This time he's crafted a more parent-friendly brand of earnest pop that isn't quite as irritating, but is sadly no more engaging. [Aug 2009, p.101]

Even in cliched moments the airy swooning music lends her breathy confessionals a vulnerable, charming intimacy. [Jul 2009, p.99]

Beneath the catchy hooks, a collection of bleak songs about nihilism and failure are revealed. [Sep 2009, p.92]

There have been worse ideas, it's true. All round, though, it feels like a man with a gun in his back, being forced to be upbeat. [Sep 2009, p.79]

This time around they've learnt to loosen up slightly, enlisting the help of Amber Webber from Black Mountain and adding a pleasingly West Coast sensibility to what was previously a rather monochromatic Americana mix. [Sep 2009, p.81]

Best is "Sylvia", where Bon Iver's intimacy, Arcade Fire's ambition, Sigur Ros' other-worldly reach and Flaming Lips' psych experimentalism collide. [Dec 2009, p. 98]

Henry lacks Wait's distinctive voice and lyrical personae, but his way with deftly arranged melodies is often superb. [Sep 2009, p.84]

Respect is due--such is their musical vigor, PJ make it sound like it all really matters. [Sep 2009, p.90]

This follow-up is a lackluster affair. [Sep 2009, p.95]

The music is accordingly spectral, with sparse piano teasing its way into break-out crescendos of strings, French horns and a children's choir. [Dec 2009, p. 87]

While Lanegan could sing the Richard Stilgoe songbook and still enthral, there remains a hint of contrivance about Soulsavers' self-consciously cinematic, grungey trip hop. [Sep 2009, p.95]

Ultimately, though, it's another Squarepusher album you don't really need. [Oct 2009, p.112]

It’s a ravishing production, and with a companion disc promised next year, feels like a fresh start for a brilliant career.

Back To Yasgur’s Farm has a documentary feel that’s one of its most successful aspects.

There's a sense that it trawls the finest moments of his 15-year carreer. [Jul 2009, p.93]

On her opening 21st-century work she's still raging. [Jul 2009, p.97]

Lean Forward occasionally falters toward generic Southern rock, but contains its share of gems. [Nov 2009, p.81]

The results are impressive: the requisite 1960s garage cover sits happily alongside the band's traditional urgency, and their newfound classicism. [Nov 2009, p.99]

Yorkston may have set aside his “personal muse” for a moment, but Folk Songs is still part of his rich re-imagining of our heritage.

Most of the album comes across as a weedy, irritating student pastiche of the DFA sound rather than something that deserves a place in its esteemed catalogue. [Sep 2009, p.105]

Skyscraper is largely drab, despite Banks experimenting with beats, samples and chamber pop orchestration. [Sep 2009, p.90]

Overall though--a quality 'One More American Song' shares with the whole collection--this is a song with an understated, but crucial, element of hope. [Aug 2009, p.100]

The new line up and improved prodution give songs more space, but haven't hindered the jaunty, lo-fi, eclectic iindie that made "Moonbeams" such a treat. [Sep 2009, p.101]

Constancy is provided by the band's sleek economy and the piercing, implacable vocals of Sian Alice Ahern herself. [Sep 2009, p.92]

The rest of the album struggles to maintain that high standard [of the second track, 'I Know'], but 'Take It Home' is a magnificent dirge. [Sep 2009, p.86]

Nonsensical, inventive and captivating. [Sep 2009, p.89]

It all adds up to an immaculately composed, if soft-centred, avant-pop proposition, and suggest Frank might just turn out to be the British Justin Timberlake. [Aug 2009, p.92]

The narcotic haze of early singles is missed, but their knack with a loping pop hook is still ever-present and thier euphoric harmonies find new perches in "Back Where We Started" and "Twit Twoo." [Aug 2009, p.109]