Martyn's voice has taken a few knocks, but the weathered quality adds character. [May 2014, p.77]

Some of it sounds like coffee-shop background fodder. [Apr 2006, p.96]

Musically, affairs lack Manson's customary anthemic poise, but tracks like "Heart-Shaped Glasses" draw on Berlin-era Bowie and Iggy's The Idiot with brooding panache. [Jul 2007, p.107]

The diversity here is testament to the sheer scope of his [Leon Russell's] writing. [Oct 2023, p.37]

It's ambitious, triumphantly executed stuff--melodically, lyrically, Tim Oxley-Rice is a vastly superior songsmith to Chris Martin--and will doubtless shortly be inescapable. But you can't shake the dispiriting feeling it might have all been expressly commissioned by Dave Cameron for the opening night of London 2012.

What Labyrinthes lacks in instant anthems, it makes up for in rich melodies, grand orchestration, and blooming arrangements, that stop short of bombast. [Jun 2009, p.92]

It's edgeless, overly polite, and arranged within an inch of its life. There's little room to move. [Apr 2015, p.71]

Fun, if inessential. [Aug 2011, p.93]

They're now coming across as though they're seriously indecisive, unable to take their upbeat dance-punk to its extremes. Tellingly, As If takes off when the group remove their vocals from centrestage. [Nov 2015, p.69]

Harvey maybe a bit too in love with a crunchy delay/distortion footswitch combo, but the likes of "Space Monkeys," he and his younger guys make a creditable, spacey blues. [Jan 2017, p.27]

Now in ihis late sixties, Miller's white soul voice and economical guitar-playing still pack a punch, while veteran R&B singer Sonny Charles assists with some well-placed harmonies. [Aug 2010, p.88]

It's hard to imagine anyone but the previously committed fan will be signing up here. [Sep 2010, p.99]

While the material is frequently just serviceable, the arrangements are inspired thanks to the virtuosic interplay of JaRon Marshall's gilded piano, Brendan Bond's percolating basslines and Quesada's sizzling solos. [Dec 2023, p.27]

There are flashes of thrilling chaos but all too often they are contained and subdued by fussy programming.

This, the follow-up to his lo-fi 2010 debut Learning is a dark business. [Mar 2012, p.97]

Spinnerette sees the former Distillers leader at the head of a band not dissimilar to that run by her husband, Josh Homme. [Jul 2009, p.101]

Ringo Deathstarr here reveal their maxi-cranked, MBV/Jesus and Mary Chain adoration in full. [March 2011, p. 99]

Attention Please sits at the softer end of the spectrum, a melodic set showcasing the sultry vocals of guitarist Wata. [Jul 2011, p.79]

Tracks such as "Where Ya Going?" and "Chicken Out"... make them sound like Southport's answer to ZZ Top. But there's plenty more going on that doesn't involve such dumbing-down. [Jul 2004, p.107]

Luckily he's such a gifted performer that, even if you don't know what he's saying, you kind of know what he means. [Feb 2005, p.76]

Though often pretty rather than memorable, there's enough vibrancy here to outlast the summer. [Jul 2005, p.90]

"Turn Your Heart Back On" shows the pair can still cut it when the moment is right. [May 2026, p.33]

It's bookended by two tracks that pastiche liquid funk and jungle with such faithfulness they might seem pointless to anyone but nostalgic former ravers, but in between there's much to love. [Jan 2012, p.104]

An occasionally frustrating listen, but never a dull one. [Apr 2017, p.28]

Kin still sounds like the work of a clued-up hipster who doesn't particularly like the grimly effective pop songs that she's able to write. [Oct 2016, p.40]

The fact that Feathers never really goes anywhere is beside the point. [May 2005, p.106]

Swans' Michael Gira and Douglas J. McCarthy of Nitzer Ebb sound very much at home. ... Elsewhere, more experimental link-ups slow the tempo, but create some intriguing collisions. [Apr 2017, p.23]

Its muted feel is accented by folk-blues tones that rarely break out of a shuffle, enlivened only by some buzzing electric guitar cameos by guests including Johnny Depp and Bob Mould. [Mar 2015, p.84]