The mood is sweet and slightly whacked-out as Cabic brings campfire cheeriness to Norman Greenbaum;s 'Hook & Ladder' and wistful resilence to Ian (Fairport) Matthews' 'Road to Ronderlin.' [June 2008, p.109]

It's dark, powerful and groovy, but some more variety wouldn't go amiss. [July 2008, p.90]

While there is no doubting the power of Marc Ribot’s off-kilter twanging or the noirish density of the music, the songs don’t really work on their own.

The slick sequel starts strongly.... Alas, the album then falls into a compentent but monotonous groove of priapic Prince-old-porno-funk, its minor flashes of OutKast-style irreverence ultimately overshadowed by routine reto-pastiche. [June 2008, p.99]

It's all charmingly rendered and, as in the wigout 'Pigeonhold,' teeming with joyous abandon a la the Arcade Fire. [Sep 2008, p.98]

The Airing Of Grievances is one of the smartest, most joyous records in an age, channelling the spirit of other too-clever-by-half suburban punks from The Replacements to Nirvana and adding a dash of felllow New Jerseyite Bruce Springsteen's eye for detail. [MAr 2009, p.87]

Tracks like 'Couples' prove their trademark sound is still as strong (and smart) as ever. [May 2008, p.102]

With Arcade Fire arranger Owen Pallett draping the songs in sympathetic strings and producer James Ford working overtime on drums, the result is a widescreen epic, full of high fevers and crystal-clear vocal performances.

This is predictably slick and inoffensive stuff. [Dec 2007, p.90]

Taken on its own terms, though, Nouns is a righteous success: delightfully dazed, good-times punk rock for a new generation of Californian dreamers.

Supreme Balloon adds up to the duo's most consistently enjoyable albums yet. [June 2008, p.98]

It's not a ballet or a string quartet, but Costello sounding more "Attractions"-like than he has in over 20 years. [Oct 2008, p.83]

This four-track mini-album is something of a departure from [previous works, this is] a relatively straightforward, stripped down techno work with a few mischievous touches. [June 2008, p.88]

Some of it is as good as anything Diamond has done.

Predictably, it's all over the map, but The Golden Hour fizzes with invention. [July 2008, p.106]

Everything's The Rush plays it safer, eschewing the Cocteaus-esque material and dance-pop for a more route-one, stadium approach, hoofing it up to the big chorus. [July 2008, p.93]

Despite the starry cameos and production turns, Shine lacks a little lustre. [May 2008, p.94]

Third is the most stunning, stark and superb Portishead album yet. [May 2008, p.84]

The world-view is challenging and heart-felt, the playing deft, the conviction clear. [June 2008, p.88]

He's at his best here on the playful Beck-like 'Hurricane' and the sweetly mournful 'Rope of Sand,' but Jamiroquai-averse listeners would do well to avoid 'Figure Me Out.' [May 2008, p.102]

And though it sometimes plays safe, Hard Candy could be her most unpretentious and consistently enjoyable pop record since Like A Virgin.

White is undoubtedly talented, but neither she nor her record company seem to know what to do with her. [July 2008, p.100]

A cover of 'Flower Sun Rain' by '70s Japanese supergroup Pyg sounds like the Super Furries, while a 16-mkinute doom jam with SunO)))'s Stephen O'Malley is as titanic as you'd hope. [May 2008, p.91]

The Evangelist isn’t a Go-Betweens album, but it’s more cohesive than any of Forster’s other solo albums, and more moving.

Metal has teken giant evolutionary strides these past few years but, like mammoths frozen in ice, Def Leppard remain perfectly preserved in their own oblivion to them. [July 2008, p.91]

Not as muddy as one might have hoped, then, but this was definitely a revisit worth making. [July 2008, p.96]

Much of [Buckshot's] edge is lost but fans of hip hop's yellowing indie template will find much to enjoy nonetheless. [Sep 2008, p.90]

As reassuring as Nine Lives will be to longtime Winwood fans, it’s bound to leave them wanting more--like a full album of Winwood-Clapton interplay.