With a bit of self-pruning, a bit MORE risk and space in the production, he might have TRULY self-reinvented. [May 2002, p.90]

Eitzel makes the songs his own, re-working them with a degree of affection and passion usually lacking from the covers-album genre. [Jul 2002, p.104]

Six albums on and Luna have never sounded better. [Jul 2002, p.112]

A record that grows on you slowly but surely. [May 2002, p.104]

The most common description of this much-discussed album over the past few months is that YHF is Americana's Kid A. In truth, it's more successful than that. [May 2002, p.112]

The gentle spectres of Sparklehorse and Elliott Smith are always near, but [Davey] Von Bohlen's mix of bleary wonder and self-deprecation is charming, and his grasp of melody sure. [Jun 2002, p.122]

As with Daft Punk's Discovery and Playgrou's eponymous 2001 debut LP, Handcream For A Generation puts fun back on the agenda, offering a blurry picture of marathon socialising and the frazzled warmth of the morning after the night before. [Album of the Month, May 2002, p.88]

The album stands or falls by the seductiveness of its atmospheres and the memorability of its hooks--and here, it must be said, Release fails to imprint itself, leaving an impression mainly of dejected weariness. [May 2002, p.95]

Musically, it predictably alternates between relentless, driving guitars and agonisingly slow dirges, but Bazan's gift lies in lyrics. [Oct 2002, p.112]

It is really his unsurpassed ability to access tracks that time forgot that makes this album so great. [May 2002, p.96]

Crow sounds as if she's trying too hard to show us that all she still wants to do is have some fun. [May 2002, p.91]

Where there was once ragged glory there is now only a sort of bludgeoning earnestness which, as in the nine-minute "Goin' Home," blusters a lot to little effect. [May 2002, p.108]

Silver Lining finds her on top form as guitarist, writer and interpreter. [May 2002, p.108]

Either annoyingly sweet or refereshingly well-adjusted, depending on your mood. [Oct 2002, p.107]

Goes back to basics with a blinding mix of anthemic post-punk rockers and pretty mid-tempo ballads. [Jul 2002, p.107]

It's a rootsy affair that evokes the spirit of the MC5. [Jul 2003, p.112]

Isn't quite the show-them-who's-boss return that JSBX should have come up with. [May 2002, p.110]

Only when she reels off her thank-yous at the end- a list as interminable as an Oscars speech - does she sound remotely happy. [July 2002, p.120]

Think the Chemical Brothers meet Flaco Jiminez and you'll get the idea. [Jan 2003, p.119]

Maas isn't confident enough to strike out in any single direction, and the LP feels too consciously aimed at crossing over to the pop charts. [May 2002, p.98]

Mind you, you're still left wondering why they made a covers album. [Mar 2002, p.96]

Beneath the opulent layers and studio tweaks, however, lie some very orthodox, very average Eighties indie songs. [Mar 2002, p.96]

Occasionally, N*E*R*D edge a little closer to staccato nu-metal than fans fo their inventive music might appreciate. [May 2002, p.105]

Both sublime and ridiculous. [Jun 2002, p.114]

Much of this flaccid digi-guitar funk sounds like rough ideas Daft Punk rejected for Discovery. [Jun 2002, p.122]

This is surprisingly, refreshingly, "modern" music. [Mar 2002, p.104]

It successfully pins down black American sources, though it's occasionally marred by dated production. [Mar 2002, p.97]

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]