The first record in a long while I've wanted to play again immediately after it's finished. [Album Of The Month, April 2002, p.92]

There's little on OFOW that he hasn't done already. [Nov 2002, p.128]

These days her winning innocence has turned to mature craft, but she's lost none of her integrity or emotional honesty. [Dec 2002, p.129]

Exquisite. [Feb 2003, p.80]

LL's best album since 1987's Bigger and Deffer. [Jan 2003, p.122]

A hugely inventive collection. [Jan 2003, p.119]

The appealing immediacy evident on the debut is smothered by the overbearing production. [Nov 2002, p.118]

This is the pop album of 2003 which everyone else will have to beat. [Jul 2003, p.124]

The finest tracks here update the duo's attitude as well as their sound, dissecting anew cultural and emotional climate with a bittersweet detachment reminiscent of the Pet Shop Boys. [Oct 2002, p.124]

Basic, sludge-grey power pop that makes Weezer sound as kaleidoscopic as The Flaming Lips. [Nov 2002, p.128]

This is Calexico on downers, Lee Hazlewood on jolly pills. [Dec 2002, p.131]

A sentimental indulgence destined for a theme-pub half-life. [Nov 2002, p.114]

Think early Air meets hip-hop, the West Coast harmonies and Ultramarine-style tech-fok eccentricities merging with euphoric yet becalmed moodscapes. [Nov 2002, p.113]

It's a snappy, catchy hybrid, though one that irritates pretty quickly. [Apr 2003, p.105]

It's hard to see how much satisfaction this laconic talent must gain from fiddling with a formula he perfected in 1987. [Nov 2002, p.114]

On paper it may sound like brittle Grand Royal retro-cool, but on record it simply belts along with a primal melodic simplicity and sexy nu-wave freshness. [January 2002, p.146]

His melancholic optimism is uplifting and his melodies surprisingly plush. [Dec 2002, p.140]

They haven't yet shown enough thrills in righteousness to challenge gangsta's dark, easy attraction. [Nov 2002, p.129]

Pale fire, but fire nonetheless. [Dec 2002, p.130]

Guests like Emiliana Torrini and Shinehead help make this that rarity: an electronic album with personality. [Dec 2002, p.133]

The lovely packaging far outshines the formless and dated rumblings within. [Nov 2002, p.113]

Iconoclastic and visceral, Squarepusher is punk rock 2002. [Nov 2002, p.132]

Producer Mike Mogis [gives] these delicate songs a sheen that was lacking on their 2001 debut. [Jul 2003, p.114]

A decent album of roots-tinged songs that showcases his terse guitar style and detached vocals to solid if unspectacular effect. [Nov 2002, p.122]

Whereas so much downtempo leans heavily on two-note, oceanic synth washes, Blue States are masters of detail. [Sep 2002, p.111]

Entertaining, largely forgettable. [Jan 2003, p.120]

For the most part, Anderson's cockernee affectations have gone, as have his references to drugs, gasoline and tube-bound alienation. Instead, we have the sci-fi romance of "Astro Girls" and the rabble-rousing rock of "Street Life." [Nov 2002, p.126]

Definitely a return to psyche splendour. [Oct 2002, p.122]