This kind of hackneyed loungecore grammar sometimes sounds timeless and inspired, of course, but Adamson has a tendency to crowd routine melodies with superfluous guitars and clumsy beats. [Oct 2002, p.102]

The combination of tinkling pianos, gutsy strum and homespun wisdom places this very much in the middle of the road. [Apr 2004, p.92]

Gomez's clattering eclecticism has won endless plaudits, but now seems like a red herring when their exploratory approach remains fixated on Dixieland, Seventies soul and hip hop. [Apr 2002, p.100]

It's a concept album about vengeance and contempt, and reminds that they're one of the only UK bands of their era still worth following. [June 2008, p.86]

Exhilarating or jarring, depending on taste. [Dec 2016, p.26]

The band remains essentially the same. ... Back then it was exhilarating. Now it's also a little exhausting. [Aug 2017, p.26]

In truth, though, there's not too much here to alarm the undergraduate population.

Dense and challenging, with an unmistakable humanist undertow, ...Snow is a riveting trip. [Nov 2009, p.90]

The high concept here is a paean to the ancient Greeks, inspired by the derring-do of gods and heroes: "Diana By My Side" and the breakbeaty "Mars" are suitably Elysian. [Jan 2017, p.28]

Gonjasufi's nervous energy makes MU.ZZ.LE strangely soothing. [Feb 2012, p.86]

The sound of two talented men messing around and letting off steam in a studio. Much livelier than Tunng. [Jul 2016, p.81]

The lustrous "In Your Light" alone should see his name on billboards. [Mar 2012, p.87]

These are songs all at once cavernous and claustrophobic, substantially assembled from gloomy electronica and echoing drums, all of which provides an appropriate backdrop to a rich voice appealingly laced with melancholy. [Oct 2017, p.30]

T Bone's unfussy production is key, allowing Bingham's rusted voice to take stage centre. [Oct 2010, p.89]

At 14 tracks, what begins as a demonstration of impressive ambition ends up dragging. [Apr 2011, p.78]

The Liquid "I'm Turning Inside Out" and lyrically unsettling, Bon Iver-ish "Shine A Light On Him" are standouts in a quietly haunting set. [Aug 2016, p.83]

Trad ballads, Americana and well-chosen contemporary folk covers mix with smart original compositions sung in a plaintive voice, while his virtuoso finger-piking is augmented by splashes of electric in a style clearly modeled on Richard Thompson. [Oct 2017, p.39]

Significantly more wonderful than it is frightening. [Oct 2017, p.24]

It's a sequence of long, ambitious, noirish, trip-hoppy soundscapes narrated by Burnett on what sounds like a phone line from hell. [May 2019, p.24]

It's an elegant yet earthy hybrid of jazz, UK soul and highlife. [Mar 2021, p.35]

This is a coherent set of transformative reveries by an older, less angry man. [Jan 2022, p.31]

This recurring tendency to grandiosity is especially frustrating given that less is generally more throughout the album. [Nov 2022, p.35]

Bob Dylan brings a smoothly elegant croon to Ray Noble's 1930s standard "The Very Thought Of You" one of his strongest ever vocal performances. Paul McCartney, meanwhile, largely plays second fiddle on the self-penned "My Valentine". [Aug 2025, p.37]

Sun Gong is minimal in the extreme, its two sides entirely dedicated to the eerie resonance of an electronically treated gong. [Nov 2017, p.30]

It's bookended by two tracks that pastiche liquid funk and jungle with such faithfulness they might seem pointless to anyone but nostalgic former ravers, but in between there's much to love. [Jan 2012, p.104]

There's little that veers from the template but it's largely done well. [Apr 2013, p.72]

The Los Angeles MC-producer hasn't yet made a definitive record. Cherry Bomb isn't it either, but its chaos is invigorating. [Jul 2015, p.83]

Song structures are over-egged, resulting in blunted hooks and lost momentum. [Dec 2019, p.25]