An album of tremendous humour and empathy, less a comeback than a considered continuation of an unprecedented career. [Nov 2018, p.22]

Pursues the vibe [heard on 2022's We've Been Going About This All Wrong] further, enjoying a kind of midlife techno-goth glow-up, on tracks "Idiot Box" and the incendiary "Indio" coming on like a female-fronted Future Islands or Pet Benatar joining Curve. [Feb 2025, p.43]

Segarra is skilled at identifying the shifting goalposts that immigrants have to live by, and staring past them. [Apr 2017, p.18]

With strong ensemble backing Escovedo alternates gentle, reflective lullabies with incendiary Mott-styled rockers, to marvellous effect. [Aug 2008, p.93]

There's variety like never before: bludgeoning tech-punk, disco beats and Screamadelica-era Primal Scream eruptions. That it exists is exhausting; that it works is extraordinary. [Nov 2018, p.29]

His guttural, rat-tat flow is raw and unleavened, but it's the way he uses it--in flights of fancy and feats of mischief--that's truly the nub of his appeal. [Dec 2013, p.66]

Richly cinematic and more eclectic than recent efforts. [May 2022, p.25]

Impassioned, sparkling with energy and absurdly bouncy, it's a reminder of everything the North Carolina quartet did well. [Sep 2013, p.95]

Those acquainted with the slow and soulful pace of Griffin's recent work may be surprised by her ability to let rip here. [Dec 2013, p.69]

The septuagenarian reintroduces himself as a lively and supremely compelling singer. [Jun 2017, p.24]

The result is pulsating electronic music that draws from the spontaneity and invention of free jazz. [Apr 2019, p.30]

These blown-out and clanking loops, atmospheric drones and jump-cut textures are more like the product of electronic collage than free-guitar improv, and all the more fascinating for it. [Jun 2020, p.34]

Best is "Sylvia", where Bon Iver's intimacy, Arcade Fire's ambition, Sigur Ros' other-worldly reach and Flaming Lips' psych experimentalism collide. [Dec 2009, p. 98]

Backed by a 15-piece band plus horn section, they delivered a spirited set of classic blues, R&B and gospel that concluded with “The Weight”, which Staples and Helm had first performed together at The Last Waltz in 1976 at the start of their 35-year friendship. [Jun 2022, p.33]

The results are exquisite. [Sep 2019, p.34]

Consolidates the experimentation of 2002's Phrenology and the conscious snap of 1999's Things Fall Apart into a focused, intelligent record. [Oct 2006, p.123]

The repressive weight of the production creates a micro-climate that's compelling to move through. [Feb 2015, p.83]

A remarkable accomplishment. [Jun 2016, p.79]

The music mirrors the persuasive charm of the narrator, hooking you in even as the singer boasts they're a bit of a heel. [Mar 2025, p.38]

Tempest is in many respects the most far-reaching, provocative and transfixing album of Dylan's later career.

At times Sheer Mag are miraculous pop hustlers, still pulling off the most absurd trick shots on the scuffed three yards of stained green baize. Which isn't to say that they're not above a little experiment. [Mar 2024, p.22]

They have the grit and immediacy of demos, but Whole New Mess sounds just as powerful and just as finished as its more polished predecessor, like we're hearing Olsen work through her ache and confusion in real time. [Oct 2020, p.34]

The Party is definitely worth celebrating. [Jun 2016, p.79]

It's a surly, spiky piece of work, on which the few shafts of sweetness are soon soured with guilt, recrimination and reproach. [May 2012, p.66]

Given that their spectrum of nods and references runs from early Warp techno to bluegrass to Trout Mask Replica - horn-heavy freakouts like the full-bore "May Brigade" also demonstrate a kinship with The Comet Is Coming - the focus and coherence of Comradely Objects is even more impressive. [Dec 2022, p.28]

Frequently appealing. [Nov 2005, p.103]

Songs such as "Golden Days" and "No Woman" combine the fragile longing of indie-pop with the superior songwriting smarts of classic early-70s rock, in a way that should reel in fans of Josh Rouse and Liam Hayes. [Jul 2016, p.82]

If the scale is almost beyond comprehension, Love also represents a sonic Da Vinci Code for Beatles trainspotters. [Dec 2006, p.104]