The results are impressive enough, though never totally successful in effecting seamless rapprochement between cultures. [Nov 2011, p.92]

It's a good snapshot of how Hecker approaches such [soundtrack] commissions. But it also suggests there's an occasional paucity of ideas here. [Apr 2025, p.31]

The premise may sound gimmicky and cerebral but the results are mostly playful, poppy and accessible. [Apr 2019, p.32]

While it all sometimes gets a little too soporific, the overall effect is undeniably seductive. [Jun 2017, p.34]

Delivered with conviction and defiance these timely tunes benefit from the input of longtime pal and collaborator Rod Picott. [Jul 2013, p.72]

It's effective, but the lyrics and the slightly mannered vocals never really rise above the level of jokey pastiche. [Sep 2011, p.91]

No less viscerally thrilling [than its predecessor] but pursues a number of ear-bogglingly unlikely paths. [Feb 2005, p.73]

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

Ambient ebb and flow aside, vocals and synth/guitar motifs show Outside as a pp record, while a darkly urgent cover of Bonnie "Prince" Billy's "Strange Form Of Life" provides unexpected topspin. [Nov 2013, p.67]

Gahan is a way off from being a David Sylvian–-but not as far as you might think.

Still square, then, but they're loosening up. [Feb 2008, p.93]

With a new album of the less pop material from these same sessions due later this year, let's hope for some new mutations.

Sinister lyrics flit by almost unnoticed across the music's glistening sheen as Elbrecht hides in plain sight--an impressive conjuring trick that may nevertheless leave you a little cold. [Dec 2010, p.110]

Problematically for a singer-songwriter, Oberst drops personal feelings, wry asides and hip references equally lightly--ultimately, you're disinclined to believe anything he says at all. [Mar 2011, p.85]

A strong and lusty country-punk album placing him in Tom Waits or Neil Young territory. [Nov 2004, p.104]

This is voluminous in length and style. [Feb 2019, p.33]

A stodgy production job from Patrick Carney of The Black Keys means his songs tend to blur into one. [Apr 2017, p.26]

Sometimes this nomadic approach produces some sublime pop, but more often the results are erratic--odd even--but never dull. [May 2018, p.33]

The sound is rather dry, and James Murphy's vocals have sounded stronger, but the different nuances audible in "Us V Them" and "Drunk Girls" make this if not a bang, certainly very far from a whimper. [Jan 2011, p.93]

Weirdly affecting. [Dec 2004, p.151]

Though straining at times under its rhapsodic pretensions, at its best it's an ambitious symphonic spree. [Oct 2005, p.100]

These esoteric pieces sometimes splash around in puddles of flimsy whimsy, but with enough moments of luminous beauty to reward an immersive dip. [May 2026, p.26]

His elegant songcraft often recalls Freddie Mercury.

Their ragged eclecticism is a winning one, taking detours into Ry Cooder slide-country, beat-up folk and starry desert ballads. [Sep 2008, p.98]

Smith has skill and ambition galore, but too often settles for tasteful stupor. [Review of the Year 2023, p.32]

While the dubbed-out "see You When I Want to" nods to ESG, Gentle Grip too often feels more like a limp handshake. [Aug 2020, p.36]

The result is a warm, reto-feeling rendering of his brand of mechanical funk and psychedelic hip hop. We've been here before, but it's still a lovely listen. [May 2009, p.95]

What thesy have done is make the odd generational shift, acknowledging Boston, Steppenwolf, Alice In Chains and The White Stripes in their search for the ultimate cosmic-blues groove, which on 'In The Morning,' they find. [Nov 2009, p.113]