Toledo offers dense, self-analytical lyrics and a style that take in everything from The Zombies to the Pet Shop Boys, ambitious in scope and clearly much agonised-over. [Dec 2015, p.69]

Steve Shelley and Lee Ranaldo were impressed enough to pitch in, helping form a warmly familiar yet still sometimes thrilling debut album. [Sep 2022, p.24]

The album is a loose concept piece with a watery theme, but it's the infectious melodies and powerful vocals that stand out. [May 2019, p.27]

Gonzales' conceptual stunts never detract from the music's inherent prettiness. [Apr 2015, p.76]

It feels like Albarn in transit, both physically and mentally. [Aug 2018, p.27]

Slender and strange, Await Barbarians once more finds the singer on the back foot, his default position, peering cautiously at the things around him. [Jul 2014, p.81]

My Love IS A Bulldozer is of a similar vintage [as 2005's Rossz Csillag Alatt Szuletett]. [Aug 2014, p.79]

Saicobab whip up a sonic maelstrom that's every bit as intense as the shock tactics of Boredoms' early noise recordings or the polyrhythmic psychedelia tat followed. [Dec 2017, p.30]

The likes of "Maliblue Dream Sequence" and "Tonal Bath For Bubbles" positively glow, layering shimmering keyboard washes, ringing chimes and raga-like melodies to create a sense of blissful stasis. [Jan 2018, p.23]

Even with new elements like the somewhat overly tasteful strings for the title track, the music here retains the fervent intimacy and immediacy that distinguishes Jamieson's songwriting and really ought to win her the breakthrough she deserves. [Jan 2024, p.39]

While the singles "Until The Fire" and "The Animals" are satisfyingly sleek and sinister, Lady tron seem most energised when they head deep into the darkness in the starkly Numan-ist "Paper Highways" and "Deadzone." [Mar 2019, p.29]

This is the kind of record that Albini's notoriously no-frills production style served best: a brooding and intense post-punk, equal parts visceral and cerebral. [Mar 2025, p.32]

Slightly pleased with itself, but record is definitely worth a spin. [Apr 2018, p.35]

Tracks like "Running" show he can do a decent dreamy R&B ballad, but more interesting are the digitally manipulated sonic collages, or the impressionistic Spanish-language songs. [May 2019, p.29]

While some moments fee contrived to win headlines [...] it's the stories of grind under dour circumstance, such as "Grow Up" featuring Birmingham MC Jaykae, that shine the brightest. [Jul 2019, p.34]

It's a thrilling start but, after the breathless thrills of the first six songs, things tail off sharply. Still, it's hard to begrudge them. [Aug 2017, p.37]

Mostly, it's funky pop, half-deconstructed and relentlessly optimistic. [Jun 2012, p.71

Infectious stuff, and 30 years on from the first Pastels single, there is still no escaping indie's fey power. [Jul 2012, p.67]

Though jangly sounds abound on the 71 songs collected here (so much so that there's an inevitable degree of twee fatigue), the contents demonstrate a shift away from the original shambling scenesters' distaste for displays of ambition, and a new eagerness to grab hold of the brass ring that The Smiths had surrendered to other contenders. [Aug 2017, p.50]

All up, it's a quiet knockout. [Oct 2018, p.37]

The tone is less whimsical, occasionally ecstatic, and at times reminiscent of big beat. [Mar 2005, p.91]

Ayers duets with Simonon in Spanish and English on a set of quirky compositions oozing the kind of playful charm her dad was so known for. [Jun 2023, p.29]

Layered guitars make s luscious soundtrack to get lost in, but relatable lyrics will guide you home. [Mar 2020, p.25]

This power trio makes no attempt whatsoever to hide their stylistic sonic cathedral. [Jan 2014, p.76]

It's unsurprisingly a multicultural, extravagantly arranged collection. [May 2021, p.32]

An inspired makeover. [Mar 2019, p.30]

There's a gauche Hollyoaks vibe to sentimental moments "Sailing" and "Wild West," but otherwise this is a handsome debut. [Mar 2015, p.72]

Bulat's reliably warm-hearted songs still benefit from the rejuvenating effects of the twinkling synths that fill "Spirit" and "Laughter". [May 2025, p.28]