 2006, p.76]

A near-perfect balance of industrial threat, hardcore power and black comedy. [Oct 2006, p.134]

It might just grow into an even better record than The Courage Of Others, as one get used to the way it replaces Smith's precision and popcraft with the new Midlake's love of digression and sonic adventure. [Dec 2013, p.62]