The result is akin to a John Ford film with an indie soundtrack. [Nov 2018, p.37]

There are jarring moments but Holter's quest to channel the clatter of the universe produces transcendent beauty too. [Nov 2018, p.24]

A beautifully languid collaboration with three members of his Lighthouse band. [Dec 2018, p.23]

An album that can initially feel scatty but is held together by its creator's passion and poise. [Dec 2018, p.28]

It's an austere, difficult listen, but it's frequently thrilling. [Dec 2018, p.33]

Proves that even when their studio work was in the doldrums, REM were never less than a compelling live band. [Dec 2018, p.47]

Allways is as mercurial as it is highly listenable. [Nov 2018, p.26]

There's a fair amount of Fugazi worship on display with track like the churning punk of "Ruptured Line," but the album really flies when the metal influences come to the fore. [Nov 2018, p.]

Wasteland retains a wilful catchiness. [Dec 2018, p.33]

The fuzz-rock of "Just A Fool" is transformed into a clawhammer-guitar folk ballad; the punky glam of "You Get To Rome" and the space rock of "Yes To Everything" both become ragtime ditties; the heads-down rocker "All In Your Head" and the stadium-sized "No Secrets" become pretty ballads, with some lovely Joni Mitchell-ish chord changes. [Dec 2018, p.27]

The gravity of his subject matter finds a contrast in Swift's playful musical settings. [Dec 2018, p.33]

The eclectically banging result is an invigorating circuit-workout through righteous rage, swinging from livid EDM beats with Steve Aoki and Rise Against's Tim McIlrath, to furious rap with Big Boi, Killer Mike and Bassnectar. [Nov 2018, p.28]

His homespun take on soft rock and '80s Continental pop balances languid dreaminess with a subtle virtuosity. [Dec 2018, p.27]

This Swedish quartet's second album often recalls a mid-90s Matador Records release. [Dec 2018, p.25]

They've proved here that they're more than capable of escaping from, or expanding on, that familiar sound. [Dec 2018, p.24]

Assured, yes, but there's very little rebellion here. [Dec 2018, p.23]

From dive-bar romps to plaintive reflection, this is his strongest collection for some time. [Nov 2018, p.30]

Broken Politics is a thoughtful, reflective record that twines the political and the person. [Nov 2018, p.26]

The sound of Ono gravely warbling "Imagine" at the close of Warzone may invite more ridicule from longtime haters. But believers in her musical vision will deem it very much of a piece with the boldness that marks these new renditions of many of her most furious songs. [Nov 2018, p.34]

The shuffling piano and accented horns coalesce in the simple wishes of "Dreamin'," while "Ancient Past" finds Parker, toying with time and memory, savouring every moment. [Nov 2018, p.34]

The LPs collected here lack the punch of his previous efforts. But they do have their charms. ... Most revealing are two live LPs, from '83 and '87, that show an artist reconsidering his old hits--and his old selves--for new fans. [Nov 2018, p.45]

It is a cornucopia of delights for audiophiles and there are more than enough quirks and insights to make it invaluable to even the most causal Lennon fan. [Nov 2018, p.46]

This second album tips a stetson to the neglected Western heritage of his native country, from the stark beauty of "Saskatchewan In 1881" to the deliciously luminous cover of Wilf Carter's "Calgary Round-Up." [Nov 2018, p.37]

Genres glom together in unlikely combinations, split and mutate via myriad effects, yet this set is pop to its core, nodding to everyone from Bowie, Byrne and Carl Craig to Arthur Russel and Wire on its way to off-centre intrigue. [Nov 2018, p.27]

However eccentric and laidback his expression, it's as masterfully distinctive as that of any auteur. [Nov 2018, p.35]

The synth reveries outstay their welcome, but the sense is of a great talent whose early solo work vented a lifetime's pain and outrage now experimenting and recalibrating. [Nov 2018, p.30]

At times ethereal and romantic, at others eerie and queasy, it's completely different, but equally worthy, addition to this autheur's overlooked and original canon. [Nov 2018, p.18]

This equally fine sophomore effort sees Burch take a few steps into the present. [Nov 2018, p.25]