Vol 1 is reflective and rootsy, all folkish acoustic guitars, from the elegiac melancholy of "End Of The World" to the hushed vulnerability of "Rejection." [Oct 2017, p.26]

The quartet peel back the years on corrosive songs that strike a masterly balance between melody and uppity guitar noise. [Oct 2017, p.26]

[Electric Trim] features conventionally structured songs that underline his country-folk and Americana interests, while amping up the psych-pop and orchestral alt.rock. [Oct 2017, p.36]

As you would expect from a Daptone act--musicianship is uniformly excellent. [Oct 2017, p.24]

Tracks such as "Nihilist Abyss," "Fatal Gift" and "Minefield Of Memory" grapple with the "deceptive deal" of experience, while her elliptical melodies recall Elliott Smith in Figure 8 mode. [Oct 2017, p.30]

Here, the Southern rock template of Modern Blues is embellished with loops and 1970s soul stylings. The mood is up. [Oct 2017, p.40]

Lurking beneath the placid surface is an undertow, subtly stirring the songs and arrangements. [Oct 2017, p.32]

Affairs of the heart dominate Batmanglij's lyrics which, when combined with his unfeasibly Christmassy production across all 15 tracks, tends to leave the listener gasping for air. [Oct 2017, p.39]

Though jangly sounds abound on the 71 songs collected here (so much so that there's an inevitable degree of twee fatigue), the contents demonstrate a shift away from the original shambling scenesters' distaste for displays of ambition, and a new eagerness to grab hold of the brass ring that The Smiths had surrendered to other contenders. [Aug 2017, p.50]

Coltrane, Eno and Metheny are touchstones, but Shabason's abstraction is sensual, his language emotional. [Sep 2017, p.37]

"Remembering" and "In Your Hands" are full of gorgeous, African-influenced harmonies. In fact, Mulvey's arrangements are generally more ambitious. [Oct 2017, p.35]

Forced Witness is a lovely album of '80s-ish pop, using synth and sax to find the space between Springsteen and the Bunnymen. [Sep 2017, p.24]

An audacious vault into Depeche Mode and U2 territory. [Oct 2017, p.30]

Most of the original tunes on this self-titled debut are formulaic, slogan-heavy jams that rest too heavily on past glories. [Oct 2017, p.36]

McCartney straps on the bass for two tracks, adding very little to generic rockers typical of the album as a whole. [Oct 2017, p.40]

VanGaalen's clear talent as a producer and arranger still shines through in even the less spectacular moments. [Oct 2017, p.40]

It's gorgeously detailed stuff, though often most compelling when those details end up fogged-out and hazy. [Aug 2017, p.28]

While groups like Thee Silver Mt Zion and Godspeed You! Black Emperor overegg everything, Moss works a far more thoughtful, nuanced seam. [Jul 2017, p.34]

Great riffs and an inherent grooviness keep Terminal gripping throughout. [Aug 2017, p.26]

Orbit sees their shared musical predilections slide furthrr into focus. [Sep 2017, p.32]

Categorisable, but mostly excellent. [Oct 2017, p.35]

Forsyth's imperative to find new possibilities from a classic format shines through. [Sep 2017, p.28]

A cast of colourful characters liven up Butler's familiar mix of Chicago muscle and diva house. [Oct 2017, p.30]

Trad ballads, Americana and well-chosen contemporary folk covers mix with smart original compositions sung in a plaintive voice, while his virtuoso finger-piking is augmented by splashes of electric in a style clearly modeled on Richard Thompson. [Oct 2017, p.39]

After "Waiting," a disarmingly soulful duet with Noah Cyrus, the LP gets darker and more resonant. [Oct 2017, p.24]

The songs' operatic grandeur evokes the music of Dead Can Dance and Diamanda Galas at its most epic-scaled. [Oct 2017, p.40]

On her band's follow-up to its 2014 self-titled debut, Rankin returns to that comfort zone with largely engaging results. [Oct 2017, p.24]

Hinson's latest is a tear-soaked concept album that's distinguished by the sheer magnetic beauty of the music. [Oct 2017, p.30]