Sometimes beautiful, although an ADD-ish attention span means it occasionally comes off somewhat lacking in character. [May 2012, p.75]

Some of the arrangements are busier than they need to be. [Mar 2012, p.89]

There's much beauty aid the flux of recorders, messy analogue synths and wayward sax. [May 2012, p.77]

Bliss, bliss, bliss--get Loved up and float away. [May 2012, p.77]

This debut album sounds as charmingly casual as its inception. [May 2012, p.80]

They run a tight ship, cramming 41 short, tough tracks onto Quakers with verses from indie-rap stalwarts Guilty Simpson, MED and Prince Po. [May 2012, p.80]

Emotional Traffic contains a few soppy homilies to domesticity, a transparent bid for a Super Bowl halftime booking, and a great many reasons to listen to the equally polished, but vastly wittier, Brad Paisley. [May 2012, p.78]

You won't find it hard to reciprocate Open Your Heart's approach. [May 2012, p.79]

It all adds up to an album that is as satisfying as it is unexpected. [May 2012, p.79]

As Polica, they go some way to forging their own--snare rim snaps and menacing funk bass constantly chasing with Casselle's Auto-Tuned--but endearingly vulnerable. [May 2012, p.79]

On "Wear Suits," the trio reveals it can pull off the measured uptown elegance of The Blue Nile, but otherwise, singer/guitarist Alex Schaff delights in scribbling over his songs, as his boyish vocals vacillate between preciousness and brattiness. [May 2012, p.84]

Wexler delivers an alluring lugubrious set that views Fairport Convention, the Canterbury scene and Simon & Garfunkel through a glass darkly. [May 2012, p.84]

King Con is essentially a pop record full of catchy melodies and a shrieking singing style that will either set your heart aflutter or prompt you to punch a wall. [May 2012, p.84]

Much here mediates around one unnerving groove. [May 2012, p.83]

The pair became friends and, on this memorable acoustic show, a great double act. [May 2012, p.83]

Their second album pulls their punched-up, modernist synth pop into tighter focus while softening some of its sharper corners. [May 2012, p.83]

The songs are suited by the rough and tumble, though, wearing the bruises with poise and pride. [May 2012, p.83]

Slipstream relies on Bonnie;'s voice and slide playing--and, above all, her felicitous ability to pick the right song. [May 2012, p.80]

His solo debut is simple and earthy, leaning on little more than organ, warm acoustic guitar and his wondrous singing, carrying the betraying quaver of a man who feels a little too much. [May 2012, p.78]

"Another Shot" adds tension and atmosphere but a tendency toward the derivative come to the for on synth-centreed gloomfest "Can't Get Enough." [May 2012, p.77]

On the whole this is a sanguine and at times even sentimental record, [May 2012, p.76]

It's not always successful...But older songs fare better. [May 2012, p.72]

Nothings Gonna Change shimmers in spare arrangements, ghostly keyboards, textured horns, and, occasionally, a talking-style vocal style borrowed from Springsteen's Nebraska. [May 2012, p.72]

Some of the beats do feel a little dated, and sometimes veer toward the rigidity of trip hop. [May 2012, p.69]

Go past the tone of his voice, inhale the poetry, and you'll taste a sweeter, less mordant Leonard Cohen. [May 2012, p.68]

Singer John Philpot's boyish sighs and teen-romance lyrics feel a little lightweight and non-committal, but the promised groove element plays dividends during the album's second half. [May 2012, p.67]

Maximalists and circus ringmasters might enjoy it, but many will be scrabbling for the stop button. [May 2012, p67]

Folila is an unhappy attempt to amalgamate two records, one that mostly swamps their playful sound with noisy overlays. [May 2012, p.65]