This is too timid for modern R&B, too bland to rival Blige, and won't halt the sharp decline since 2003's "Rock Wit U." [Sep 2008, p.110]

The fault lies in the lightweight material. [Feb 2011, p.84]

Sisters Of Mercy fans will remain defiantly nonplussed. [Nov 2005, p.103]

Five years in gestation, these revved-up anthems are fuctional enough, but none have the catchy ska-punk bounce of the band's late 1990s commercial peak. [Sep 2008, p.99]

Ultimately, In My Mind falters through narrowness of vision. [Dec 2005, p.120]

The pace is laidback and determinedly downtempo compared to some of their more rebarbative free rock releases. [Jan 2009, p.96]

Feels for the most part like a vanity side project from Beyonce's solo career. [Jan 2005, p.115]

Based around some laughably accurate and truly entertaining pastiches of artists including Bjork, Bowie and the Pixies, the rest of the album is pure filler. [Aug 2003, p.100]

By no means a rebirth, but feistier and more fun than last year's Destiny's Child record, for sure. [May 2005, p.95]

This promising debut proves they're proficient at penning ragged Buzzcocks-ish pop... but also exposes the limitations of [Masters]. [Feb 2005, p.79]

These tuneless songs which either brim with maudlin self-pity or bounce along with enforced jollity. [Oct 2009, p.123]

[It] lives or dies on whether you think... Jack Black is a comic messiah or a juvenile chump. [Dec 2006, p.129]

Starts badly and gets worse for a very long time (77 minutes). [Jan 2002, p.146]

Gone is the Suede-lite of The Tears. Instead we get acoustic guitars, lush string arrangements and the previously cagey Anderson pouring his heart out. [Apr 2007, p.92]

The Mooney Suzuki are NYC's retro-homage to America's spandex pop-metal scene. [Sep 2004, p.98]

[Has] an uninspiring production line-up. [Jul 2006, p.101]

Jet's third album has the Guns N' Roses references to the fore, but is worryingly lacking in pizzazz. [Aug 2009, p.94]

This sees David finally jettisoning his twee heritage for a filmic kitsch. [Jun 2002, p.116]

Bob Rock's big production ladles on the reverb, merely emphasizing hollowness at the core. [Dec 2011, p.81]

In among the glitch and twitch, however, lies the odd choice moment. [Nov 2005, p.114]

My Bloody Underground is the sound of someone geting My Bloody Valentine about two-thirds right, which is to say that while BJM can certainly conjure interminable, feedback-slathered drones, they lack Kevin Shields' gift for sonic invention or melody. [June 2008, p.83]

James Devlin adds orchestral strings and cinematic melodrama to his hard-edged urban rhymes on this cluttered second album. [Mar 2013, p.70]

Sincere but Hokey homilies test the patience, but she brings imaginative vocal skills and real life experiences to "White Room," which displays a certain determined character. [Jun 2011, p.86]

It's hard to tell whether These People is an intentional, semi-Springsteenian work of self-reference, or whether Ashcroft just hasn't had any other ideas. [Jun 2016, p.69]

Another wildly implausible Shaun Ryder comback. Just when we needed one. [Aug 2003, p.98]

Like most big pop groups, they're great at singles--Rodney Jerkins' 'When I Grow Up' fashionably disses fame-- but fail when it comes to albums. [Dec 2008, p.115]

The generic patchwork of this debut LP suggests it's business as usual at the modern pop production line. [Oct 2009, p.102]

"My Foolish Heart" is delivered with some delicacy, "Sunny Side Of The Street" is playful, and "Fly Me To the Moon: floats Rod's voice over synth strings and a lazy piano. Otherwise, stick with Sinatra. [Jan 2011, p.103]