Brisk playing compensates for some unremarkable songs. [Sep 2002, p.103]

There's exhilaration amid the despondency, as powerful songs and a light, shoegazey sheen means they frequently soar. [Sep 2002, p.111]

The collection not only shows the unexpected range of Gano's songwriting ability, but leaves you humming and wanting more. [Oct 2002, p.104]

Bright, socially and emotionally engaged, justifiably righteous in places, and not quite the right sort of fun for the New York scenesters. [Oct 2002, p.104]

The melodic facility and phrasing are as elegant as we have come to expect. [Sep 2002, p.118]

What continually redeems this acid flashback to a more well-meaning era is its endlessly metamorphosing soundscape, its kaleidoscope washes of virtual psychedelia. [Oct 2002, p.101]

This chiming indie-folk LP is uncluttered and cohesive. [July 2002, p.118]

As a cross-generational experiment, Kissin' Time works. [Apr 2002, p.110]

Heap has a breathtaking voice, somewhere between the languid tones of Beth Orton and the pop sweetness of Dido. [Oct 2002, p.104]

Spewing more words per inch than an IRS vault, the effect is like primal scream therapy set to incidental music. [Oct 2002, p.101]

Reaffirms their status as masters of white heat smoulder, turning down the amps but heightening the ravaged intensity.... A career high. [Oct 2002, p.119]

Miss Fortune is her least mainstream album to date and finds her moving delightfully nearer the terrain occupied by sister Shelby Lynne. [Sep 2002, p.114]

Will prove a delight to punters pursuing a Best Madchester Compilation Ever! as long as they forget The Stone Roses ever existed, and assume Morrissey came from another planet. [May 2002, p.116]

At their best, Orton's songs do achieve what Daybreaker sets out to achieve--a sense of watching the dawn rise, all hyper and half awake from having been up all night arguing, making love or simply conversing intensely. [Sep 2002, p.108]

A brave and beautiful album of humanity, hurt and hope from the songwriter best qualified to speak to and for his country.... A towering achievement. [Album of the Month, Sep 2002, p.102]

A return that is as warmly welcome as it is wholly unexpected. [Oct 2002, p.122]

The entire album sounds as if it was made to be heard on a Fifties jukebox rather than a state-of-the-art super-audio digital system. [Sep 2002, p.112]

Revolverlution is part-skewed retrospective and part-flawed experiment. [Jan 2003, p.126]

A fine collection and a lesson in dignified maturity from which all former rock gods could learn. [Aug 2002, p.115]

The Vines' place in the rock gene pool is shaped by elements of controlled guitar thrash, often complex harmony, bubblegum psychedelia and polished piano-driven ballads with an early Seventies whiff. [Aug 2002, p.116]

Even by their standards, Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots is astonishing.... Plainly, this is music abnormally alive with possibilities. [Album of the Month, Aug 2002, p.96]

The entire album is a beauty.... The most adventurous album of their career. [Aug 2002, p.110]

Some of her best singing in years. [Sep 2002, p.114]

Like recent Tindersticks albums, these ballads need time and attention before sounding tailor-made for misery. [July 2002, p.103]

Every one of these 15 songs is a perfectly-crafted masterclass in great American songwriting. [Aug 2002, p.99]

By The Way presents a band who have mellowed and matured with unusual benefits to their music. [Sep 2002, p.118]

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

This album will appeal equally to hard house and handbag crowds alike. [May 2002, p.113]