Comes closer to capturing their arse-shaking live performances than any of its predecessors. [Jul 2006, p.104]

Hymns sounds refreshed. [Feb 2016, p.73]

An uninspired outfit played into a corner. [Mar 2015, p.73]

It reprises their indie-modified take on panoramic, heartland rock and synth-pop, though with little emotional impact and no clear intent. [Jun 2025, p.30]

The music... has become a too-clean version of their state's patented, tumbledown take on Stonesy power-pop. [Sep 2006, p.97]

A valuable addition to his catalogue: the most consistent and sympathetically constructed solo album he's made. [Jul 2004, p.96]

Mine Is Yours is the sound of a band itching to make their breakthrough. [Feb 2011, p.81]

Ghostface is still, occasionally, a force to be reckoned with on the mic. but Set The Tone feels unworthy of his talents. [Aug 2024, p.34]

At best this sees them hold their own. [Jul 2006, p.101]

[The cover of Jason Isbell's "Dress Blues"] is nevertheless the best thing on Jekyll + Hyde, which plunges to a wretched nadir on "Heavy Is the Head." [Oct 2015, p.73]

The pappy, throwaway nature of the tunes undermines any serious intent. [Oct 2006, p.124]

Talk of Simpatico as the band's Sandinista! is, in truth, wide of the mark. It's better seen as a footpath linking the claustrophobia of their early work with the Black Country funk of Wonderland, while hinting at a way forward. [May 2006, p.124]

Mostly, though, Morrisette succumbs to her dual predilections for quasi-spirituality and stultifying sappiness. [Oct 2012, p.84]

As an oasis of calm in a world of noise and chaos, it's easy to understand her appeal. [Jan 2006, p.114]

Too much of this lacks the urgent life of previous outings. [Nov 2011, p.89]

It's probably fair to say that Super Furry Animals would not have had such excellent run were their creative impulses not balanced perfectly between poignant songcraft and archaic weirdness. On The Terror of Cosmic Loneliness, however, we find Gruff Rhys indulging rather heavily in the latter. [Sep 2010, p.101]

It might work as visual theatre, but as an album, it's horribly relentless. [Jun 2016, p.71]

His elegant songcraft often recalls Freddie Mercury.

The Enemy's trademark enormity--not to mention their rampant tunefulness--lifts this out of the ladrock morass. [Jul 2009, p.86]

It's hard to find anything out of the ordinary here beyond the usual blend of angst rock and stadium bombast. [Aug 2013, p.69]

The new material, with some exceptions, lacks spark and flair, having a sense of anti-climax about it. [Aug 2002, p.106]

Moroder's first album in 30 years consists largely of generic pop-dance. [Jul 2015, p.80]

Their literate, grandly melancholic '80s-influenced rock rarely transcends familiar reference points, but Lou Hill is a passionate, distinctive vocalist. [Apr 2011, p.103]

The album runs out of steam halfway through as the songs become over-reliant on the production and Nat veers off into Dido territory. [Dec 2001, p.106]

It's strangely joyless. [Jun 2007, p.115]

The 23-year-old Valley girl's sonically lurid and brash, (supposedly) autobiographical debut may boast production heavyweights like Benny Blancoi, but her witless, cranked-to-11 stridency recalls Kelly Clarkson and Avril Lavigne rather than Pink or Britney. [May 2010, p.94]

Their fourth album amps up the synths-and-beats side of their new wave Scandi-rock aesthetic, with broadly positive results. [Jul 2011, p.94]

They haven't downsized: the rock is (well played) bog-standard retro, but themes cover Guantanamo and the afterlife. Amid the Dylan raps and Yardbirds licks (and if The Charlatans made this, they'd be garlanded) there's a welcome sense that they're smartly chuckling at themselves.