Behind their heavily stylised surface, these are fairly standard heartbreak ballads, but Li's voluptuous gothic gloom is still intoxicating. [Aug 2022, p.29]

Timelessly scented, you can almost smell the joss sticks. [Mar 2015, p.76]

Laessig and Wolfe show their range on the soaring country soul of "Orange Blossoms" and demonstrate the difference between overwrought emoting and dynamic melodrama on "Final Days". [May 2025, p.33]

Their take on good old-fashioned rock'n'roll can be a bit shaggy, but it's surprisingly arty. [Jun 2016, p.74]

I Am The Last has a wind in its sails, though, thanks to Tibet's preacher vigour, and an extraordinary guestlist. [May 2014, p.71]

For better or worse, this is love songs for grown-ups. [Aug 2004, p.94]

The Acorn remain elusive. [Jul 2015, p.69]

It's a fine effort in a heavily populated field. [Jul 2013, p.76]

The result is an assured, mostly instrumental album with freeform jazz as its guiding imperative. [Oct 2016, p.40]

Her own material is far less raucous [than The Pogues], but the introspection is laced with dark humour and spurred on by her storytelling instincts. [Jan 2026, p.36]

A set full of dynamic nuance with a filmic scope. [Mar 2023, p.23]

Akin to labelmate Brian Eno's early ambient work, its nine, often lengthy tracks of ghostly yet graceful desolation are intended to evoke the forgotten histories of enduring locations. [Jan 2018, p.18]

His latest is less complex and makes a strong move to the dancefloor, without ditching the intrigue. [Apr 2022, p.26]

As reassuringly familiar as it all sounds, the high point comes courtesy of an interloper, John Cooper Clarke shoehorning suitably rant-like poetry into the six-minute garage groove of "Let You Down." [Oct 2014, p.73]

[Kids] sees her punching through with aplomb, via 13 lean, attitudinal songs with a bass music and hip-hop/trap chassis, fitted out with pop hooks and featuring her fine, versatile voice. [May 2021, p.25]

On Room Inside The World, we hear them filling out their sound with synths, vibraphone and--on "Desire"--a 70-piece choir, an the songs are growing too, laced with emotional nuance. [Mar 2018, p.31]

III's weaker tracks are more diffuse, lacking the verve that Underworld once brought to this kind of porg-influenced, epic-scaled electronica. [May 2016, p.76]

The conventional sound palette leads to a number of fragrant compositions, which will do Actress' cold, hard image no good at all. [Jul 2018, p.23]

Bandleader/pianist Bill Payne opted for an album of blues covers, making the jobs of replacement guitarist/ singer Scott Sharrard (who played a similar role with Gregg Allman) and drummer Tony Leone less daunting. The rejigged Feats perform their modest mission masterfully. [Jun 2024, p.36]

Beneath the cheery chug and carnival-like fizz beats a sombre heart. [Oct 2006, p.117]

It's more fully formed than his solo work but gathers the same sense of melody and arhythmic quirk on a series of Zappa-esque jazz-infused avant-pop songs, interspersed by the sunshine burst of lo-fi boppers. [Aug 2023, p.29]

Plaintive harmonies pull on heartstrings, furthering the pair's reputation as modern Americana's Everly Brothers. [Jun 2026, p.33]

Their 10th album in 25 years underlines their skill at combining heavy guitar solos with gauzy pop melodies and blizzards of noise. [Apr 2017, p.25]

It feels more like a bedroom project than their recent full-band work, yet Toledo's knack for an irresistible choruses endures. [Jun 2020, p.28]

"Dirt" and gentle gut-wrencher "Showdown", on which Baker takes vocal lead, boast the same sparse, clear-eyed lyricism of her 2021 album Little Oblivions, while Scott's earthy alto is the perfect foil, whether campfire storyteller or wisecracking sidekick. [Apr 2025, p.27]

There's no denying the smooth grooves of Willie Mitchel and Al Green is a template for several cute here. [Sep 2021, p.33]

Ackamoor's vision of fusing free-jazz blowing, African tribal grooves and spiritual black-consciousness musings remains unwavering. [Jun 2018, p.23]

A curious hybrid. Side One is a series of haunting instrumentals. .... Side Two sees his chamber jazz outfit provide delicate accompaniment for assorted vocalists. [Nov 2025, p.36]