There is a knowingness to Burning Daylight that sometimes verges on Pastiche, but Cowgill's Mordant deadpan means the mask never slips. [Nov 2012, p.77]

The new versions are, to all intents and purposes, exactly the same as the old versions, they're just more so, if that makes sense.

Honor found in Decay confirms that they are a metal band, yes--but one reminiscent of Silver Mount Zion or Swans as any more traditionally heavy-rocking concern. [Nov 2012, p.73]

It sees them caught between nostalgia and futurism, uncertain which way to move. [Dec 2912, p.71]

This follow-up is cleaner, from the grand arrangements to the lyrics about true love rather than tits and ass, but is never bland. [Nov 2012, p.71]

[This is] probably their best--a fine LP of crisp, clever chamber pop. [Oct 2012, p.79]

Yet for all its attributes, this fine debut stirs as much for its sense of what The Lumineers may yet become as for what they currently are. [Dec 2012, p.70]

No boundaries are broached, but everything works just fine. [Dec 2012, p.69]

This self-titled debut is a joy. [Dec 2012, p.64]

Certainly, there's a familiarity here, the thin guitar lines and washes of synth, topped off with Banks' despondent croon, though in lyrical terms, there is a more confessional tone. [Dec 2012, p.67]

In practice, it's suggestive of the luvved-up terrace thug moment of the late '80s, but with the ultraviolence retained. [Dec 2012, p.67]

A startling, inspirational comeback. [Dec 2012, p.68]

"Pluze" and "Branches" resemble Air in their languid electro-revisioning of jazz-funk and prog, while the title track pulls back sparkling synths for a noble and histrionic sax break. [Dec 2012, p.68]

2 deals in lugubrious late-night lyricism and equals Kurt Vile and Cass McCombs for warmly melodic meanderings that beguile rather than baffle. [Dec 2012, p.69]

"Ye Ye's" Chicago house snares and claps crop up throughout the record, turning the pretty "Lights" into a sweaty jack-fest and giving deranged effects of "Springs" a rigid framework. [Dec 2012, p.69]

His first solo outing has enabled Ben Gibbard to try on new stylistic contexts as if they were outfits. [Dec 2012, p.71]

When your attention drifts you barely notice it's there. But when you do, it evokes a warm and evocative pleasure. [Dec 2012, p.72]

First-time producer Justin Townes Earle has succeeded Jack White as guardian of the Wanda Jackson sound, guiding her through a fascinating mix of covers and originals. [Dec 2012, p.72]

Brothers Jake and Jamin Orrall plough a familiar semi-feral blues-punk furrow for the most part, with varying degrees of success, but are best when they depart from the template. [Dec 2012, p.72]

These stark, largely unadorned folk-country songs are given added edge by Irwin's faintly metallic voice, with delicate shadings from the like of producer and multi-instrumental wizz Tara Jane O'Neil and pedal steeler Marc Orleans. [Dec 2012, p.72]

"Heaven" is a decent stab at '80s synth pop; "Looking Hot" and "Push And Shove" mix bubblegum R&B with ragga-inspired middle eights; the rest is rather forgettable. [Dec 2012, p.75]

Newman's a decent songwriter whose songs never quite ignite--their seemingly light touch feels rather hard-won. [Dec 2012, p.75]

Orton remains a luminous presence among often monotone peers. [Dec 2012, p.75]

Prekop's lyrical ruminations on distance and direction never lag. [Dec 2012, p.76]

They have produced a cohesive work that marries gauzy dreampop with more robust indie-rock. [Dec 2012, p.77]

[The] second album painstakingly recreates the sounds and melodies of peak-era My Bloody Valentine, Cocteau Twins, The Jesus And Mary Chain and Joy Division with a slavish devotion that borders on the obsessive-compulsive. [Dec 2012, p.77]

Ultraista never quite shake off the sense of a session-muso studio supergroup dressing down in indie clothes. [Dec 2012, p.78]

Looser in feel and texture than their last couple of discs, with Dylan's husky vocals leading the way. [Dec 2012, p.78]