It's the haunted croak of the band's main singers, Ibrahim and Abdallah, that are the main draw: the sound of heartbroken gangleader, the world-weary soldier, bravado replaced by tenderness. It's a sound that suits them perfectly. [Mar 2017, p.22]

The alleged political subtext is pretty opaque, while the rich sonic mix strays into tasteful inertia in places, but the prevailing mood is eclectic and energised. [Mar 2017, p.37]

Lovely for a few songs, the narcoleptic, yet semi-cinematic visions risk homogeneity by the album's end. [Mar 2017, p.35]

Sick Scenes is certainly a messy affair, stylistically, and overrun with densely packed lyrics, though it's not entirely without charm. [Mar 2017, p.32]

The more melodic and less maniacal "Melting" and "Sleep Drifter" point toward newer ambitions and influences. Especially welcome is the turn toward Middle Eastern and North African sounds on "Anoxia" and the title track.[Mar 2017, p.32]

Despite his melancholy rep, Lekman's rarely sounded sunnier. [Mar 2017, p.32]

A high-flying triumph. [Mar 2017, p.26]

Delve further into Human, though, and you find sterile R&B and schlocky, overwrought lyrics. [Mar 2017, p.37]

On disc the effect can be bludgeoning--although you can hear that onstage it must make for a wild night out. [Mar 2017, p.26]

The flirtations with more dissonant sounds throughout also point to a welcome eagerness to roughen up the latest results of Surfer Blood's ongoing quest to find the happy medium between the Pixies and The Hollies. [Mar 2017, p.40]

As devil worshiping goes, this is pretty funky stuff, with a tight and bouncy tone throughout. [Mar 2017, p.35]

The music here should captivate anyone who ever imagined what a Burial remix of Arthur Russell's World Of Echo might resemble. [Feb 2017, p.33]

Somewhere, Hoagy Carmichael, Johnny Mercer and Mose Allison are tapping their feet and smiling. [Feb 2017, p.33]

Omar has found a formula that really works. [Feb 2017, p.33]

If only Thomas' smart-ass, sing-song drawl was as appealing as his songs. [Feb 2017, p.38]

On much of This Is Steve, he comes off as a one man jam band. [Feb 2017, p.24]

Despite its heady beauty, a gloomy fatefulness also shapes this set. [Mar 2017, p.30]

A more sombre, focused affair [than 2015's covers album of Taylor Swift's 1989]. [Mar 2017, p.23]

It's all insanely catchy. [Feb 2017, p.33]

The album is only 30 minutes liing, but that's plenty enough exposure to live electricity. [Feb 2017, p.26]

Throughout, the songs are delivered with a powerful undertow that recalls Emmylou Harris' Wrecking Ball. [Feb 2017, p.33]

Their breakneck energy highlights the thrilling strangeness of their structures and textures. [Mar 2017, p.40]

Tourist In This Town fairly fizzes with the excitement of striking out alone, and justified confidence that hers is a voice worth hearing. [Mar 2017, p.26]

It's less dynamic, but the prog-folk flavours remain intact, with penny whistles and acoustic guitars central to its two sentimental, sometimes meandering halves. [Feb 2017, p.33]

Pleasingly, Segall's root wildness is enhanced by their [Ben Boye, Mikal Cronin, Emmett Kelly, and Charles Moothart's] jamming virtuosity. [Feb 2017, p.37]

While its faintly folkish, alt.pop songs fail to reveal any feral side to the bassist of Bombay Bicycle Club, they prove his compositional chops while radiating a pleasantly frosted glow. [Mar 2017, p.40]

Little Fictions is the sound of a band doing what it's always done, and doing it with style. [Mar 2017, p.28]

Such a stylistic spread can leave it slightly centreless, but a strong emphasis on groove runs throughout. [Mar 2017, p.25]