It probably made for a more interesting theatrical experience than it does standalone album, but if the form--expressive, exaggerated musical drama--is a bit unfamiliar, then Albarn's insidious tunes are not. [Oct 2008, p.101]

"You And Your Heart" tries to kick out the jams, but in the most polite fashion imaginable. He's at his best on more familiar ground of the mid-tempo chug "Red Wine, Mistakes, Mythology." [Aug 2010, p.84]

An occasionally excellent but disjointed album. [Jun 2012, p.71]

"Comic" interludes like "Tie My Pecker To A Tree" lose them a point, but electronic-strafed epic "I Told You I Was Crazy" shows these proto-grundge "three dumbasses" have interests beyond neolithic riffing. [Dec 2013, p.70]

Highlights dim somewhat, though, with the earnest and/or bombastic originals on the album's second half. [Jan 2015, p.78]

Oh! Mighty Engine is typically whimsical, low key and surprisingly touching (when you can make out what he is singing). [Oct 2008, p.90]

What Harper's over-educated style can't replicate is his heroes' blazing souls. [Apr 2006, p.114]

It might be playful, and it might be versatile, but however light-hearted it may sound initially, it ends up sounding serious.

Idlewild throw together plenty of ideas--without much cohesion. [May 2019, p.29]

No range of light here, just a wan glow that denies the need for shade. [Apr 2014, p.71]

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

The effect [sung wordlessly, a cappella, with a multi-tracked choir humming the arrangements] is initially comic but soon becomes utterly mesmeric. [Mar 2013, p.72]

The fuzz-heavy pop-punk he was making back then still echoes loudly here but by connecting with producer Dave Sitek, the material also sounds crisper. [Sep 2021, p.35]

'Black Suit' has a glimpse of where we might be had the Pixies never splintered. Elsewhere, though, the lyrics lack the ingenuity of Black's best, and Clarke's synth work feels like an awkward fit. [Mar 2009, p.86]

While sticking well within their comfort zone, electro-pop veterans Vince Clarke and Andy Bell sound a little more restrained and reflective than usual on their 17th studio album. [Jun 2017, p.28]

Happily her rugged individuality matches up to the grandstanding platform. [Oct 2013, p.71]

Bachmann's gruff uniformity is, in the end, difficult to love. [Dec 2006, p.101]

Welcome To... is impressive rather than truly loveable. [Aug 2009, p.102]

It's one of the most straight-up enjoyable records they've put out in a long time. [May 2011, p.88]

Humility and sobriety suits a band who have never sounded more fresh and alive. [May 2013, p.73]

The result is a provocative and sensual album. [Sep 2013, p.90]

An odd mix, maybe, but a believable one. [Mar 2017, p.31]

The second half of this compilation, thoughtfully assembled by Gotye's Wally De Backer, features Perrey demonstrating the range of the Ondioline's sonority with 10-second clips of him mimicking a banjo, castanets, oboe and so on, restored from the original acetate. The first half collects 11 of Perrey's more conventional Ondioline compositions from the '50s and '60s. [Aug 2017, p.48]

Strikingly, Stevens' craggy baritone is virtually identical 50 years later; but whereas in 1970 he sounded prematurely aged, hearing him now we can't help but envision that innocent, introspective 22-year-old. [Oct 2020, p.39]

A nifty wordsmith whose drawled delivery complements the menace of his woozy productions. [Aug 2012, p.80]

Kweller keeps his melodies clean and his arrangements simple, frequently teaming pedal steel or dobro with his acoustic guitar. [Mar 2009, p.91]

The pair have come up with a finely crafted album that blurs the line between shoegaze, indie pop and goth-rock, and is as assured as it is atmospheric. [Dec 2014, p.69]

Americanized rock'n'roll that sounds as modern as it does vintage 1970s and effortlessly blends AC/DC riffage, Fleetwood Mac AOR and White Stripes punk-blues pyrotechnics. [Mar 2012, p.79]