Rarely has anyone making such exciting and fashionable music been so unapologetic about being mature, too. [Apr 2007, p.97]

Mostly they don't sound like anyone except themselves, multiplied by a thousand. [Mar 2023, p.36]

Thompson’s writing gives this stellar cast plenty to work with, her wit rising to such meta conceits as “John Grant”, on which John Grant sings of Thompson’s fondness for him, and “Those Damn Roches”, on which Teddy Thompson conveys the tempestuousness of musical dynasties – including his (and his mum’s) own. [Jul 2024, p.39]

The overall mood is slinkily, scuzzily surreal. ... It's a deep trip into Murphy's past and future. [Nov 2020, p.33]

SOPHIE effortlessly crosses detailed, quartz-like avant-garde production with pop's unapologetic, dizzying sugar rush. [Sep 2018, p.39]

Little Simz' identity shines through on this bold, vibrant and genre-busting record. [Jun 2025, p.35]

An entirely ravishing aesthetic experience. [Jun 2014, p.76]

An endlessly fascinating maze of sound.... This decade's Endtroducing..., possibly. [Jun 2003, p.98]

She has fashioned a still eccentric but bracingly focused collection of songs that blend her acrobatic and soulful Afro-jazz vocals with a collage music that defies any attempts at categorization. [May 2011, p.96]

Each song works brilliantly in isolation, making this a treasure trove of Wyatt’s finest work ever.

His songwriting's as powerful and moving as ever, with all the darkly comic touches he excels at. [Feb 2025, p.33]

Raggedly glorious covers of Muddy Waters’ “Mannish Boy” and Bo Diddley’s “Crackin’ Up” rate as major highlights along with the live debut of Tattoo You’s “Worried About You” and a blistering take on “Hot Stuff” that amply demonstrates the liberating effects of the band’s temporary escape from baseball stadiums and hippodromes. [Jul 2022, p.44]

If the music at times fails to convey the particularities of her lyrics on the trip-hoppy "Memorial Day," Van Etten remains an insightful chronicler of small moments that produce overwhelming emotions. [Feb 2019, p.37]

This is hypnotic stuff. ... A record that feels genuinely transportive. [May 2023, p.30]

Top stuff. [Mar 2024, p.25]

Substantial tranches of the Matrix Tapes have already appeared elsewhere. [Jan 2016, p.89]

Where Manu Chao might have smoothed off some of the rough edges during his spell as co-producer, this album positively celebrates those grungier moments.

It is ambitious music, even compared with Big Inner and it also sounds rich with potential. [Feb 2015, p.67]

It's a telling indication of the degree of daring and sophistication at hand that artistic gestures which might have seemed contrived or ill-conceived in other contexts--like say, transforming Nirvana's "In Bloom" into a majestic country-souul ballad worthy of Charley Pride-yield some of the most startling results. [May 2016, p.63]

Worth catching. [Jun 2007, p.87]

In 2017 it sounds like a revelation, not just a reminder of their glorious volatility, but also a raggedly beautiful effort that stands alongside The Replacements' best records. [Nov 2017, p.46]

Are We There's subtler songs point to a painfully well-honed understanding of what drives and degrades long-term love. [Jun 2014, p.70]

Fully realised in its ambition, Bon Iver possesses all the austere beauty and understated emotiveness of its predecessor. [Jul 2011, p.81]

It may not be fuelled by as many immediate hooks and gnarly grooves as The Overload, but it's a bold progression both musically and lyrically. [Mar 2024, p.24]

An exhilarating band set that mixes electric and acoustic instrumentation, it’s at once fiercely modern and as ancient as the Niger river. [Jun 2021, p.22]

[A] darkly beautiful tour de force. [Jun 2016, p.75]

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