A collection that feels more art project than album. [Nov 2012, p.71]

The country shadings are less obvious, but the mood has darkened, with cinematic strings wrapping themselves around the pedal steel. [Sep 2012, p.80]

Under the deft guidance of Alabama Shakes producer Andrija Tokic, even her tendency to outbreaks of over-shrill soprano trilling sounds strangely compelling. [Oct 2012, p.79]

Tasteful without being sterile, diverse but grounded in Knopfler's melancholy mumble and quicksilver guitar, Privateering is a quietly soulful triumph. [Oct 2012, p.83]

Frivolous fun, if that's allowed. [Oct 2012, p.86]

[The album] churns and lumbers with ominous, swampy certainty. [Oct 2012, p.83]

A perfect introduction to a musician currently in full stride. [Oct 2012, p.71]

Bingham's steak-potatoes-and whiskey voice hardly makes for a smooth listen, but he pours plenty of passion and desperate visions into his ragged working-class grooves. [Oct 2012, p.73]

the focus on matters of the heart is limiting, reducing the genre to the level of rusticised boy-band pop. [Oct 2012, p.84]

Konkoma's sound is rooted in 1970s Afrobeat, complete with blasting horn section and gloriously fuzzy organ, but shot through with touches of highlife, funk and rock. [Aug 2012, p.75]

West is far from rap's deftest lyricist but his neurotic grandstanding is compelling and often pretty funny to boot. [Feb 2011, p.84]

Her split personality makes for an oddly polarised debut. [Feb 2011, p.84]

The fault lies in the lightweight material. [Feb 2011, p.84]

{A] far superior effort [than Rebirth]. [Feb 2011, p.84]

A cycle of slushy but well-written R&B ballads which pay tribute to his soul heroes. [Feb 2011, p.84]

Charmer plies the familiar recipe on a bed of pealing guitars and burbling synths. [Oct 2012, p.84]

It includes great music, but it still has that hairy, unpredictable, somewhat demented aspect that gives the Blues Explosion its unique spark. [Oct 2012, p.72]

Snatches of flute, sax, and female vocal harmony vocals add sympathetic colour to these sad yet inquisitive songs. [Oct 2012, p.83]

If their painstaking studiocraft has in the past seemed over-refined or even fussy, here they've discovered a new wildness, a liberating sense of drama. [Oct 2012, p.70]

There's uncommon immediacy to Crazy Horse-style bashers like "Knock Knock" and "How To Live," as well as big-sky ballads like "Long Vows." [Oct 2012, p.73]

The duo's artfully woven sonic tapestry is somewhat spoiled by the po-faced new age banalities of their lyrics. [Oct 2012, p.74]

That the album never loses it s way is testament to Deacons' fearless approach, his mastery of different genres and from the thrilling sense of urgency that propels it all forward. [Oct 2012, p.75]

An affecting, lyrical record that makes you feel blessed for not having lived through it, but wiser, so graceful for the ride. [Oct 2012, p.74]

The most infectiously tricked-out rock LP since El Camino. [Oct 2012, p.77]

"Don't Pretend You Didn't Know" is a one-off messing with their recipe, still as compelling a mix of hardcore, jangle-pop, country and speed-metal as it was 25 years ago. [Oct 2012, p.77]

Coexist is a masterpiece. [Oct 2012, p.80]

Much of what is great about Stockholm's Holograms can be located in their debut single "ABC City," a testament of the "desolation" of the grim suburbs of their home city delivered in a rowdy street-punk sneer. [Oct 2012, p.81]

The samey pace and understated mood can drag, but Pena strikes gold with the light-touch dance-pop arrangements. [Oct 2012, p.81]