Favours artifice over aptitude. [Apr 2003, p.122]

The results are risible but the joke is no longer funny. [Feb 2003, p.77]

The results sound as if Corgan plundered a few moves from Dave Grohl, since the songs keep one boot in heavy metal but mostly get straight to the point while piling on the hooks and harmonies. [Mar 2003, p.95]

All albums are vanity projects, but this vanity may be in vain. [Feb 2003, p.76]

In just over 35 minutes, the Bonnie Prince's mastery of form, blend of gentle awe and trembling sweetness are distilled to their essence. [Album of the Month, Feb 2003, p.74]

It all sounds like The Beta Band swapping confrontation for contentment. [Apr 2002, p.93]

The Fine Art of Self Destruction is one of those amazing records that appear seemingly out of nowhere... that within a couple of plays sound already like something you've been listening to for years. [Album of the Month, Dec 2002, p.128]

Slow-shifting movements and droning textures show McCombs choosing familiarity over fresh adventures. [Feb 2003, p.75]

A worthy West Coast counterpart to El-P's superb Fantastic Damage. [Apr 2003, p.108]

The Delgados have made a fine follow-up to 2000's The Great Eastern. Problem is, it's the same album, more or less. [Nov 2002, p.115]

It's very fine, glowing with an oblique, poppy sensibility that's theirs alone. [Jan 2003, p.127]

A stew of funk noir and mashed-up rhythms--a little too mashed-up at times. [Dec 2002, p.130]

Less obviously 'loops and samples' oriented than their previous work, Can You See The Music? neatly navigates an electronic/organic interface. [Feb 2003, p.82]

Illumination is already being described by the Weller massive as the best solo album of his career. You'll hear few arguments with that from this corner. [Oct 2002, p.118]

This is mostly a sombre affair. [Mar 2003, p.106]

To be filed alongside the Root's recent Phrenology. [Mar 2003, p.95]

With its innocently poignant synth melodies and fragile guitar arpeggios, You Win Again Gravity is redolent of the flashes of true beauty that the style's original practitioners sought back in the glory days. [Dec 2002, p.151]

Evil Heat doesn't exactly break new ground and often amounts to, strictly speaking, little more than pastiche. [Aug 2002, p.104]

As unoriginal as his previous five, yet still entertaining. [Mar 2003, p.106]

He treads a line between loving monogamy and club bangers, emphasising accessibility throughout. [Jan 2003, p.128]

Thankfully, Phrenology is more therapy than quack science. [Feb 2003, p.86]

This time around, Grammy-bagging mixer Tchad Blake has replace T-Bone Burnett as producer and brought added intimacy without sacrificing dreamy magnetism. [Sep 2002, p.103]

Although brass and strings add muscle, a certain monotony creeps in towards the end. And there aren't enough strong tunes from the least melodically facile Beatle. [Dec 2002, p.134]

Less startling than its predecessor Ft Lake, but it's still a brave departure for a 4AD band previously synonymous with ethereal whimsy. [Nov 2002, p.118]

As powerfully evocative as a French arthouse flick. [Sep 2002, p.116]

The arrangements... are ambitious and richly textured, producing work that rewards repeated listening. [Jan 2003, p.117]

A rockabilly Jesus And Mary Chain. [Mar 2003, p.114]

A brilliant fusion of no-wave disco, dub-punk, early Factory aesthetics and post-rock technique. [Dec 2002, p.134]