An album of hope and humour and beauty, Phantom Power is frequently as deep and mysterious as the title intimates. [Aug 2003, p.100]

Perhaps creative stasis might have proved more rewarding. [Aug 2003, p.99]

Sunny funk pours from most tracks, veiling the odd lyric about single moms, and the slowies are lit by noble torches. [Jun 2003, p.104]

An overload of genre hopping and exotic finery swamps whatever attracted all the heavyweight talent to her in the first place. [Aug 2003, p.108]

As instantly addictive as it is disposable. [Nov 2003, p.108]

This is surely one of the most magical pop albums of 2003. [Sep 2003, p.112]

The vast majority of it still sounds like what it was: cerebral, bloodless 'dance' music for junkies, the kind of posturing Gotham tripe we used to describe as "atonal" and "angular." [Aug 2003, p.120]

Strangely compelling. [Oct 2003, p.124]

Imagine a jam session between King Crimson, Fugazi and '70s Miles. Now imagine it working. That's the Mars Volta. [Aug 2003, p.98]

All told, a class act still in their prime. [Sep 2003, p.97]

His most towering achievement to date. [Aug 2003, p.114]

This is turgid, formulaic guff. [Nov 2003, p.114]

Things degenerate into a dreary stream of self-pitying/self-mythologising ballads. [Sep 2003, p.106]

An extremely moving and potentially radical record. [Sep 2003, p.99]

A mixed offering, then, from a band still searching, albeit interestingly, for their own centre. [Oct 2002, p.102]

While nothing new, a hypnotic hum and gently insistent melody sees them through. [Aug 2003, p.102]

13 avant-pop gems evocative of Pere Ubu and Talking Heads. [Jun 2003, p.96]

Refines their grandiose panoramics via electronic gurgles and glitches. [Jul 2003, p.111]

Saloon's light touch makes a strong impact. Wonderful. [Aug 2003 p.104]

There's much to admire in the fretwork of [Darren] Rademaker and Ben Knight, too, joining the dots between Johnny Marr, Roger McGuinn and Felt's Maurice Deebank to underpin the hooks with sun-blonde crispness. [Jul 2003, p.116]

Very much string-drenched business as usual: sometimes lovely, sometimes perilously close to self-parody. [Jul 2003, p.129]

Deeply disappointing. [Jul 2003, p.114]

Subtlety with Skynyrd chops. [Dec 2003, p.117]

There's a slight tiredness about the new album. It's too laid back to grab the attention, which must scan closer for clues. [Jul 2003, p.116]

They're diminished by trying to touch too many bases, often lapsing into sub-Oasis stodge. [Oct 2003, p.114]

It's a compelling psychological study set to lovely tunes. [Jul 2003, p.114]

She's still a class act. [Jul 2003, p.118]

For all its muddied textures and sideways lurches, it is a magnificently engaging and expansive work. [Jul 2003, p.112]