It's the thickness of these synth textures and the intensity of the sounds that create a thoroughly immersive experience. [Jul 2016, p.78]

Half of a worthy comeback. [Oct 2016, p.25]

Major Stars risk the ridiculous to try and access the sublime, somehow reaching the latter every time. [Jan 2017, p.25]

The band aren't afraid to diversity. [Feb 2017, p.30]

While its faintly folkish, alt.pop songs fail to reveal any feral side to the bassist of Bombay Bicycle Club, they prove his compositional chops while radiating a pleasantly frosted glow. [Mar 2017, p.40]

A more layered dreampop with faux-epic tendencies. [Apr 2017, p.30]

This discreet sense of procession is very much in keeping with Staples' MO on Arrhythmia, be it via the loops and beats of "A New Real" or the hushed calm of the exquisite "Memories Of Love." [Aug 2018, p.35]

Despite the presence of Josh Hager and Jeff Friedl--of Devo's current lineup--ShadowParty never quite eclipse the shadow cast by the band's other two members, Tom Chapman and Phil Cunningham, who bring with them baggage from their New order day jobs. [Sep 2018, p.36]

Across the record's 12 tracks, it's never entirely clear what the group are aiming for: anthemic indie rock by numbers, more introspective songs or something heavier. [Sep 2019, p.26]

A little too polite in places, O'Donnell's piano-and-strings pastorals deepen in gravitas with repeat listens. [May 2020, p.31]

A lachrymose collection of Elvis Costello-rootsy, mid-Atlantic songs expertly constructed but running rather low on stardust. [Jul 2020, p.36]

True, there are covers of Tom Petty's "Christmas All Over Again" and Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)," but it's informed by the general spirit of seasonal holidays, which is as much reflective as celebratory. [Jan 2021, p.23]

While Fagen and co show no interest in wholly reinventing Steely Dan’s most beloved songs, the live setting does add a vital spark to them.

The deviations from the general upbeat mood vary - "Louder" is a clunky if well-meaning protest song, but the melancholy piano-led ballad "Marvelous To Me" is a thing of downbeat beauty. [Mar 2022, p.32]

It's a cryptic approach, to say the least. [Mar 2022, p.31]

The arrangements - as ever - are more Les Misérables than Les Cousins, but her voice and her writing have lost non e of their chandelier sparkle. [Apr 2022, p.26]

There’s a sweet sadness to the end-of-relationship duet with Dave Gahan on “Stop Speaking”, but while the melancholy romantic meditations of other tracks can also be initially intriguing, the songs then lack the peaks and troughs to keep you from disengaging. [Jun 2022, p.29]

TV Priest remain wedded to a very contemporary wading-through-treacle post-punk feel but at times add a little space to the music rather than surrendering to claustrophobia. [Nov 2022, p.38]

These nostalgic confessionals stray into navel-gazing at times, but in a way that feels authentically adolescent. [Sep 2023, p.34]

Even if the orchestrations on their first album together are more sentimental than cinematic, father and son harmonise gloriously, finding new emotions within 20th-century standards. [Review of the Year 2024, p.31]

The mix of prog, neo-classical and folkish influences, with Anderson's flute as ubiquitous as ever, is exactly as you'd expect, yet he has plenty to say of contemporary relevance in songs about Israel ("Over Jerusalem"), climate change ("Savannah Of Paddington Green") and the avarice of politicians ("Dunsinane Hill"). [Apr 2025, p31]

An ambitious collaborative affair showcasing female and non-binary musicians. [Jun 2025, p.33]

This is full of melodies that feel effortless and instantly classic. [Jun 2012, p.83]

The music is mid-paced pummel of snarling electronic bass and beats through which Liam Howlett's nutty synths occasionally sail like a haunted bumper car. [May 2015, p.78]

A palatial record. [Mar 2009, p.89]

The Strange Boys have added some muscle to the general mix. [Dec 2011, p.83]

On first listen, this follow-up is less impressive, but subtle melodies soon sugar the melancholy of 'Glory to the Owlrd' and 'Happiness Won Me over.' [June 2008, p.100]

Gena Olivier's pallid vocals sound frozen stiff rather than disaffectedly cool by the halfway stage. [Feb 2005, p.78]