Gutter Tactics lets a little light in, though, the glimmering, shoegazey 'We Lost Sight' being the surest glimpse yet of redemption within the gloom. [Mar 2009, p.82]

This is a bold howl for attention from the backwoods of folktronica. [Apr 2009, p.89]

This reunion feels like they've never been away. [Nov 2008, p.102]

Its wilful eccentricity distracts from the Native Tongues style that's their strongest card. [Mar 2009, p.107]

Unusually for him, his 10th album sounds like a collection of Chili Peppers demos. [Feb 2009, p.82]

If the elastic funk of 'You And Everyone Else' comes as a welcome surprise, put it down to the contribution of underrated backing band South. [Feb 2009, p.85]

Lambs Anger zig-zags from the sublime to the silly. [Feb 2009, p.89]

Old Money is rather more sharply honed--indeed, only the lack of vocals distinguishes this from a Mars Volta record. [Feb 2009, p.93]

The results can be ponderous, though Franklin's melodic smarts save things. [Jul 2009, p.93]

It sees them adapt while retaining their street credibility. [Nov 2008, p.117]

It feels like one of the landmark American albums of the century so far. [Jan 2008, p.86]

The Crying Light shows Antony boldly, indefatigably following his own eccentric star.

The songs here reveal their author's love of The Beattles, Fleetwood Mac, Paul Simon, Elton John et al, and confirm Newman's growing status as college rock's most tasteful magpie. [Apr 2009, p.91]

There’s a sense throughout that Bird’s head is engaged in a battle with his heart, as if aware that there’s a pop masterpiece squatting on the far horizons of his intuition.

The pair sometimes get slow and mellow, but the dominant tone is better expressed by the brattish beat explosion of 'Daylight,' the madly bleeping 'Don't Slow Down' or the clatteringly chaotic 'Cutdown.' [Sep 2009, p.86]

A solo album that sounds like a series of song sketches. [Feb 2009, p.89]

This is one of the heavier and more accessible entries in their labyrinthine discography. [Jan 2009, p.102]

His debut as a solo artist is no grand break from past form, while confirming that age shall not wither him. [Feb 2009, p.101]

RTZ helpfully collects together a bunch of Chasny's rare early jams, proving that his eldritch guitar studies--at once intense, devotional and not a little creepy--have remained consistent for a decade now. [Mar 2009, p.103]

Deliberately daft, but also bold and adventurous, Late Of The Pier are a hyperactive British answer to MGMT. [Sep 2008, p.90]

Mike Mattison's gritty lead vocals are fully functional, but it's Trucks' consistently mesmerising guitar and dobro that draw the ear. [Feb 2009, p.99]

Fine writing, then, and there’s musical variety, too.

If you’re simply after retro thrills, though, these boozy anthems will provide you with one very happy hour.

Exultant opener 'Country Love' and Cajun rumbler 'Shreveport,' like most of Haymaker!, just sparkle. [Feb 2009, p.82]

Some tracks feel throwaway, but goodtime vibes prevail. [Apr 2009, p.80]

Tough and determinedly sexed-up, here you'll find talk of beefs, booty and bitches, rather than brotherhood. Producers Neptunes and OutKast's Mr DJ oversee this exercise in alluringly moderne hip hop. [Oct 2008, p.83]

Anyone still reeling from Chan Marshall's sultry and imperious covers collection, "Jukebox," will find further thrills on this six track mini-album.

This slice of weird-rock from a more contented American decade is playful and preposterous in equal measure. [Feb 2009, p.89]