It's all executed with efficient power, yet the sum is somehow less than its parts. [Jul 2016, p.74]

Plodding covers of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" are gratuitously dull and, somewhat revealingly, the most rewarding tracks are probably Runga's two original compositions, seemingly appended as an after-thought. [Feb 2017, p.27]

Moffat doesn't do much with Mendelssohn's music except to chop it into annoying loops or stretch it out into quivering ambience that lacks the warmth and charm of his previous cut-up efforts. [Jun 2017, p.33]

Musically, it can get a little one-note but there are some terrific moments. [Nov 2020, p.37]

Predictably, Slash is most at home snuck behind Kid Rock and Iggy Pop, and accompanying Lemmy's below on "Doctor's Alibi." [Jun 2010, p.98]

While Roth's delivery is smart, the subject matter can feel like the work of someone playing dumb. [Jul 2009, p.91]

Weirdly, it sounds like a modern-day Alice Cooper album.[May 2018, p.35]

Despite this gaggle of helpers, If I Kill This is a surprisingly muted affair. [May 2015, p.75]

A stodgy production job from Patrick Carney of The Black Keys means his songs tend to blur into one. [Apr 2017, p.26]

These 11 new songs will do little to dispel the view that the band are fatally addicted to self-indulgent navel-gazing, but it's still beautifully recorded, and played with exquisite tact and precision. [May 2007, p.88]

Anyone seeking the funky militancy of The Beatnigs or The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy may be baffled. [Jul 2011, p.82]

The Pigeon Detectives' second in a year smacks of too much haste and too little thought. [June 2008, p.98]

Not only a radio-friendly unit-shifter, but also a bona fide guilty pleasure. [Mar 2009, p.85]

Collecting from 10 years of album offcuts, Death To False Metal will be a treasure chest for the disenchanted. [Jan 2011, p.106]

A mish-mash of tracks from or intended for film soundtracks, is mearly more of the same with added strings. [Sep 2008, p.109]

Not quite criminal, but close. [Jul 2012, p.84]

Much of it signifies nothing. [May 2005, p.96]

If the elastic funk of 'You And Everyone Else' comes as a welcome surprise, put it down to the contribution of underrated backing band South. [Feb 2009, p.85]

Their 2002 debut was a surprising success, but Haunted Cities struggles to repeat the trick. [Sep 2005, p.100]

The result is four meandering tracks. [Feb 2012, p.89]

Still gauche and somewhat silly the Moseley mods continue to rehash the first two Traffic albums expertly. [Mar 2013, p.76]

The poacher has turned into a sophisticated gamekeeper, plotting a course on this fine debut between pulsing cosmic electronics and trippy, after-hours pop. [Apr 2011, p.78]

An in-joke gone horribly wrong. [Jan 2013, p.80]

The funk-noir backing means that Dulli is able to purr lyrics about "sexy ladies", debilitating cocaine habits and your standard-issue emotionally violent love affairs without sounding as trite as he perhaps should. [Mar 2006, p.104]

The blitzkrieg is offset by a vein of black humour, epitomised by Ian Svenonius' hilariously pitiless guest vocal on "Party Line." But as with any military campaign, fatigue eventually sets in. [Aug 2016, p.80]

D.A.R.K's serviceable but derivative electronica frames an unremarkable marshalling of collective talents. [Sep 2016, p.73]

The hooks on tracks like "You'll Carry On Real Nice" are the kind of value-meal stodge that clogged the tail end of Britpop. [Dec 2013, p.66]

Despite Chris Martin's underdeveloped lyrics – "Be an anthem for your times" at least explains his motivation – there's something reassuring in their ham-fisted urge to bring people together. ... Glam-stomper "People Of The Pride" or well-meaning power ballad "Let Somebody Go," and instrumentals harking back to earlier Eno adventures offer pleasant reprieves. [Dec 2021, p.25]