Mono are masters of the emotionally saturated slow build, though they have their own variations on the dark/light dynamic, as in “Reflection”, which moves with a casually graceful swing, and “Holy Winter”, where an upright-piano motif shapes the celestial whole. [Jul 2024, p.38]

Co-producer Alex Goose injects some hip-hop chink and spaghetti-western vistas into the arrangements, goosing the languid rhythms, and the hooky “Time Will Tell” momentarily quells the heartache. But the hopeful notes recede on the closing barroom ballad “The Fool”, as Frazer runs out of words, leaving melancholy piano notes to signal the encroaching dusk. [Jul 2024, p.32]

The result is her most diverse and audacious album to date. What remains rooted in her jazz origins, though, is her voice. [Jul 2024, p.40]

From the stripped-back acoustic touches on “This Will Go On” to the distorted vocals and gritty overdrive guitars of “Leaving Umbrella”, it’s a pleasing yet ever-shifting journey to be taken on. [Jul 2024, p.35]

As is usually the case with archival material of this kind, nothing here is any improvement on the finished product. These tracks are, however, humbling reminders that what we end up hearing as astonishing lightning-in-a-bottle transcendence is very often the result of repetitive, labour-intensive hackwork. [Aug 2024, p.46]

“Right Hand Over My Heart”, an irresistible number with moody Omnichord and synth motifs, and at the opposite end of the emotional spectrum, the sinuous “Water Torture”, in which a disgusted Davis addresses his country’s barbarity practised in the name of world order. “Moonlit Kind” closes the set, an existential hymn with an agreeably lazy, Yeasayer-ish groove. [Jul 2024, p.30]

A self-titled collection that ranks among their very best. [Aug 2024, p.39]

Attains new heights of intoxication on reconvening after four years away. [Aug 2024, p.38]

Nathaniel Rateliff fully integrates his parallel identities as exuberant frontman, introspective folkie and perpetuator of rock's sacred texts on South Of Here. [Aug 2024, p.39]

They conjure a sequence of absorbing soundtracks for unmade dramas, of which the pick is “Love Changes Everything V”, an intense dialogue between violin and guitar, suggesting My Bloody Valentine reinventing themselves as a folk group. [Jul 2024, p.32]

Fratti delivers some of her most musically and emotionally rich work to date here, her dreamy voice and impressionistic Spanish-language lyrics adding an extra layer of magical realism. [Aug 2024, p.36]

The most affecting songs are the drum-less, spacious, guitar-led numbers: the spartan ragtime of "Boots Of A Soldier", or the wonderfully Tom Waits-ish waltz "The Knowing". [Aug 2024, p.32]

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

There are moments when the orchestrated bathos feels promising. .... But the lyrical clunkers pile up and ultimately capsize an intriguing venture into sophisti-pop. [Aug 2024, p.39]

Stung! is a detail-rich trip as warm as it is wiggy. [Aug 2024, p.39]

Even if restless shape-shifting sometimes blunts strong melodic ideas, standout tracks like the epic freakout "Cosmo" and the goth-dub inner-space odyssey "Whammy" showcase a small band with big ambitions. [Aug 2024, p.39]

The record is a listen-through winner, but the title track and languid, acoustic closer "John Prine On The Radio" are standouts. [Aug 2024, p.35]

Ghostface is still, occasionally, a force to be reckoned with on the mic. but Set The Tone feels unworthy of his talents. [Aug 2024, p.34]

He sounds distant during "Shy Eyes'" woozy synth-funk, while "Over Your Shoulder" seems to connect his own separation and his mother's divorce in a resolute folk-pop ballad. [Aug 2024, p.31]

Gently irresistible throughout. [Aug 2024, p.31]

Their creative freedom is evident again on their final album. [Aug 2024, p.30]

The most appealing Actress record since Splazsh. [Aug 2024, p.29]

Accompanied by a swinging combo in which double bassist Ferg Ireland, pianist Joe Webb and Giacomo Smith on clarinet/sax are outstanding, she captures Vaughan’s depth of expression with perfect control, but proves she’s more than just a talented imitator by authoritatively stamping her own considerable personality on a stark, radical take on “Inner City Blues”, very different from Vaughan’s 1973 version. [Jul 2024, p.38]

Sometimes a more shadowy affair, with McKiel’s voice on the title track reverberating in what sounds like a deep cave, its woodwind and wriggling bassline emerging from different chambers to establish a Beta Band shuffle. Elsewhere things are dusky rather than dark. [Jun 2024, p.37]

Taking the Rio Grande as a confluence point between Mexico and the American Southwest, it reflects TexiCali’s exuberant sense of musical inclusivity. [Jul 2024, p.34]

Thompson’s writing gives this stellar cast plenty to work with, her wit rising to such meta conceits as “John Grant”, on which John Grant sings of Thompson’s fondness for him, and “Those Damn Roches”, on which Teddy Thompson conveys the tempestuousness of musical dynasties – including his (and his mum’s) own. [Jul 2024, p.39]

Despite the band’s unabashed borrowing, it’s hard to deny a song as huge as “Sweet”; the record’s obvious smarts and dynamic wallop carry it. [Jul 2024, p.31]

His guitar and bass playing are rather more agricultural than his rhythm-keeping but this all adds to the character of his freestyle philosophising. [Jul 2024, p.39]