This debut is an enjoyable, wittily written selection of material that, in its desire for vintage feel, manages to be instantly familiar. [Nov 2015, p.80]

Elan Vital takes the visceral, intense beauty of... The New Romance and turns it up a notch. [May 2006, p.119]

The LP draws on old-style American folk but expertly remodels it for a contemporary audience. [Jun 2012, p.70]

It's fascinating territory and Merchandise sound like a band still exploring thier huge potential. [Aug 2013, p.73]

It's a deeply fun record that radiates vivacity and, most endearingly, sounds like a band who still truly love what they do. [Jan 2025, p.35]

Buck's monotone and his lack of truly cutting statements make this a dour experience. [Sep 2005, p.100]

Just about every songs clicks. [Oct 2011, p.84]

Curious webs of blurry guitar, analogue keyboard and cranky drum machine, song like 'Blue Lights' resemble a lower-than-lo-fi Cure, where ramshakle recording and budget texture becomes part of the appeal. [Jun 2009, p.83]

His solo debut is simple and earthy, leaning on little more than organ, warm acoustic guitar and his wondrous singing, carrying the betraying quaver of a man who feels a little too much. [May 2012, p.78]

Ultimately you're left frustrated by the safety first approach. [Mar 2014, p.71]

It seems he's at peace with trip-hop and his legacy. However, the punky "Dark Days" with Mina Rose and a minimal take on Hole's "Doll Parts" with singer Avalon Lurks suggests he remains restless for what might be over the next smoky horizon. [Nov 2017, p.36]

Dramatic and ravishing, 100 Acres of Sycamore is some achievement.

There are plenty of enjoyable moments on Winterval, but this masks a slightly hollow core. [Dec 2012, p.79]

Martyn's voice has taken a few knocks, but the weathered quality adds character. [May 2014, p.77]

There's plenty to admire--not least "Without You" and "Innocence"--but you sense their moment may have passed. [Oct 2014, p.71]

Songs are largely centered on shrill, surfy guitar and all of then are built to be absorbed, affixed to undulating rhythms that ebb and flow before they eventually slip into a groove. [Dec 2015, p.78]

Vance's earnest balladeering often sounds overly safe. [Jun 2016, p.82]

Producer Kwesi Sey has upped the dramatic ante throughout. [Jul 2017, p.25]

Russell was clearly fully committed to the project, with sincere lyrics and a strained, emotional vocal sustained by luscious strings. [Dec 2017, p.30]

It won't cure humanity's ills, but it does a fine job of rejuvenating a band entering its third decade. [Mar 2018, p.22]

Vide Noir unspools with cinematic seamlessness, as quicksilver psychedelic buffers bridge its 12 tracks, which shift between folk, country and heartland rock. [Jun 2018, p.30]

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]

By far their boldest statement yet. [Apr 2007, p.92]

Come for songs and you'll be left wanting, but as a holy distillation of Moore's influences, Spirit Counsel impresses. [Oct 2019, p.30]

It's an album that takes pleasure in its capacity to quietly, seductively surprise. [Aug 2018, p.28]

At times ethereal and romantic, at others eerie and queasy, it's completely different, but equally worthy, addition to this autheur's overlooked and original canon. [Nov 2018, p.18]

The somber mood is finally blown away by Crazy Horse-style closer "So Long" as The Lumineers churn into intriguing new territory while doggedly holding onto their entrenched melancholy. [Apr 2025, p.35]

Frequently intoxicating. [Jan 2004, p.103]