Precious but powerful. [Aug 2024, p.38]

Solidly crafted but with few surprises. [Nov 2017, p.28]

The resulting album is a joy. [Jan 2026, p.27]

The boundary-trampling spirit that makes their music stretch out almost infinitely live remains barely tapped. What keeps The Zutons special is singer David McCabe's lyrics. [May 2006, p.108]

Trail Of Dead have always made music to get lost in and this one's a maze. [Mar 2020, p.23]

Now the songs are sharper and prettier. [Jan 2016, p.75]

Restraint didn't run in the family, perhaps, but a flair for interpretation did. [Mar 2019, p.30]

Their slick, mirthless approach and Roman Rappak's self-satisfied delivery threaten to turn Breton into Topman art-rock mannequins in the mould of Everything Everything and Alt-J. [Mar 2014, p.72]

The Turning Wheel has the feel of a big reveal. Her voice, as dramatic and flamboyant as a young Kate Bush, now pirouettes amid a backdrop of warm brass and orchestral funk supplied by an extended cast of players. [Jul 2021, p.34]

Producer Stephen Street deftly updates the brio of their early hits and the songs are impressive, too. [May 2019, p.27]

Credit Dalhous, aka Marc Dall, for making something beautiful but still somewhat unreadable in its intentions. [Sep 2014, p.71]

Frances The Mute smells like another concept album, is far too long and so pretentious as to be farcial. Amazingly, it's also mighty entertaining. [Mar 2005, p.91]

Hot Cakes adds little to their hybrid Queen, AC/DC, Van Halen and Gun N' Roses, but their air-punching thrills of "Forbidden Love" and "Concrete" are undeniable. [Sep 2012, p.74]

There's an appealing disjuncture at the heart of this collaboration. [Dec 2016, p.32]

Like Golightly's solid output since burying Thee Headcoatees in the late '90s, Sunday revolves around amped-up reinventions of mid-century hillbilly, honky-tonk, blues and country. [Nov 2012, p.75]

There's no reinventing of the wheel here; it's business as usual, but there's plenty of forward momentum left in this outfit. [Jul 2026, p.31]

Fleeting, once again, is a loving, diligent and honest attempt by Jones to pay fingerpicking homage to his hero. [Apr 2016, p.74]

The expansively layered arrangements here are a testament to a bolder ambition than the acoustic troubadour shtick that once defined him. [May 2017, p.37]

[The] mostly instrumental pieces point up the rich musical subtleties and contemplative mellowness of the originals. [Mar 2014, p.72]

It's not easy to ooze insouciant cool while pounding out febrile garage-punk, but LA quartet Feels manage to pull that off throughout this spiky debut. [Jun 2016, p.73]

Talbot treads lightly, and a melancholy beauty predominates. [Jun 2012, p.73]

Aside from the odd burst of medieval flute, their fifth album is unlikely to scare the horses, striking a neat balance of darkly powerful and whimsical. [Jun 2013, p.70]

A slight disappointment. [Oct 2003, p.124]

Over time, however, a fondness for arpeggios becomes as predictable as island life. [Nov 2016, p.39]

The follow-up, recorded in isolation during lockdown, has a mellower, be-thankful-for-what-we've-got vibe. [Apr 2022, p.35]

Demonstrates a continued forte for hooky songs that are just as likely to draw from '80s inspirations like The Smiths and Aztec Camera as from Joyce Manor's rowdier predecessors on Epitaph. [Feb 2026, p.35]

Bittersweet pop songs are the order of the day, gently psychedelicised. [Jan 2021, p.27]

Amiably gentle but uplifting follow-up. [Aug 2023, p.25]