The album is a powerful exploration of faith, with Young circling his own mortality.

This US trio make a more than decent fist of their upbeat retro-music without ever quite shaking off the scent of pastiche. [Dec 2011, p.87]

It's as convincing and heartfelt as anything else here--and suggests that by incorporating disco into the rest of his music, even better things may lie ahead. [Mar 2008, p.96]

A near-faultless record. [Apr 2005, p.97]

While the lyrics are cliched to a fault, Lloyd is a convincing loverman across the range of backdrops he's given. [Apr 2012, p.81]

The mechanised backbeat rarely strays too far from the dancefloor, but the ever-shifting textures keep it interesting. [Nov 2011, p.91]

Fine, but no surprises. [Oct 2008, p.101]

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

She still refuses to knock up any memorable tunes, but arthouse divas thus obsessed with ghosts and personal (if ill-described) demons are always fascinating. [Jun 2003, p.109]

He treads a line between loving monogamy and club bangers, emphasising accessibility throughout. [Jan 2003, p.128]

Weird, wonderful and life-affirmingly wise. [Aug 2004, p.96]

Six albums on and Luna have never sounded better. [Jul 2002, p.112]

This collaboration with Athens lo-fi specialists Elf Power isn't his most immediatly appealing set, but it's worth it just for 'Bilocating Dog,' a lovely shambles of a song with an absurd chorus. [Jan 2008, p.88]

Their second is a complex, pile-driving delight. [Jul 2016, p.78]

James Graham's ragged brogue remains deeply affecting, humanizing this unsettling music. [Mar 2012, p.101]

Grandiose, overwhelming, pretentious and absurd, Before The Dawn Heals Us is one of the first great albums of 2005. [Feb 2005, p.79]

Admittedly, without seeing the play--which officially opens in London on November 8--the soundtrack feels an incomplete experience. At its most successful, Lazarus finds new ways of presenting well-known songs; an unenviable task for Hey and his seven-piece band.

Lurch[es] from homecooked early Beck to the expansive hooks of Brian Wilson or Todd Rundgren. [Dec 2005, p.104]

It doesn't require a lyric translator to hear the exquisite sense of regret that permeates a song like "Ha Dvash," but the sheer exuberance of the music keeps spirits soaring. [Feb 2010, p.88]

It drags and trundles in places, opting for plump maximalism over the lean, urgent minimalism of yesteryear.... All the same, Music Complete is easily New Order's best album since Technique, and probably their most musically diverse ever. [Oct 2015, p.74]

With Fool, his focus is as much on method as material. [Feb 2019, p.27]

The results are sparkling, upbeat and infectious. [Apr 2014, p.73]

The washed out pastel shades and electronic frills on the likes of "Doctor M" and "Cross Off" help ensure that any latent familiarity with Johnson's influences is outweighed by reverberant production reminiscent of Broadcast's spooky psychedelia. [May 2015, p.73]

Having scampered down the rabbit hole, COA seem hopelessly confused--and all the better for it. [Apr 2017, p.25]

Rather precious in places, but often enchanting. [Oct 2011, p.81]

At times it bewilders. ... But Pulse Of Defiance has a lushness of texture that makes the compositional knottiness slide down easier. [Apr 2021, p.29]

Songs like “Spanish Steps” and the title track recall the lo-fi sound of her critically lauded ’90s albums, while “Ba Ba Ba” and “Good Side” embrace the polish of her critically denounced 2000s albums. [Jul 2021, p.33]

It's hard to begrudge the Boos this sunny, mellifluous midlife comeback. [Aug 2023, p.25]