If polished solos from Steve Vai and Keith Emerson detract from the original film's clumsy verite, some lines can still elicit big chuckles. [Aug 2009, p.105]

Delrey loves rock'n'roll, but fuses it with drum machines, vintage synths and mischief. [Jan 2012, p. 84]

Echoes of Conor Oberst abound but the tunes lack the same charm, with even covers of Spacemen 3 (“Sound Of Confusion”) and Townes Van Zandt (“No Place To Fall”) unable to keep ears pricked up. [Dec 2024, p.37]

A jumbled record that veers from Screamadelica nostalgia to wobbly Bontempi soul to hushed acid-folk without ever quite finding a sound of its own. [Apr 2016, p.79]

Keys hasn't the charisma to indulge in the inter-song banter here, which breaks up any soulful flow that might develop despite her sharp, hectoring vocals. [Jan 2006, p.108]

The Rifles' standard formula is cliche-ridden but effective. [Dec 2011, p.95]

The inclusio0n of a live concert DVD from 2005 add some roughness but no reason not to just go out and buy whichever Sting albums you already like. [Nov 2011, p.98]

The uncluttered folk-rock arrangements and a voice that has acquired a richer Patina since her '90s country hits contribute to the loveliest and most profound album of her career. [Sep 2012, p.74]

A considerably more fully formed affair, rich in texture and atmosphere, though reprising Familial's aura of downbeat anxiety. [Nov 2014, p.83]

Conor O'Brien's luminous, emotionally resonant songs suit the warmth and intimacy of a live setting. [Feb 2016, p.84]

The lyrics seem to be obsessed with mortality and the effect it has on families. [Feb 2018, p.23]

Songs remain huge, sitting just the right side of overblown, ornate but never delicate, as if hewn from stainless steel. [Feb 2009, p.93]

Empire arrives with the same frazzled mien as Oasis' What's The Story (Morning Glory); alive with paranoia, delivered with an unshakeable self-belief. It's relentless stuff. [Sep 2006, p.80]

It's all very well intended, but seldom rises above the superficial. [Dec 2008, p.108]

Several of the songs seem performed out of affection rather than any sense of artistic adventure. [May 2007, p.90]

Guests Toy do their best to push things forward, but their propulsive ways merely emphasise Zeffira's absent voice. [Jan 2013, p.83]

A Thousand Mazes almost transcends its influences. Almost. [May 2011, p.91]

It's a savvy and sweetly skewed set. [Jun 2015, p.73]

Confirms Momus as a laptop Tom Lehrer. [Jun 2005, p.102]

It's craftily composed, and on individual tracks like "24-25," sparely beautiful but cumulatively lacking some of the spice of their side-projecvct affairs. [Nov 2009, p.90]

Essentially this is Korn returning to their familiar discomfort zone. [Dec 2013, p.70]

A sentimental indulgence destined for a theme-pub half-life. [Nov 2002, p.114]

Delivered via rolling, thunderous rhythms--part Can, part Black Sabbath--moody synths and mournfully melodic guitar, using the slow-build-to-explosion method. [Apr 2004, p.91]

Impressively pretentious, and brilliantly executed. [Dec 2003, p.126]

Elsewhere, sluggish excursions in ambient pop and a commitment to melancholia that borders on the opppressive suggests that all those years grasping at the advertising dollar have left a taint of bland that won't scrub off. [Aug 2009, p.96]

His 2012 debut Silent Congas was somewhat piecemeal, but I Need New Eyes feels more developed, less contrived. [Nov 2015, p.76]

Much here feels underdeveloped. [Jan 2015, p.71]

This electronic pop set mostly convinces. [Nov 2016, p.31]