If you thought they didn't make 'em like this anymore, here's the exception that proves the rule. [Feb 2002, p.112]

Much more inconsistent and rather less immediate [than 2017's Dear]. [Feb 2020, p.25]

Laudable, but overreaching. [Nov 2006, p.130]

Not as good as the original, but an interesting afterthought. [Feb 2013, p.79]

"The Right Stuff" is carried along by a nifty percussive shuffle and lovely layered brass that make you wish the entire album carried their production imprint. [Apr 2015, p.76]

The rest of the album struggles to maintain that high standard [of the second track, 'I Know'], but 'Take It Home' is a magnificent dirge. [Sep 2009, p.86]

For the most part, though, Long Way Down is relentless in its pursuit of a teen audience easily won over by a sensitive man-boy who knows his way around a piano. [May 2013, p.75]

Pleiades may not live up to the cerebral promise of its title, but boats songs, in the likes of "Play," "Sunset & Echo," and single "Further." [Sep 2012, p.74]

The sound is low-slung, lugubrious Americana. [Jun 2014, p.76]

There's some shrewd commercial nous behind their retro-wackiness. [Aug 2008, p.85]

Too much of it is lost in homogeneous country balladry more often associated with Trish Yearwood and all the other Nashville guff. A pity, because Moorer's voice is an expressive thing. [Mar 2010, p.94]

Ocean Colour Scene return to remind us that no one loves the mid-'60s beat boom more than they do. [May 2005, p.103]

This four-track mini-album is something of a departure from [previous works, this is] a relatively straightforward, stripped down techno work with a few mischievous touches. [June 2008, p.88]

There are fewer surprises here than on previous offerings, but enough ideas to cement their position as this generation's most creative guitar band. [June 2008, p.90]

Rebel heart almost gets the balance right, but at 19 tracks, most in the industrial party-pop style of cheeseball producers Diplo and Avicii, there's simply too much going on. [Apr 2015, p.78]

There are flashes of grouchy greatness from all three--but only flashes. [Jul 2010, p.115]

Unfortunately, Scouting For Girls occasionally meander out of their depth. [May 2010, p.102]

Spending a little too long in the shallows of pastel-shaded easy-listening minimalism. That said, there are sublimely beautiful and lightly experimental touches here too. [Dec 2019, p.30]

A peculiar take on neo-baroque folk with an utterly contemporary twist. [Apr 2005, p.100]

The songwriting largely delivers. [Dec 2006, p.127]

The inconsistent textures, pace and flow of the album all point to a band still trying to work out who they are. [Feb 2025, p.37]

Accept the general aura of legwarmers and it's fun. [Nov 2009, p.90]

Rather precious in places, but often enchanting. [Oct 2011, p.81]

Patience is required to navigate his smirking in-jokes. [Jan 2017, p.28]

It's essentially Clark in all his acoustic finery. [Nov 2011, p.96]

A stripped-down set of acoustic songs sung in a voice that is sometimes overly winsome but at its best is hauntingly ethereal. [Feb 2019, p.24]

His avuncular, keep-it-moving approach prevents things from getting too deep. [Apr 2017, p.39]

Hampered by Gray's dial-a-diva rasp, Big is nowhere near as good as it should be. [May 2007, p.92]