Hailing from the wrong coast, the Charleston, South Carolina-based Explorers Club have done the near-impossible, turning an obsession with everything Beach Boys into an utterly beguiling pop album. [June 2008, p.88

This is full-bodied, tuneful and surprisingly friendly, with vocalist Kuperus toning down the swivel-eyed hysteria for some Siouxsie-styled elegance. [Aug 2013, p.65]

All the elements are there, but somehow 5:55 doesn't gel as it should. [Oct 2006, p.124]

Youngs' atonal yelpings and the bizarre tangents his big guitar shapes take won't be to the tastes of those who like their music a tad less askew--but acclimatise yourself to Young's off-kilter take and there are some rewards here. [Aug 2011, p.107]

The occasional sense of a well-won formula being diligently followed is counter-balanced by the committed performances and a sufficiency of hooks. [Jul 2012, p.77]

It is not the truly transcendent album some may have read in the runes, but it contains several hints that such greatness may, finally, be within his grasp once more.

The resulting jams throw up a wonderful ragbag of styles, the highlight being a tribal drum stomp called "Metal." [May 2015, p.83]

Weird--but in a generally good way. [Feb 2016, p.75]

United Crushers establishes a more muscular sensibility for the American quartet. [Apr 2016, p.78]

John Dwyer returns to thrashing, galloping warped punk, albeit with a more pronounced funk feel. [Oct 2020, p.34]

This is more of the same bucolic electronica and smudgy rave that Fake does so well. [Mar 2026, p.32]

It bubbles with conviction, the mock-fearsome, statuesque diva loading her lyrics with Prince-like panche. [Nov 2008, p.105]

Modestly presented, then, but as skillfully turned as ever. [Mar 2022, p.31]

It has more garage-rock energy than the enervated Babyshambles. [Jun 2006, p.98]

The highlight is a creepy, prowling, marimba-driven take on The Knife's "Pass This On," which retains the female gaze of the original. [Jun 2014, p.82]

Drum machines and brass add a little range to the prettily strummed ethereal balladry. [Apr 2015, p.77]

The Drums are more stupidly contagious than ever. [May 2019, p.27]

Extreme Witchcraft snaps and snarls more than usual, but wit, tunes and third-degree self-awareness continue to serve the post-grunge Randy Newman well. [Feb 2022, p.28]

McCarthy's catharsis is often gripping. [Apr 2012, p.88]

Weird but good. [Jun 2016, p.73]

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

El Guincho is a kind of Iberian Kanye, and this is a twisted fantasy of wine-bar techno: busy, brash and migrainey, at its adventurous best on "Comix" and "Mis Hist." [Apr 2016, p.71]

A generic gem, full of virtuosic playing, breathtaking three-part harmonies and memorable, melodic songs about the human condition. [May 2023, p.32]

This is one mighty party album. [May 2006, p.105]

There's brio and craft behind the cosmetic nostalgia. [July 2008, p.100]

The music starts to grip most powerfully when it's more allusive and introspective.

Pop's lightness doesn't much suit Bulat; she's at her best on the banjo-driven title track and gospel toned closer "If It Rains." [Feb 2010, p.79]

Ellis' purist, even traditionalist, voice is the perfect vessel for his sanguine portraits of ordinary people, battered and bruised but never without hope. [Mar 2014, p.72]