As a whole, 4everevolution lacks the decisive sonic focus his fierce and funny lyrical barbs deserve. [Oct 2011, p.98]

While something could have been made of the contrast between Francis's keening howl and Paley's guttural slur, proceedings are let down by the songs. [Oct 2011, p.95]

He may not quite be the roaring pistolero of old, but mid-tempo songs like "Mockingbird Hill" and "The Highway Is My Home" are beautiful, time-ruffled distillations of border music, Tex-mex and desert rock. [Oct 2011, p.94]

It's familiar territory for the mercurial Jon Langford and company, perhaps punk's most persistent ideologues. [Oct 2011, p.93]

The primary revelation of Elsie is Fallon's voice. [Oct 2011, p.90]

A continuation of a grand tradition rather than a feeble descendant, Jones' custom tunings strike sourly sweet notes, occasionally--as on the title track--touching on raga modes. [Oct 2011, p.89]

The result is state-of-the-art pop played by a meat-and-potatoes indie band, and sounds a bit like the Stereo MCs. [Oct 2011, p.89]

Theirs remains a stubbornly extreme sound, although Celestial Lineage finds new ways to combine heaviness with solemn beauty. [Oct 2011, p.86]

On Heritage, [they're] jettisoning practically all trace of heavy whatsoever. [Oct 2011, p.86

Cropper stays fairly faithful to the originals. [Oct 2011, p.83]

Funky, funny, stately, strange, soulful and sensual, Floreat is a unique and unequivocal triumph. [Oct 2011, p.83]

While the album is packed with inventive moments, there's no more lacerating skronk, for a very good reason: the emotions the band is mirroring don't call for it. [Oct 2011, p.82]

For the most part, this is a bleak musical fable as disquieting as it is utterly compelling, as it races inexorably to its bloody conclusion. [Oct 2011, p.94]

If the aim was to out-bonkers Joanna Newsom and Kate Bush while creating a compelling album, Amos has more than succeeded. [Oct 2011, p.81]

Rock rears its head on "speed demon," but by that point, the riffs are drowned out by the sound of a joke having fatally gone too far. [Oct 2011, p.81]

After Ready For The Flood, Mockingbird time feels dense, and somewhat cluttered. [Oct 2011, p.85]

Velociraptor! makes good on the pair's loud-mouthed claims by stripping away previous excess. [Oct 2011, p.91]

While there is some noodling with electronica, it's the understated melodies that linger. [Oct 2011, p.93]

Stuffed full of prospective hits, Wretch's desire to rank beside Kanye and Jay-Z may not be that far fetched. [Sep 2011]

Lyrically, it's business as usual. [Oct 2011, p.105]

Their excellent debut album is a neat mix of somnambulant balladry and ragged high drama. [Oct 2011, p.105]

It's all rather tasteful and familiar, though, and a few jagged edges might snare passers-by. [Oct 2011, p.98]

Sprawling, impassioned and mostly terrific. [Oct 2011, p.98]

They are less successful when they step beyond these templates--the trippy "Surface" doesn't quite come off-- but this is a strong set. [Oct 2011, p.95]

Though not quite the full Finn, nonetheless Pajama Club is fresh and fun. [Oct 2011, p.95]

The duo delivers all the exuberance of the Ting Tings, channeling the joys of domesticity, parenthood and conjugal intimacy with an infectious giddiness. [Oct 2011, p.93]

The Old Magic won't do his reputation any harm. [Oct 2011, p.91]

It represents Lauderdale travelling full circle, coming 30 years after his first recordings with bluegrass legend Roland white, but with a few of the flourishes he brought to Elvis Costello's recent touring outfit The Sugarcanes. [Oct 2011, p.91]