Imagine John Fahey channelling the pulse minimalism of Steve Reich or Hendrix jamming African highlife on a digital drive pedal. [Dec 2010, p.119]

Que Aura sees the West Coast-based singer-songwriter embrace an '80s-infused psychedelia that occasionally mutates into a disco strut. [Nov 2017, p.36]

A meaty, confident comeback. [Apr 2019, p.34]

His latest album triumphs on levels beyond its inimitable Holley-ness. On the one hand, it reads like another act of spontaneous divination, revisiting past traumas with pained understanding, yet also hopeful and celebrating the wonder of life. But it’s also his most substantial and accessible album yet. [Apr 2023, p.18]

A Weird Exit has an immediacy and coherence that was missing on previous outing, 2015's Mutilator Defeated At Last--a fine album, but not as hooky as this one. [Sep 2016, p.80]

Stream-of-consciousness ranting has helped Sleaford Mods develop songwriting which is doubtful, while retaining its intensity. [Apr 2017, p.31]

Scott's ability to weave between monster guitar eruptions, refined pop and stripped-back moments that allow her voice to soar is a constant. [Sep 2021, p.35]

Initially seems more listener-friendly than Volume 1... [but] Congotronics remains radical listening. [Jan 2006, p.125]

Taken as a whole, On All Fours is an impressive balancing act, creating something fresh from the group's diverse influences. [Feb 2021, p.28]

Much of this album sounds like its been stitched together from 4AD's finest moments. [Dec 2008, p.88]

A vision of some shadowy Arcadia, its minimal Timbaland beats and lurking Mezzanine-style bass presented with mud and moss under the nails. [Oct 2013, p.67]

The stripped-down, Muscle Shoals-style arrangements give Mavis space to do her thing, and the song choices are spot-on. [Oct 2010, p.106]

A Ghost Is Born feels like a band learning to be spontaneous and unencumbered, and coming up with their most engaging album yet. [Album of the Month, Jul 2004, p.94]

[It is] distinctive, involving, challenging, accessible, progressive and most other things that continue to be desirable in an indie-rock record, whatever the year. [Jul 2017, p.22]

There are strings aplenty, arranged as baroque lullabies or strange waltzes, Hinson shuffling his sorrows against a backdrop of multitracked choirs and fractured noise. Incredibly addictive. [Jul 2010, p.116]

As you'd expect, his 12th album sounds wonderful. [Nov 2011, p.86]

Few, if any, artists are pushing the boundaries of traditional music further. [Feb 2013, p.79]

The results is some of the richest, most compelling and least lonely-sounding music of Granduciel's career. [Sep 2017, p.24]

Lilies is a succinct affair, albeit one of often similarly unearthly pleasures. [Dec 2017, p.25]

No two tracks are stylistically the same--and yet there is a clear sense of cohesion. [Jan 2018, p.28]

As a trio they've made a record of richer, more satisfying hues. [Mar 2018, p.26]

The result is a heady debut album. [Dec 2019, p.27]

An audaciously original album - a bedroom-laptop fever dream from a parallel universe. [Apr 2020, p.33]

While these sonic smudges sometimes feels scrappy, there are sublime interludes here too. [Nov 2021, p.35]

Avoiding sentimentality, this quality unexpectedly turns out to be vital to the album's success. [Nov 2022, p.18]

POTR's most playful outing, Stick And Stones comes off like a bracing exhalation of post-pandemic relief. [Sep 2023, p.32]

This is an album that sounds like it’s had time spent on it. It’s brilliantly recorded, pristine and perfectly imperfect. [Jan 2024, p.20]

It's an eclectic yet assured record that sounds like someone taking stock but using that solid foundation as a springboard to leap forward musically. [Aug 2025, p.31]