Darnielle dresses songs of romance, heartache, and travel in elegant leaps of language. [Mar 2008, p.96]

For Emma, Forever Ago is such a hermetically sealed, complete and satisfying album, the prospect of a follow-up--of a life for Vernon beyond the wilderness, even - seems merely extraneous.

There are times when the playing of the session band is slick to the point of blandness, and the production (by Davies and Ray Kennedy) is crisply tasteful when the songs cry out for dissonance.... But when it works, it works.

Ironically, the straight country of Jessi Colter's 'I'm Looking For Blue Eyes,' suits her best, while the busted drones and banjos of Julie Miller's 'Orphan Train' suggest there is better still to come. [Apr 2008, p.98]

They haven't downsized: the rock is (well played) bog-standard retro, but themes cover Guantanamo and the afterlife. Amid the Dylan raps and Yardbirds licks (and if The Charlatans made this, they'd be garlanded) there's a welcome sense that they're smartly chuckling at themselves.

Perfect background music for those late-night venues that tend to overdo the ultra-violet lights. [Mar 2008, p.96]

The songs are much more confidently realised. [May 2008, p.100]

Album two finds them pressing the Gilbert O'SuperTramp button with gusto. [Mar 2008, p.87]

Pete & The Pirates have a handful of great pop songs to balance out the weight of their obvious influences. [Mar 2008, p.97]

British Sea Power are still without a 'Wake Up' or a 'Float On' but Do You Like Rock Music? is exhilarating in its ambition, full of songs that will warm the cockles at whichever National Heritage site they choose to play next.

As a listener, it’s equally hard not to feel the love. With Hot Chip, it now feels like the right time to commit.

The Brooklyn-based veterns have beefed up the arrangements on LP number five, and Matthew Caws' material happily carries that weight. [Mar 2008, p.96]

Watershed feels like a declaration of independence. [Feb 2008, p.87]

You'd be hard pressed to find anything to summon the blood and stiffen the sinew among the 14 songs on offer here. [Mar 2007, p.90]

A song called 'Vietnam' only reinforces the all-around impression Lenny is 40 years too late. [Mar 2008, p.92]

It's as convincing and heartfelt as anything else here--and suggests that by incorporating disco into the rest of his music, even better things may lie ahead. [Mar 2008, p.96]

This fifth album gets progressively less fuzztoned and more overtly tuneful as it progresses. [Mar 2008, p.85]

It's fitting that this debut contains at least half a dozen exquiste songs that could work in any idiom. [Feb 2008, p.80]

Circular Sounds is a collection of snappy, mildly psychedelic, instantly memorable songs, delivered with an unfussy and becoming modesty.

Still square, then, but they're loosening up. [Feb 2008, p.93]

They've pulled together their most digestible record yet. [Feb 2008, p.84]

Cosmopolitan, anglophile, afrobeat--Vampire Weekend are in an Ivy League of their own.

Women As Lovers may be his best yet. [Mar 2008, p.107]

Walla creates intricate, fugue-like patterns featuring guitars, analog synths and harmonies, enabling his spiralling melodies to unfold progressively while also providing a cushion for his diminultive but genuine vocals--making for a record that's taut and affecting. [Feb 2008, p.95]

The emphasis on Jackson's piano is obviously no problem, but his focus drifts from the punchy pop that characterised its predecessor. [Feb 2008, p.81]

If there’s something odd about an authentic Southern girl reworking a singer from Ealing who longed to emulate her American heroes, then it’s perhaps best to judge this record on its own merit. Which, as it turns out, is very high indeed.

A haunting cover of the Pixies' 'Where Is My Mind' rounds off a quite remarkable debut. [May 2008]

it's full of lovely moments, but it nees more edge to keep you from snoozing. [Apr 2008, p.91]