A beguiling mix made more loveable by its melancholic core. [Aug 2006, p.100]

A great album but, compared to their live shows, this is like listening to a circus. [Aug 2006, p.100]

The raw poetic facade occasionally cracks, but there is something special here. [Mar 2006, p.88]

Initially seems more listener-friendly than Volume 1... [but] Congotronics remains radical listening. [Jan 2006, p.125]

At their best when strings and horns--even a sousaphone--let some air flood through a dense mix, they could even be an American Supergrass in waiting. [Sep 2006, p.89]

Beneath their limpid surfaces, Mark "E" Everett's songs are volatile dollops of emotional explosive. [Mar 2006, p.98]

While often inscrutable, it's seldom boring. [Jun 2006, p.110]

A self-indulgent but sporadically compelling mess. [Jan 2006, p.102]

It's an odd confection, part digitally-lush Spector-pop, part Dido-esque thirtysomething ennui. [Feb 2006, p.68]

Some occasional local-band lyricism proves to be an Achilles Heel. [Sep 2005, p.108]

A warm, subtle set of midtempo cruisers. [May 2006, p.114]

Mullins is a solid, occasionally platitudinous songwriter whose rustic tales don't approach the wry, wise gifts of similar artists like Johns Prine and Hiatt. [Mar 2006, p.88]

As primers go, it's close to definitive. [Mar 2006, p.112]

A career milestone. [Mar 2006, p.91]

Mileage left in the gag yet. [Apr 2005, p.108]

Without altering her style drastically, Orton has broadened her approach on what is her most accomplished record to date. [Mar 2006, p.94]

A bunch of amazing songs that combine the passion of early Sinead O'Connor with the craft of Christine McVie. [Jan 2005, p.124]

Their best effort yet. [Mar 2006, p.102]

Hard not to admire his audacity as much as his ear for a great drivetime radio riff.

His cluttered beatscapes suggest random sounds in search of a meaning. [Mar 2006, p.103]

The 'contemporary classical' tag doesn't do justice to their cinematic, intense instrumental narratives. [Mar 2006, p.104]

Collett's debut album reveals him as an alt.country confessionalist akin to Paul Westerberg. [Apr 2006, p.108]

His home-recorded approach reaches imaginatively beyond glossy pastiche. [Mar 2006, p.90]

Recall[s] the tin-pot vigour and gutsy emotional bite of... Guided By Voices. [Mar 2006, p.94]

The occasional ordinary moment confirms a suspicion that Sway only really excels when he's playing the comic foil. [Mar 2006, p.88]

This is a cool dance album... but Tiga lacks that all-important 'X factor'. [Mar 2006, p.100]

If Saint Etienne are finally growing up, this wistful adulthood becomes them. [Jul 2005, p.96]

It's primitive, geezerish stuff but lacks, say, the finesse and humour of contemporary Mike Skinner's work. [Oct 2005, p.112]