The result is vast and apocalyptic. [Dec 2015, p.81]

Disappointingly, there's a lack of biting vocal interaction between the half-sisters, nothing ti match the delectable harmonies that graced the McGarrigles or less feted Roches. [Dec 2015, p.81]

AmERICa finds Wreckless Eric reborn in the USA, his home since 2011. Curmudgeonly, maybe, but a sly joy pervades. [Dec 2015, p.81]

Their latest dismantles the genre boundaries often used to pen them in. [Dec 2015, p.79]

At times, it's redolent in scope of Paul Weller's 21 Dreams. [Dec 2015, p.78]

As ever, the single 44-minute track sis immersive; those coming to The Necks for a transcendent mindfulness session, however, may find it distinctly unnerving in places. [Dec 2015, p.75]

Joining the fun are pals such as Ethan Miller, Stephen Malkmus and Cass McCombs, who add to the sense of chaos, but do not diminish the cohesion that make these diverse jams so stupidly, thrillingly rewarding. [Dec 2015, p.79]

Ultimately dissolves into a beautifully arranged and slightly sickly morass of curdled pop tropes, out of which spurt a bodacious riff or glossy rave arpeggio. Oddly no-one does this better. [Dec 2015, p.76]

While the orchestral flourishes on "Beloved Wife" and "River" are nice enough, it's when Merchant pares back the arrangements on "Wonder" and "Carnival" and focuses on her voice (which has become deeper and grainier with age) that these songs really soar. [Dec 2015, p.75]

They're pleasingly bleak on their second studio set. [Dec 2015, p.78]

Italian jobs come no finer. [Dec 2015, p.73]

Too often, frontman Euan Hinshelwood's strivings for tragedy come off as merely morose. [Dec 2015, p.81]

Silver Bullets sounds, instantly and unmistakably, like a Chills album.... It is also a heartening delight. [Dec 2015, p.63]

Despite the sense of loss that inevitably pervades the music here, Steve Goodman's first solo effort as Kode9 also charts out some exhilarating new directions. [Dec 2015, p.74]

It's when they seemingly reach straight down the devil's throat, as on the ferocious "Deacon Brodie," a strangled punk/blues bottleneck, that this debut really distinguishes itself. [Dec 2015, p.81]

Ryder-Jones excels at finding beauty in forbidding places. [Dec 2015, p.78]

Together, Adams and Lynne have come up with an old-fashioned FM rock album, short on nuance but strong on intent. [Nov 2015, p.71]

Lo-fi and understated, the twin vocals of Dylan Sharp and Carrie Keith are also strong throughout. [Nov 2015, p.76]

The overall effect is a carefully constructed, complex yet breezy, psych-pop collection. [Dec 2015, p.69]

Such self-conscious nostalgia is stifling at times, but the best tracks transcend retro pastiche. [Dec 2015, p.71]

His voice of loss is shrouded in inventive production. [Dec 2015, p.74]

Ethan Johns' stripped country settings on Willie Nelson and The Milk Carton Kids tunes immediately find Sir tom's grit and gravitas. [Nov 2015, p.77]

Much here, like the outstanding "Silhouettes (I, II & III)," sits elegantly in a progressive tradition that draws on Teo Macero's collage work on In A Silent Way, David Axelrod's string arrangements, and Four Tet's own "Thirtysixtwentyfive." [Dec 2015, p.71]

Marr has hit a rich vein of middle-age form. [Dec 2014, p.74]

The musical tone of Panhandle rambler is rich, yet supple. [Dec 2015, p.70]

The songs--period pieces, admirably researched--lack that spark that turns pastiche into profundity. [Dec 2015, p.73]

This is a seasoned master of what he does operating in his comfort zone, and doing it very well indeed. [Dec 2015, p.66]

Toledo offers dense, self-analytical lyrics and a style that take in everything from The Zombies to the Pet Shop Boys, ambitious in scope and clearly much agonised-over. [Dec 2015, p.69]