Upping the tempo-and libido of her Grammy-winning "Beautifully Human," here Scott lays the funky paramaters wide open. Jan 2008, p.100]

More memorable for famous guests than fine tunes, The World Is Yours does not diminish Brown’s reputation, but it lacks the exotic, adventurous reach of his best work.

Once Upon A Time In The West may lack the cultural resonance Archer so desperately craves, but it’s widescreen appeal makes most guitar bands sound like they’re on Super 8.

There's another side to the jaunty guitars and multi-tracked choruses that sometimes make Tunstall sound like she's singing an orange juice advert.... 'Beauty of Uncertainty' and the closer 'Paper Aeroplane' are stark and moody etudes as far removed from, say, Dido as it's possible to get.

The drawback, as ever, is Blunt’s warbly, whining, strangled voice, which sounds increasingly like a bad Weird Al Yankovic parody.

You’d be even more surprised to hear that it features 'songs'--proper, beautiful, well-crafted songs.

With Drew at the helm, however, it becomes a messier, less wholesome affair, seductively so on 'Lucky Ones' and 'Frightening Lives,' which scamper toward some grubby euphoria like a hal-cut Arcade Fire. [Oct 2007, p.87]

Just prepare for a Rogue Wave deluge. [June 2008, p.102]

With every album that he writes HIM mainman Ville Valo gets closer to his dream fusion of Metallica, Depeche Mode and Ozzy, while still remembering to add some distinctly gothic beauty. [Oct 2007, p.93]

It's business as usual. [Nov 2007, p.98]

The lyrics to these songs are themselves sketchy, enigmatic, quietly rousing, windily romantic, redolent of majestic vistas, vast horizons, a landscape of personal liberation.

Many of their songs go on for weeks, doing little but reiterating banal refrains, badly confusing hypnotic with merely repetitious. [Nov 2007, p.96]

It’s a welcome return, to say the least.

Al Jourgensen is bringing Ministry to a close, and truthfully, it's the right time. [Nov 2007, p.113]

His mystical belief in the power of love pervades the material, sometimes anthemically, sometimes playfully, but always disarmingly. [Oct 2007, p.96]

Gravenhurst prove that kicking arse is neither beneath nor beyond them. [Oct 2007, p.93]

Ultimately, the record is a tribute to McClure's charisma and unswerving self-belief.

Fourth album time for Turin Brakes, and practice is edging the duo closer to perfection. [Oct 2007, p.113]

But though much of the record revels in freaky electronics--'Chores' and 'Winter Wonder Land' rush through as though played by pixellated marching bands--there’s an overwhelming sadness to the undertow

If there's a criticism, it's that this rarely expands on the ideas of their debut: shouty kiddy-rapping, Motown samples, crashing drum loops. But when a band boasts such a unique sonic palette, "more of the same" surely ranks as a compliment.

Hot Hot Heat have recently toned down a lot of their jerkier tendencies and are a lot less annoying for it. [Nov 2007, p.107]

This sounds more like the Pixies than any of Francis' other solo albums. [Oct 2007, p.83]

Grand National lack Hot Chip's playful edge and by 'Joker and Clown,' thoughtful production is hitched to that last refuge of pop scoundrel--the Snow Patrol-style ballad. {Apr 2008, p.90]

It's the clever orchestration that elevates this above postmodern gag, all fluttering pipes and chiming guitar. [Nov 2007, p.98]

A cover of Pink Floyd's 'Echoes' proves you typecast Qui at your peril. [Oct 2007, p.102]

A likeable, modest debut. [Oct 2007, p.101]

Their fourth studio album combinds poignant odes to former drummer Ben Eberbaugh with a joyous refusal to take itself seriously. [Oct 2007, p.83]

It's commendable stuff, but you can't help wishing he'd kept the scattershot, carte blanche approach of before. [Nov 2007, p.121]