There's a sombre edge to almost all these songs, even when the Hammond organ is wailing and the backbeat is a mile wide.... Morello's presence is crucial to the tone of the album. [Feb 2014, p.65]

It's Cash, at the top of her game as a singer, who carries the day. [Jan 2014, p.65]

It the bits between the notes that rescue this from the status of pointless fidelity and make it so compelling. [Sep 2013, p.90]

There's plenty here to suggest that the combination of Skinner's skillful, funny songwriting and Harvey's bluesy choruses will deliver something special soon. [Jun 2013, p.73]

The group's ambition is admirable, but they come unstuck on the over-egged samba shuffle of "Lost Winter," while even Florence Welch might consider "Mellotron" to be a bit much. [Mar 2013, p.76]

Still gauche and somewhat silly the Moseley mods continue to rehash the first two Traffic albums expertly. [Mar 2013, p.76]

12 dark, noisy tracks blessed with unexpected details. [Mar 2013, p.75]

This will make a happy memento of a rollicking show, but set against the invention and distinctive voices elsewhere in folk, it;s rather marking time. [May 2013, p.71]

Nothing is too self-consciously retro. [Feb 2013, p.71]

Barker's fourth album has a clean, rootsy feel. [Aug 2013, p.67]

Once heard, they are not easily forgotten. [Jul 2013, p.76]

For a record that often shifts all over the place--someone busks "Wonderwall" on "U1"--it's an absorbing listen. [Jan 2014, p.74]

Her real metier is the conjuring of moods via soft layers of twangy guitar, piano and understated strings, her voice bringing an impressionistic air to stand-outs like "Have You Seen" and the balletic "Wouldn't Go Back." [Sep 2013, p.92]

Witty takes on mortality showcase Kirchen's weather-beaten country voice, but it's his six-string eloquence that warms the heart on Dylan's "It Takes A Lot To Laugh..." and the breakneck brilliance of "Hot Rod Lincoln." [Sep 2013, p.91]

It's a bit Lenny Kravitz at times, but the excellence and ear-popping sound see Coffee through. [Jan 2014, p.72]

As a whole, it's brilliant. [Dec 2013, p.68]

Los Lobos play their myriad (and rather dazzlingly) legacies straight, swerving masterfully from irrepressible dance-floor faves to Spanish styles to tearjerker folk-rock ballads. [Nov 2013, p.74]

Sidi broadly draws on the same blues traditions Ali Farka Toure, but there are subtle differences here, too.[Jan 2014, p.78]

Old weaknesses remain, with Sullivan's declamatory lyrics often mistaking grandiosity for gravitas, but Between Dog And Wolf is mostly an impressive beast. [Jan 2014, p.76]

At times their desire to wrongfoot the listener can seem deliberately perverse, but when they properly collapse down a wormhole, as they do on second-half highlights "Magicville" and "Success In Circuit," the results are terrifically psychedelic. [Jan 2014, p.72]

A fascinating portal into one of the great musical minds. [Jan 2014, p.89]

There are many sterling moments to escape from Young's vault--but none seem quite as unguarded as the best ones here. [Jan 2014, p.84]

A refreshing badass entry to a genre whose purveyors tend to be overly mild-mannered. [Jan 2014, p.79]

The Warlocks return with an album that intensifies their drifts into darker and experimental territory while also tipping a nod to some of their US inspirations. [Jan 2014, p.79]

There's no denying the wind-rush thrill of the title track, nor the malevolent pull of "Fall Out Of Love," but you'd expect such a capable band to disguise their affection for MBV, Ride and Kitchens of Distinction rather better on their second album. [Jan 2014, p.78]

A restorative step, perhaps, and we await his next move with interest. [Jan 2014, p.78]

Their selections here are a predictable roster of left-field rock dosed with Anglophilia. [Jan 2014, p.78]

The album's best moments shrewdly recall the stark, booming sound of Clipse's 2006 coke-rap masterpiece Hell Hath No Fury. [Jan 2014, p.76]