It successfully pins down black American sources, though it's occasionally marred by dated production. [Mar 2002, p.97]

Too often, all it offers is the rumble of starting engines. [Feb 2002, p.124]

Whereas so much downtempo leans heavily on two-note, oceanic synth washes, Blue States are masters of detail. [Sep 2002, p.111]

His wonky debut taps kosmische, post-punk and lo-fi electronic noise, but keeps its sights on the pop hook. [Sep 2014, p.79]

A set of faintly sad songs so minimal that they're often barely there at all. [May 2005, p.96]

Pure electronica, like the understated “Only Silent Words” and viscous “A Time Mirror (Biophony)”, is appealingly reflective too, but often one yearns for the unexpected, which “A Colour Field (Holocene)”’s slowly developing melody and a series of “Life Study” vignettes fortunately provide. [Oct 2024, p.41]

The production can sound derivative, but when Younge is on inspired form. [Sep 2015, p.75]

The end result creates an engulfing sonic swirl, recalling the enveloping work of Cluster and Tangerine Dream. [Dec 2018, p.24]

If you had Yamagata bagged as "winsome singer-songwriter," the breadth and ambition of this double-disc will knock you sideways. [Apr 2009, p.105]

There is, as usual, a lot of brass on cake's sixth album, a flourish that seem idiosyncratic 20 years ago but now leaves them sounding a little stale. [Feb 2012, p.83]

If there's a faint veil of disappointment hanging over all this excellence, it's that Allah-Las haven't built m,ore adventurously on the foundations of their debut. [Oct 2014, p.66]

Fantasy is a spellbinding return to form for the French producer. [May 2023, p.31]

Even if Rose is short on killer tunes or delivery, her oversupply of nostalgia charm is ultimately no bad thing. [Dec 2010, p.105]

A mostly rich and involving experience. [Apr 2005, p.98]

You're unlikely to be disappointed. [Apr 2011, p.84]

[The set] has ramshackle charm. [Nov 2013, p.89]

Once heard, they are not easily forgotten. [Jul 2013, p.76]

Alias is where the giddy exhilaration and buoyant lift of early Magic Numbers grows into a bold, spacey and sensational creation. [Sep 2014, p.75]

A final suite of three songs--"Wait For Her," "Oceans Apart" and "Part OF Me Died"--offer a more intimate perspective; a warm, optimistic coda to Waters' apocalyptic reveries. [Jul 2017, p.40]

The result is akin to walking in the woods alone at midnight--both spooky and compelling. [Nov 2006, p.104]

Their horizon expands via garage-psych incantation "In The Roses" and chugging closer "Everybody Knows," which suggests a Granddaddy epic; the Shjips' ragged country-rock opus is clearly some way off yet. [Dec 2013, p.75]

We'll be lucky if the year yields another headphone album as sumptuous as this one. [Jul 2017, p.30]

Noise, which might frustrate hardcore types because despite the promise of its title--delivered via speed-metal monster "Quicksiler" and 18-minute, FX-strafed-epic, "Angel"--it leans on their melodic shoegazing tendencies. [Jul 2014, p.70]

Occasional similarities to Placebo may be unfortunate, but they are countered by the record's bracing directness and infectious vitality. [Dec 2010, p.109]

When your attention drifts you barely notice it's there. But when you do, it evokes a warm and evocative pleasure. [Dec 2012, p.72]

The results are inevitably polished - but, crucially, never overly so. [Sep 2025, p.28]

They've really only got one trick. But it's a treat, all the same. [Oct 2011, p.98]

It's not as scintillating as we've come to expect from the OutKast camp, but plenty of fun nonetheless. [Mar 2013, p.67]