The resultant 37-minute piece is atypical of wither band's work, aiming for something more freeform. And meandering.... Still, when it hinges together, Words absolves itself. [Dec 2014, p.80]

While they are at their most comfortable when laying down the ZZ Top meets Black Flag hardcore boogie of 'Skull Socks and Rope Shoes,' it's difficult not to be charmed by their wit, style and salute to Southern rock. [Sep 2008, p.89]

Finn remains an astute and supremely compassionate songwriter, but musically, New War is often mellow to the point of lethargic. It's best when it showcases his deep eccentricities. [May 2019, p.27]

These tracks feel less like performances than private reveries on which the listener eavesdrops. [Aug 2006, p.108]

Odds and sods, then, but not without appeal. [Jan 2008, p.101]

A solo album that sounds like a series of song sketches. [Feb 2009, p.89]

Much of the rest, alas, suggests a gift not for clairvoyance but invisibility. [May 2011, p.94]

An adventurous solo outing. [Oct 2002, p.112]

Throughout, his mellowness of tone is the album's defining feature. Miraculously, thanks to the minutiae of the arrangements, it's a sound that never becomes one dimensional. [Oct 2009, p.96]

So while it can get a bit too diffuse and self consciously complex, when the quartet breaks into something gorgeous (like the joyous tagliatelle of guitars that wriggles and wrinkles through "Uda Hah") you'll suspend your cynicism. [Jan 2010, p. 124]

Within And Without charts a familiar shimmery beachscape between Julee Cruise and Lynchpop, early OMD and Slowdive. A couple tracks emerge from the haze. [Aug 2011, p.89]

Merritt's pure voice is mostly accompanied by gentle piano on a set of songs that ultimately lack the fire of her earlier work. [June 2008, p.100]

The new line up and improved prodution give songs more space, but haven't hindered the jaunty, lo-fi, eclectic iindie that made "Moonbeams" such a treat. [Sep 2009, p.101]

Outbursts takes them full circle, back to their salad days as a melodic, acoustic folk-pop duo on simple, ringing, uplifting songs such as "Sea Change," "never Stops" and "Will Power," while the Radiohead-influenced "Radio Silence" hint at a grander ambition. [Apr 2010, p.106]

The songs--period pieces, admirably researched--lack that spark that turns pastiche into profundity. [Dec 2015, p.73]

North Star Deserter is among his finest, sublimating Chesnutt's occasional tendency to cloying whimsy in gothic folk backdrops. [Oct 2007, p.87]

Some good, powerful rock songs aside, this is a strange, honest, but not altogether convincing way to go out. [Mar 2018, p.32]

It's appealing stuff--Lil Wayne is a fan--while the pair's wit suggests they'll continue to stay ahead of the critical curve. [Sep 2008, p.85]

All round, the party vibe oozes self-confidence. [Dec 2010, p.90]

Too many tracks are still founded on tiresome conceits. [Apr 2012, p.81]

Once the shock subsides, it's quite charming. [Apr 2011, p.89]

Singer Orlando Weeks' new themes of intimacy and dependence, add emotional scope to a band blossoming from their spindly beginnings into a meaty prospect capable of doing goth XTC, jolly Joy Divisiion, and sword-dancing Strokes. [Jun 2009, p.92]

Once you get over the initial shock of Kelis' raw-throated take on country-rock on "Friday Fish Fry," the culinary theme becomes another ingredient that never quite blends into a tasty dish. [May 2014, p.76]

Signals a further burst of creativity, suggesting there are still great things to come from the Australian Lennon & McCartney. [Jul 2002, p.123]

While there are still some occasional bright spots, it never quite regains its earlier momentum. [Aug 2012, p.69]

Three of the 10 R&B covers he's recorded before, while the five original compositions faithfully plough his familiar tropes. [Oct 2017, p.35]

Their syrupy soft-rock instrumentals, here in abundance, stacked like fluffy breakfast pancakes, are moreishly, but the gimmick wear thin pretty quickly. [Aug 2015, p.78]

Basar is marred by a couple of misguided forays into coffee-table trip-hop, but when Africaine 808 aim for the dancefloor, they usually hit the spot. [Feb 2016, p.71]