Ultimate Painting may sound like a lot of bands--Real Estate, The Feelies--but they set their own beguiling pace, sounding completely untroubled by the passing of time. [Sep 2015, p.83]

Lynne is at his best as the world's greatest Beatles tribute act. [Dec 2019, p.26]

For the most part [it] is worth the wait. [Feb 2007, p.74]

John Rouse's ninth album is a return to the sound that made 2003's 1972 such a gem. [Apr 2013, p.77]

It's melodically sharper... occupying Stereolab's old ground with a surprising commercial edge. [May 2003, p.106]

Superior adult-contemporary rock. [Dec 2004, p.152]

All told, a class act still in their prime. [Sep 2003, p.97]

John McCrea's sense of subversion skates on the thin ice of their self-belittling grooves without ever quite toppling. [Jan 2002, p.131]

II might as well be a sketch for something more impressive. [Aug 2009, p.94]

Though this showcases the group;'s customary modular wit, it doesn't give Laetitia Sadier much to work with tune-wise. [Dec 2010, p.106]

There's ambition and wit here, and fans of alt.country Texas veterans like The Gourds and Old 97s will find much to admire. [May 2011, p.87]

Air Museums doesn't quite have the same freewheeling energy of Moebius and Roedelius' pioneering kosmische, and at time the music seems to hang oppressively in the air rather, instead of questing forward. [Jun 2011, p.91]

[Their indulgences] can be tiresome--"People On Strong Stuff" plods without purpose--but equally provides passages of uncontained elation. [Nov 2012, p.79]

It's a familiar mode - "instant vaguely leftfield record collection"- but it's beautifully played, and a reminder that Dwyer can occasionally do restraint. [Sep 2020, p.25]

Reinterpreting these sample-and-synth-laden originals for guitar is quite an achievement, and the results are certainly fascinating. [Feb 2011, p.82]

Their full debut is more "pop," if you stretch the definition to lovely multi-vocal interplay, grooves that stay convoluted but move their asses, and songs with hooks and momentum. [Nov 2010, p.93]

At low levels, this record will work nicely as aural wallpaper for cocktail parties, but turn it on and slap on a pair of headphones and the effect is transporting. [May 2012, p.69]

Once Upon A Time In The West may lack the cultural resonance Archer so desperately craves, but it’s widescreen appeal makes most guitar bands sound like they’re on Super 8.

There's nothing fake about the purgatorial narrative of songs such as "Nobody Knows My Trouble" and "My Diamond Is Too Rough." [Feb 2015, p.74]

Cigars all around for these sludge-metal/grunge veterans, then, with a set that values hand-on-heart appreciation over novelty. [May 2013, p.74]

Edwyn Collins is the perfect producer to lend the jaunty jangles an edge of both darkness and charm. [May 2011, p.91]

The results are pleasant enough but ultimately feel rather disjointed, as though this band has yet to settle into its own skin. [Nov 2011, p.91]

Best blues album of the year so far. [Jul 2012, p.69]

Whispering Trees presents rain-sodden English romanticism of the Nick drake/Bill Fay school occasionally ramped up to cosmic proportions with the help of the Radar Brothers' effects units. [Feb 2013, p.78]

No surprises, no classic, but a warm and well-produced set. [Oct 2015, p.78]

Challenging, but deeply satisfying. [Aug 2016, p.83]

Both are versatile players, and while "Tonight The Bottle Wins Again" is a swaggering blues, Harper leans towards Otis Redding on "When Love Is Not Enough." [May 2018, p.28]

None of these fall too far from the ZZ Top tree, defined by crashing riffs and a raunchy sense of humour. [Nov 2018, p.29]