In the transition from imitator to originator, the old boy has made one of his best albums ever. [Oct 2011, p.83]

After a fair-to-middling second album they took a self-imposed break before returning with this excellent effort. [Oct 2011, p.83]

Rather precious in places, but often enchanting. [Oct 2011, p.81]

Though his songbook, like theirs [Jagger and Richards], is already abundant, Seeds We Sow suggests that there's plenty more to come. [Oct 2011, p.88]

The writing is strong and Pisano's wracked vocals have pleasing echoes of Justin Vernon, but neither quality is best served by a creative aesthetic which often subjects perfectly good songs to the aural equivalent of waterboarding. [Oct 2011, p.95]

The Rapture have picked themselves up with a third album packed with ragged romps every bit as joyous as "house Of Jealous Lovers," their 2002 breakthrough. [Oct 2011, p.95]

They've perfected a kind of free-wheeling, self-conscious pop classicism with immediate surface appeal but little emotional depth, a disappointingly familiar amalgam of Coldplay, Cast, Arctic Monkeys and The verve. [Oct 2011, p.91]

For a while, it seemed like they'd never leave the hipster ghetto, but this is a convincing exit. [Oct 2011, p.90]

A 1980s vibe predominates, at times in a most agreeable Japan-like kind of way; at times a disagreeably Phil Collinsy one. [Oct 2011, p.90]

"Die" is generic glam riffage, and "Magic" is a tedious Britpop stomp, but there are many successes. [Oct 2011, p.86]

They only really have one kin do f song and tempo, rollicking yet melancholy, but they write them very, very well. [Oct 2011, p.84]

Their thing is Troubadour-era rootsy rocking rather than harmonic rapture, but American Goldwing's free-wheeling charms are still hard to resist. [Oct 2011, p.81]

For now, we should simply savour the sound of an artist setting herself new targets and hitting each one with real panache. [Oct 2011, p.78]

Rigidity is a hallmark of electropop, from Numan to Miss Kittin, but Ladytron's plodding rhythms and banal melodies straightjacket their songs. [Sep 2011, p.88]

Wildlife rocks like rock still truly matter and isn't just so much mp3 content.

This linear, orderly chronicle i s a faithful overview of the studio career nevertheless. [Sep 2011, p.100]

Olive doesn't have the strongest voice, but songs like "Traveling" and the choolin' "Strange Attractor" have a pure pop heart that blends beautifully with Auerbach's retro-rock aesthetic. [Sep 2011, p.93]

Comparisons are inevitable, but take nothing away from Asa's own character. [Apr 2011, p.75]

The key to the understated triumph of Sarah Nixey's second solo album is her recognition that there's nothing wrong with sounding like Black Box Recorder. [Jul 2011]

Songs such as "Bad Timing" and "Leave It" sound pleasingly full as a result, although it's at the expense of some of the intimacy that was arguably the band's best quality. [Sep 2011, p.81]

Kleyn's songs sung to a rugged, vaguely Celtic harp accompaniment with electric piano, bridge the gap between Judy Collins and Joanna Newsom. [Sep 2011, p.88]

If there's a whiff of C86-styled whimsy in this debut, then its savvy more than compensates. [Sep 2011, p.89]

It's a delicate balance, but the obvious sincerity of Campbell's performance overcomes any qualms about what could be an exploitative concept. [Sep 2011, p.90]

Both fierce and mellow, this is smooth-jazz with an alluringly punky heart. [Sep 2011, p.96]

Terrific, genre-flipping from Seattle collective. [Jun 2011, p.92]

This collection further substantiates Newman's rarefied status as a songwriter. [Jun 2011, p.93]

The ferocious cauldron of funk guitars, stinging horns, simmering grooves and incendiary, politicized lyrics departs little from Fela's trademark style, but is delivered with a spiky aggression that entirely justifies the album's title. [May 2011, p.94]

Ganglians take care to lace everything with bright, primary colour melodies, suggesting they might yet follow the likes of MGMT and Yeasayer into the mainstream. [Sep 2011, p.87]