The better tracks are ones where Lydon stops grumbling about the modern world and creates his own mythic universe, both lyrically and musically. [Sep 2023, p.22]

Depending on your mood or generosity, these are either indulgently doleful or movingly ascetic in their dutiful repetitions--worth investigating either way. [Jan 2015, p.71]

there's a bit too much scene-setting and not enough storyline, but overall this is some rollicking debut. [May 2008, p.113]

Laced with grime squelches, riot-inducing raps and dark dub, it tackles gun crime, political deceit and terrorism--but also features enough tunes to sugar the pill. [Mar 2009, p.87]

Neither MacLean nor vocal foil Nancy Whang has a strong enough voice for pop. Instead it's the surging 10-minute disco epics 'Tonight' and 'Happy House; that impress. [May 2009, p.89]

Little Boots emerges with a debut album that is disappointingly similar to the sound of 2001 or 2005. [Jul 2009, p.91]

Mixes have the tracks - stacked guitars and vocals, bustling basslines, played and programmed drums - hurtling along as if crammed into a tunnel. [Mar 2024, p.25]

Stein mostly carries an air of pleasant politeness, which rather fails to convey the darkness beneath tales of gambling addicts and bottles of bourbon in the fridge. [Aug 2017, p.38]

Results range from sumptuous to the exotic and baleful, while Mark Lanegan's climactic swansong as post apocalyptic lounge lizard provides a stylish send-off. [Jun 2010, p.106]

For The Stars, The Oceans & The Moon, the original scally mystic has orchestrated a selection of old songs with a missionary zeal. [Nov 2018, p.27]

The fifth season might be more art piece than album, but is no less intriguing because of it. [Oct 2020, p.32]

A madly ambitious, darkly despondent and goofily exuberant grand folly of a record. [Album of the Month, Dec 2005, p.98]

Ultimately Bailiff sounds too much in thrall to her shoegazing peers. [Dec 2012, p.69]

Two years and two million album sales later- and minus raffish bassist Max Rafferty--their sugar-rush enthusiasm has dissolved almost entirely.

It does feel [like] a somewhat softer collection than its predecessor. [Feb 2012, p.84]

Every song offers something different, which holds your attention. [Apr 2009, p.101]

It would be unfair to expect a "Whipping Post" from Devon Allman, Duane Betts and Berry Duane Oakley on their first outing, cut live to tape in Muscle Shoals, as they seek a comparable energy, but they manage to capably shoulder the responsibility rather than sinking under it weight. [Aug 2019, p.25]

Enchanting arrangements, glistening instrumentation, and Griffin's hypnotic vocals carry the day. [Mar 2010, p.86]

Each track has been precision-tooled for playlist perfection but even here the sheer class of "Rendezvous" and "Karma" shine through. [Aug 2018, p.35]

For the most part, it's an effective addition.... The only real snag here is Rose's voice, which sometimes sounds so detached as to be barely present. [Nov 2013, p.78]

American Doll Posse sounds like a return to more conventional songwriting form. [Jun 2007, p.87]

Much here feels underdeveloped. [Jan 2015, p.71]

The results are suitably polishes, but their pleasures are ephemeral. [Mar 2016, p.71]

Not as muddy as one might have hoped, then, but this was definitely a revisit worth making. [July 2008, p.96]

You wish the pace would pick up after a while but then again, what My Sad Captains do, they do beautifully. [Apr 2014, p.78]

Moments feel somewhat bombastic, but where Scope Neglect hits, it certainly hits. [Mar 2024, p.26]

Seldom has retro sounded so pleasingly stubborn. [Jul 2012, p.85]

It's the slowies that suffer--lacking the warm glaze of the previous album, they can sound a little hollow. [Dec 2015, p.76]