All the writers who share Lund's love of droll wordplay, and all their works are illuminated by Lund's signature laconic twinkle, and the Hurtin' Alberans' deadpan virtuosity. [Aug 2022, p.29]

The spacious, stereo-panning "binaural" sound mix works particularly well as a headphones album. [Dec 2022, p.29]

Barnes' lyrics remain a stumbling block. [Oct 2001, p.98]

There are moments where gusto, melody and thunderous guitar riffs meet to powerful effect but there are some tired moments to wade through to get there. [Feb 2019, p.27]

Like Bread produced by The Neptunes. [Jul 2004, p.110]

A risk of pastiche is never far away, but Presley staves it off with energy, songcraft, cunning and a renewed, relatively streamlined focus. [Aug 2014, p.81]

Witty like Loudon Wainwright, doleful like Jonathan Richman, Hamilton emerges as a distinct presence throughout, and it's this you warm to. [Dec 2006, p.102]

Like 2011's Tao Of The Dead, IX is a big thing, which sometimes rings rather hollow. [Dec 2014, p.71]

Intoxicating. [Mar 2004, p.87]

The many highlights on this big name covers album include Lily Allen--sounding like Kate Nash impersonating Lily Allen--locating the wobbly charm in Joe Strummer's 'Straight To Hell,' Elbow's adding a shabby grandeur to U2's 'Running To Stand Still,' and Rufus Wainwright bringing his heavenly voice to Brian Wilson's 'Wonderful.'

Others paying respects are Steve Earle, Kid Rock and Lucinda Williams, though the inclusion of Lee Ann Womack and Faith Hill dilutes the overall impact. [Apr 2011, p.90]

Their debut has a raucous charm that makes it easy to overlook their songs' emotional punch. [Feb 2016, p.77]

It's touches like these--the suggestiveness of the pauses, the silences, the miniature worlds between the painterly notes Cooper and Hoare play--that makes Dusk, for all its influences and its rear-view mirror vision of classicist pop, such a seductive album. [Oct 2016, p.30]

Gutter Tactics lets a little light in, though, the glimmering, shoegazey 'We Lost Sight' being the surest glimpse yet of redemption within the gloom. [Mar 2009, p.82]

Impressively, Gardner's instrumnetals such as "Grey Lanes" and "All Over" show how he can effectively summon up an exquisite nostalgia for an invented '60s. [Jun 2015, p.76]

Hotel Shampoo is a fragrant little side-project but it's a bit too sudsy to be the main event. [Mar 2010, p.96]

It only really comes alive with an alternate version of "Take Ecstasy With Me," which reminds us that original Magnetic Fields singer Susan Anway is still his definitive interpreter, the Ella to his Cole. [Sep 2011, p.91]

Although a few tracks lack bite, Mount keeps the senses stimulated with diversity and detail. [Aug 2016, p.78]

Remarkably alluring. [Apr 2007, p.93]

Encore is a perfectly good record. ... But one can't help but wonder how Dammers' wayward genius might have added a level of glorious unpredictability to proceedings. [Mar 2019, p.22]

He has a weakness for think, hackneyed lyrics, but a flair for inspired juxtapositions, too. [Jul 2015, p.71]

Unexpected digressions often invigorate their third full-length. [Apr 2020, p.28]

Impressively, the lustrous-voiced Reid has changed tracks without derailing the train. [Feb 2025, p.39]

That spirit of garageland spontaneity pervades Fuckbook. [Apr 2009, p.84]

Harding here ups the comeback ante with a baker dozen of frothy, breezily melodic gems. [Dec 2011, p.84]

The ballads are typically wry and pretty, however, especially the Christopher Cross-alike "Crack The Case," through "Feed The Fire" might have benefited from more rigorous editing. [Aug 2018, p.26]

It's a warmly pristine, groovily poignant set, with vocals pitched for gender neutrality and an ear for a great hook. [Jan 2019, p.23]

It's audacious stuff, but emotionally unengaging, with the lyrics being the weakest link and those songs remaining ultimately elusive. [Sep 2010, p.99]