The tracka are overlong and the ubiquitous fuzz pedal makes "Sedatives" and "King Of Kings" sound like a narcoleptic Screwdriver, but it's hard to knock Jesu's dedication to the sad, slow and contemplative. [Aug 2011, p.90]

Their best effort yet. [Mar 2006, p.102]

Conquistador plays out against a cavalcade of dark, intense, downward thrusts that linger and fold back on themselves, each time getting slightly deeper and more daunting. [Jun 2018, p.24]

Bleak but brilliant. [Nov 2008, p.109]

As imaginative as his guitar playing can be, Auerbach's vocals can be limited. ... And yet, Auerbach's obvious affections for these touchstones, and for these performers, more than make up for such shortcomings. [Jul 2017, p.34]

On several songs here Rubin helps peel back the years to reveal an energy and a passion that reminds you just how powerful was the band's initial proposition. [May 2020, p.30]

The band are at their best when they put their heads down and rock. [Jun 2015, p.83]

Behind the hype and the swagger, he's still baring enough of his soul for The Eminem Show to be compelling theatre. [Aug 2002, p.118]

Chris Spencer's vocals complete the darkly uncompromising picture, oozing a disgust and despair that's as much personal as socio-political. [Jul 2012, p.85]

It's a strong return, though bad luck for the copycatting Royal Blood and DZ Deathrays who'd been counting on their obsolescence. [Nov 2014, p.72]

It's an understated yet absorbing work, full of delicate arrangements that are elegantly swept along by Stables' gloriously tender vocals. [May 2015, p.83]

Ultimately Artificial Dance, stiff and self-aware, is easier to admire from afar. [Oct 2015, p.94]

An agreeable anachronism that feels '60s but sounds '80s. [Jun 2016, p.79]

The group channel tasteful elements of the Grateful dead, the Allmans, Pink Floyd, Steppenwolf and CSNY in nine songs that swirl and melt into one one another, forming an album-oriented listen where dual guitars steer the ship, and nascent vocals take a back seat. [Apr 2019, p.29]

In this case, sustained synth notes and chimes entwine to create a meditative environment that, while no longer as revolutionary as Discreet Music once seemed, is just as serene. [Feb 2017, p.26]

It might not be the best Hold Steady Album, but it might be their most purely enjoyable. [Sep 2019, p.35]

If it all seems a little too familiar, the hooks here are undeniable. [Apr 2015, p.76]

They've managed to retain everything that was oddly beguiling about them in the first place while boosting their mass appeal with a production that is all West Coast sleek and radio-friendly lustrous. [Feb 2005, p.80]

The lo-fi production makes everything sound like an unfinished demo, the songs are largely forgettable and the AutoTune’d vocals become a little tedious.

More than witty and vivacious enough to satisfy anyone who's stuck with the saga thus far. [Mar 2020, p.35]

The songs, musically dazzling with strings and fetching arrangements, sometimes organise themselves into forceful hooks. [Mar 2013, p.77]

This album is heavy because it's dense with detail. [Jan 2015, p.63]

Honeyblood is a captivating debut that prizes atmosphere over precision and is characterised by soaring melodies and terrifically spiky lyrics. [Aug 2014, p.94]

Slow Summits is bold and immediate. [Jun 2013, p.78]

The trio play straighter than fellow pre-Revolver fetishist Ezra Furman, but have the tunes to finesse it. [Aug 2016, p.75]

Heza still contains several terrific examples of hooky guitar pop. [Jun 2013, p.73]

She manages to make her chosen instrument sound like just about everything it isn't, yet the sense of sonic cohesion and unique identity she possesses never dwindles. [Jul 2020, p.33]

They have not deviated from their core virtues: drolly mordant lyrics, instinctive tunefulness and the lo-fi new-wave sensibility that carries it all. [Sep 2021, p.27]