Despite a newfound sound-design sophistication, they haven't lost their love of twisted, Stylophone-assisted pop or tape-recording collage methods, and their arthouse-cinema leaning is still evident. [Oct 2018, p.32]

This is snappy, high-energy stuff that might be more fun if the slick production didn't telegraph the fact that Kane wants it a bit too much. [Oct 2018, p.30]

The album keeps faith with The Jayhawks' trademark expansive Americana. [Oct 2018, p.29]

Exhausting but rewarding. [Oct 2018, p.26]

Thanks You For Today marks a further shift towards an ultra-plush, synth-laden soft-rock sound. [Oct 2018, p.27]

Whoever is singing, the beats are choppy and the mood intense. A revelation. [Oct 2018, p.24]

The result is substantially more upbeat and cohesive--a West Coast take on Britpop. [Sep 2018, p.36]

Few artists combine concepts of arcane and contemporary quite as atmospherically as New York's Odetta Hartman, who uses the banjo to provide melody and age but then embeds songs with dance beats and sound effects, before adding timeless jazz-folk vocals. [Sep 2018, p.30]

If there are few surprises, the tracks are charming, well crafted and kept to a fighting-trim 11. [Sep 2018, p.36]

The result is neither an especially loud or revelatory one. [Sep 2018, p.32]

It's uncomplicated but it achieves a lot, and that's With Animals in a nutshell. [Sep 2018, p.34]

[The songs] all feel very much of a piece thanks to the coherence fostered by Mitski's high but agile voice and wry, self-deprecating humour. [Sep 2018, p.35]

He writes about his rock'n'roll background, but embraces a more straightforward twang that's both poignant and boisterous. [Sep 2018, p.32]

The whole is a total joy, a triumphant demonstration if the virtues of the music celebrated in the rollicking "It Came From The South." [Sep 2018, p.29]

Showcase[s] his deep knowledge of American and British folk music and deft picking style that is sophisticated but never ostentatious. [Aug 2018, p.33]

It's sad to hear all their youthful fizz go flat so soon. [Sep 2018, p.28]

The follow-up comes from a more confident place musically. [Sep 2018, p.31]

This is mature work. It's confident in what it is--and as seems likely, what it will turn into next. [Sep 2018, p.27]

This official release has been ably remixed by Bob Pridden, a roadie at the Fillmore back in ’68. ... Everything is delivered with the muscular sincerity that made The Who such a compelling and memorable live act.

We can enjoy Foxing's prophecies of impending doom, particularly when they're clothed in Animal Collective harmonies, U2 bombast and even avant-garde R&B. [Sep 2018, p.29]

More fully realised than 2014's Season Sun, this second album adheres its predecessor's summery disposition while adding new elements. [Sep 2018, p.30]

It's a joyous set. [Sep 2018, p.35]

A lack of polish--notably on the title track, which features Curl collective member Coby Sey--is part of the appeal, and if "Gladly" plays it very straight, then it's hard to carp at its loved-up optimism. [Sep 2018, p.39]

What unifies these wildly disparate modes [political satirist. self-loathing lothario, celebrity stalker, Cali yacht-rocker, and Nilsson-like romantic crooner] is Baxter's musical sophistication, which puts him closer to the witty elegance of 10cc than the alt.country label he's been slapped with. [Sep 2018, p.26]

Despite the presence of Josh Hager and Jeff Friedl--of Devo's current lineup--ShadowParty never quite eclipse the shadow cast by the band's other two members, Tom Chapman and Phil Cunningham, who bring with them baggage from their New order day jobs. [Sep 2018, p.36]

He's touted as a songwriter's songwriter in Music City, of all places, and the twangy highlights of this album ring true to that accolade. [Sep 2018, p.32]

It's breadth is pleasing, aiming for something more hooky than Factory Floor's typical brief. [Sep 2018, p.30]

To The Sunset suggests that she's not growing ay more inclined to sit still, and is her best yet. [Sep 2018, p.28]