A brace of Nick Lowe-penned Brinsley Schwarz tracks (“Surrender To The Rhythm”, “Don’t Lose Your Grip On Love”) are forensically faithful to the originals, but the older men bring an oaky maturity to Neil Young’s “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere” that likely eluded their younger selves. [Sep 2022, p.30]

There are dark undertones--drug references mainly--but Lewis is no moper. [Apr 2019, p.32]

Much here mediates around one unnerving groove. [May 2012, p.83]

It's the thickness of these synth textures and the intensity of the sounds that create a thoroughly immersive experience. [Jul 2016, p.78]

Miss Fortune is her least mainstream album to date and finds her moving delightfully nearer the terrain occupied by sister Shelby Lynne. [Sep 2002, p.114]

Their latest brings welcome variations in tone and tempo. [Nov 2020, p.29]

The Tarnished Gold, mature, with a revelatory appreciation for the simple life, might prove to be the true spiritual heir to their auspicious 2000 debut. [Jul 2012, p.81]

Producer Max Dingel fashions a crystal clear sound, full but never overblown, bringing an attractive universality to some very personal emotions. [Jun 2014, p.79]

If you've not already bought into the LDR mythos, it's like joining a long-form TV show midway through its difficult fourth season. [Jun 2023, p.26]

[The] 4CD set filleting his post-Auteurs solo works. ... Disc four features wreckage from his abandoned musical about demon landlord Nicholas van Hoogstraten. [Nov 2017, p.48]

Centipede Hz is an album that both gazes up into the cosmos, and stares down into the dirt--and perhaps that's not so weird.

There's no revolutionary do-over taking place here, just solid, reliable indie rock from a songwriter who knocks it out with what's bordering on flippant ease. [Apr 2022, p.28]

His blazing guitar leads contrast with the sombre tone of the 20-track We're Your Friends, Man, the fragile-voiced Saloman haunted by third-age problems. [Jan 2019, p.19]

Bright Spirit is a wide-ranging set flooded with singer-guitarist Kavus Torabi's metaphysical imagery. [Apr 2026, p.33]

Britfolk's most adventurous neo-traditionalist takes the surprise quotient to new heights on this conceptual set. [Feb 2020, p.30]

The likes of Khruangbin, St Vincent, fhoebe Bridgers and Josh Homme spice up Macca’s songs in their idiosyncratic fashion, while a few improve the originals. [Jun 2021, p.28]

The effect [sung wordlessly, a cappella, with a multi-tracked choir humming the arrangements] is initially comic but soon becomes utterly mesmeric. [Mar 2013, p.72]

It's more of a subtle restyling than a full-on reincarnation, the soft-edged weightlessness, sumptuous tones and gauzy vocals still instantly recognisable. [Jun 2018, p.24]

The power of Cotton’s compositions for Engelchen lies in both its clarity, and its lack of affectation. She’s sensitive to the story, conveying it through simplicity. [Apr 2024, p.31]

It seems pretty much like business as usual. [Jul 2012, p.63]

It's an intriguing juxtaposition of the crunchy and the smooth. [May 2012, p.75]

Lost In Revelry's trump cards are its sudden, exhilarating turns of weather, its restless--sometimes uncomfortable--soul-searching, and its knack of throwing up instantly-hummable pocket classics. [Dec 2002, p.131]

Some of these experimental mash-ups feel ungainly, but when their chemistry ignites, Algiers sound indestructible. [Apr 2023, p.23]

One's enjoyment of this record will largely depend on the ability to endure a man doing an uncanny impersonation of a youthful Bob Dylan. [Aug 2012, p.80]

It's silly in parts ("Little Things"), deranged in others ("Keep An Eye On Dan") but the "ah-ha ah-ha" chorus on "Just A Notion" comfortably makes up for a multitude of sins. [Feb 2022, p.23]

There’s a sometimes bipolar feel to the 10 original tracks, particularly the first half, before the four singles crash in to save the day. .... Sleevenotes, memorabilia, alternate takes, B-sides and demos galore, although vibrant live cuts such as a 1979 tear through “Message In A Bottle” offer the most value beyond curiosity.

Free Your Mind, looks to the two summers of love--psychedelia in 1967 and rave in '89--for inspiration and is mixed by Tame Impala's guru Dave Fridmann, yet its tasteful blend of chugging acid and euphoric choruses means it resembles an elaborate Screamadelica pastiche. [Dec 2013, p.66]

Holy Fire doesn't quite unfurl its devil horns.... But the production heft from Flood and Alan Moulder, as well as the shameless but satisfying amount of delayed guitar, means it all has serious stadium credentials. [Mar 2013, p.72]