You could praise individual moments... but it's the overall weave, the daydreamy drift, that impresses. A 40-minute swoon of a record. [Jul 2004, p.112]

Carried off with an impressive theatricality. [Jul 2005, p.104]

Crisp, tight and fluid. [Aug 2004, p.92]

With its smoothing of rough edges, it's likely this record will split opinion, but there's much to admire for those--like its creator--willing to burrow. [May 2004, p.107]

A big, baroque fusion of sharp garage, paisley pop and '70s sleekness, finished with a coating of Terry Jacks sentiment. [Jul 2004, p.104]

It's hard to deny the emotional weight and beauty of Polly's personal, if comparatively uncommercial, sixth album. [Jul 2004, p.108]

At times it's almost unbearably candid, an unflinching examination of his devotion both to homestead and to God. [Jul 2004, p.112]

Not that there isn't music on Russian Doll that's as lovely as any he's made, but it's brought crashing down to earth by deeply average singer Siobhan de Mare. [Jun 2004, p.86]

It's exuberant dorkiness, as well as fluidity of playing, that makes !!! stand out. [Jul 2004, p.106]

Channels a palpable love of early Fall... and Daydream Nation-period Sonic Youth... into a convincing half-hour that teeters, teasingly, on the brink of collapse. [Jul 2004, p.102]

This is certainly the pair's most immediate record. It's also their least appealing. [Jun 2004, p.91]

Rarely has contrived weirdness sounded so utterly bewitching. [Jun 2004, p.85]

The sort of herky, jerky new wave Molly Ringwald might have bopped to in The Breakfast Club. [Jun 2004, p.95]

Pretty, but pretty vacant. [Aug 2004, p.102]

This is the sound of dashboard-tapping, local radio MOR. [Apr 2004, p.108]

Luddites still unconvinced that digital technology is capable of emotional expression should make this their first stop on the road to enlightenment. [May 2004, p.103]

A wearyingly one-dimensional 45 minutes. [May 2003, p.89]

The Fever are shaping up as America's Franz Ferdinand, taking their cues from Buzzcocks and Wire. [Mar 2005, p.100]

Ultimately, it's that out-of-time devotion--along with soaring choruses to put most contemporaries to shame--which makes this a debut record to cherish. [May 2004, p.104]

Solid song structure replaces ambient abstraction... ranges across Latino jazz, stadium rock, soul and pastoral glitch. [Jun 2004, p.86]

The chamber-pop arrangements make pretentiously snarled lyrics slip down smoothly. [Oct 2005, p.108]

Hayden's nagging melodies and deadpan delivery occupy their own peculiar kingdom. [Sep 2004, p.102]

Deeply average. [Apr 2004, p.91]

It's like John Bonham playing with Can, or Floyd-meet-Spiritualized with a barely repressed pop consciousness. [Jul 2004, p.95]

Tracks such as "Where Ya Going?" and "Chicken Out"... make them sound like Southport's answer to ZZ Top. But there's plenty more going on that doesn't involve such dumbing-down. [Jul 2004, p.107]

An essential listen for anyone interested in where music might take them. [Jun 2004, p.86]

Flares dazzlingly on initial contact, but dims a little. [Jun 2004, p.92]

[An] effervescent, sun-dappled debut. [Aug 2005, p.103]