Amounts to a consolidation rather than a progression. [Jun 2005, p.97]

As a mature statement by someone who's done it all, but still retains a desire to create something new and fresh, Mighty Rearranger is a record of considerable depth, admirable adventure and surprising passion. [May 2005, p.110]

A highly original band in its prime. [Jun 2005, p.107]

The guitars still kick, but charm is thin on the ground. [Jul 2005, p.89]

Whereas The Thrills' second album fizzled commercially because of an increasingly arch knowingness which many found alienating, Hal--perfectionists, eschewing irony--keep the envelope taut, the air fresh. [May 2005, p.106]

The intensity builds relentlessly. [Jun 2005, p.102]

Certainly worth investigation. [Jun 2005, p.102]

A return to form, if not a career-redefining masterpiece. [Jul 2005, p.107]

It's only the Can-meets-Canned-Heat avant-boogie of "Bees" and "Barnowl" that escape a sense of academic contrivance. [May 2005, p.95]

The band sounds re-energised by an idea of the city, the marketplace, pop ambition. [May 2005, p.102]

Songs unfold as complex relationships, with attendant euphoria, doubt and internal demons. [May 2005, p.112]

It's hard to shake the feeling that this return to decay-drenched digital rock is the sound of Reznor playing to the gallery. [Jun 2005, p.97]

Bridges high- and low-brow without ever being anything less than exhilarating. [Jul 2005, p.99]

The territory--dark skies, open roads and femme fatales--gives a gothic edge to even the most tender sentiment. [Aug 2005, p.98]

Although less immediately catchy, Celebration Castle... soon warms up. [Jul 2005, p.94]

That it works at all is thanks to a dense, cartoonish production that sees dusty breaks. found sounds and snippets of conversation tossed together like the contents of an upturned toy box. [Jul 2005, p.96]

If nothing here is quite touched by the hand of God, then maybe it's all the more engagingly human. [Apr 2005, p.104]

Intermittently funny and never depressing, this confirms him among America's greats. [May 2005, p.108]

The sweet '70s AM harmonies sometimes sugar the pill too much, but there's no mistaking its artfully bitter taste. [Jun 2005, p.110]

While [Tom Joad] was often more like reading a book than listening to a record, this time Springsteen has struck a more natural balance between words and music. [Jun 2005, p.100]

The further [Darnielle] drifts from his lo-fi allegiances and into lush studio environments, the more autobiography intersects with the dramatic storytelling which has always been the Californian's forte. [Jun 2005, p.98]

These are great, clever, slovenly rock songs. [May 2005, p.95]

It's disappointing that nothing else on the record even enters the same solar system [as "1 Thing"]. [Aug 2005, p.92]

THe good stuff is terrific. [Mar 2005, p.104]

Unlike their many imitators, Autechre's music refuses to relax, ensuring them a longer radioactive half-life. [May 2005, p.106]

It's plenty funky, just less in-your-face and with a disco polish. [May 2005, p.103]

The likes of "22 Days" and "Devil In Me" exist in a world where only John Lee Hooker and The Stooges have ever made records.

Tries hard to add a few hues absent from Matchbox 20's colourless rock. [Jul 2005, p.90]