Albums
Album Review: Paul Weller - 'Wake Up The Nation' (Island)
Our Godlike Genius 2010 casts away the laurels in favour of fresh, fiery songcraft on this riotous, inventive rebirth
Album Review: The Tallest Man On Earth - 'The Wild Hunt' (Dead Oceans)
A rough’n’ready energy fuelling this Swede's pastiche
Album review: Starkey - 'Ear Drums And Black Holes' (Planet Mu)
The American bass master takes UK dubstep and chucks it back at us louder and heavier than ever
Album Review: MGMT - 'Congratulations' (Columbia)
Not quite as mad or suicidal as rumour suggested, the duo's follow-up to 'Oracular...' is more conflicted than courageous
Album review: Music Go Music - 'Expressions' (Mercury/Secretly Canadian)
They have a fine ear for a sizzling pop tune, but with little unique personality this is near hen party zone
Album Review: We Have Band - 'WHB' (WHB Records/Naive)
Brainy indie-disco trio's debut soars when it doesn't try too hard
Album review: Kyte - 'Dead Waves' (Kids)
If you like your shoegaze a bit more hobnailed, step this way
Album Review: Evelyn Evelyn - 'Evelyn Evelyn' (8Ft/Eleven)
Forever indulging her oddball fantasies, Palmer's new offering is no exception
Album review: John Grant - 'The Queen Of Denmark' (Bella Union)
Letting it all out never sounded so sweet
Album Review: Subsource - 'Tales From The Doombox' (Doombox)
Fusing dubstep with cyber metal with great aplomb
Album Review: Kate Nash - 'My Best Friend Is You' (Fiction/Polydor)
Not quite the riot grrrl makeover of rumour, but in trying on new styles, she’s found her own voice
Album Reviews: Rufus Wainwright - 'All Days Are Nights: Songs For Lulu' (Polydor)
A disappointing return for Wainwright
Album Review: Caribou - 'Swim' (City Slang)
Electronica for grown ups
Album Review: Gloria Cycles - 'Campsite Discoteque' (A&G Records)
Regrettably instantly forgettable
Album Review: Bonnie 'Prince' Billy & The Cairo Gang - 'The Wonder Show Of The World' (Domino)
There's a sense here that Oldham’s going round in decreasing circles
Album Review: Peggy Sue - 'Fossils And Other Phantoms' (Wichita)
This duo blossom in the bitterest of experiences
Album Review: The Radio Dept - 'Clinging To A Scheme' (Labradour)
Perfectly hazy record, but fails to push this band to the limits of their capabilities
Album Review: Balmorhea - 'Constellations' (Western Vinyl)
An album dragging along at a turgid pace
Album Review: Coheed And Cambria - 'Year Of The Black Rainbow' (Roadrunner)
Treading a bombastic path
Album Review: Black Francis - 'Nonstoperotik' (Cooking Vinyl)
A welcome return to quirky experimentalism
Album Review: Cancer Bats - 'Bears, Mayors, Scraps And Bones' (Hassle)
These hardcore delinquents offer a whipping that’d have Bettie Page in a frenzy
Album Review: Erykah Badu - 'New Amerykah, Part II: Return Of The Ankh' (Universal)
A personal and laidback affair
Album Review: High Places - 'VS Mankind' (Thrill Jockey)
A superior beast to their gauzy shoegazing debut
Album Review: Ikonika - 'Contact, Love, Want, Have' (Hyperdub)
One small dubstep for man, one giant leap for experimental UK club music
Album Review: Valgeir Sigurdsson - 'Draumalandid' (Bedroom Community)
An incredible album in its own right
Album Review: Daniel Bjarnason - 'Procession' (Bedroom Community)
Treading chartered ground with this debut offering
Album Review: Scouting For Girls -'Everybody Wants To Be On TV' (Epic)
Peddling clichés that are nothing more than offensive
Album Review: Son Of Dave - 'Shake A Bone' (Kartel)
An album not entirely without charm
Album Review: Shakespears Sister - 'Songs From The Red Room' (Cargo)
A kitsch success harnessing the best of late electro
Album Review: The Avett Brothers - 'I And Love And You'
An unconvincing stab at mainstream country
Album Review: Castrovalva - 'We Are A Unit' (Brew)
Shrill and punishingly bassy
Album Review: Lucky Soul - 'A Coming Of Age' (Ruffa Lane)
This heavy vintage glam feels musty
Album Review: Plan B - 'The Defamation Of Strickland Banks' (679)
Ben Drew’s shift to conceptual Motown is surprisingly snazzy, but we still like him best scary
Album Review: The Candle Thieves - 'Sunshine And Other Misfortunes' (Carnival Town)
Fantasy pop that's jarring to say the least
Album Review: Darwin Deez - 'Darwin Deez' (Lucky Number)
The hottest ’tache in indie defies natural selection with a charmingly low-key anomaly of a debut
Album Review: The Bundles - 'The Bundles' (K Records)
An understated treasure served up by this alt folk supergroup
Album Review: Ted Leo And The Pharmacists - 'The Brutalist Bricks' (Matador)
A formula that remains punk as fuck
Album Review: David Byrne & Fatboy Slim - 'Here Lies Love' (Nonsuch)
A glittering array of talent assemble for a complex pean to a former dictator's wife
Album Review: Mi Ami - 'Steal Your Face' (Thrill Jockey)
An erratic EP whose behaviour intoxicates
Album Review: Bright Eyes And Neva Dinova - 'One Jug Of Wine, Two Vessels' (Saddle Creek)
Folksy team-up that makes us pine for Conor Oberst's full return
Album Review: Prins Thomas - 'Prins Thomas' - (Full Pupp)
The sound of Belle & Sebastian in search of the perfect groove
Album Review: Andrew WK - 'Close Calls With Brick Walls/Mother Of Mankind' (Steev Mike)
The wayard American is still a party starter
Album Review: Blacklist - 'Midnight Of The Century' (Weird)
An album with nocturnal twists worth embracing
Album Review: Wooden Shjips - 'Vol 2' (Sick Thirst)
Lacking a progressive spirit but effective nonetheless
Album Review: Dum Dum Girls - 'I Will Be' (Sub Pop)
More than just another garage rock pastiche, these girls have real heart
Album Review: Chris T-T - 'Love Is Not Rescue' (Xtra Mile Recording)
Fighting words when we need them most
Album Review: Mark Beazley - 'Stateless' (Trace)
An album that suffers for its shilly-shallying between the idyllic and the morose
Album Review: Vex'd - 'Cloud Seed' (Planet Mu)
An unsettling follow-up to their skull-shattering debut
Album Review: Kids In Glass Houses - 'Dirt' (Roadrunner)
A botched second offering from the Welsh outfit
Album Review: General Fiasco - 'Buildings' (Infectious)
More filler for the landfill indie gravy train
Album Review: Christy & Emily - 'No Rest' (Klangbad)
The Brooklyn duo's third album is a restless piece of work
Album Review: Danton Eeprom - 'Yes Is More' (Foundation)
In the case of this idiosyncratic outsider less is more
Album Review: Clipse - 'Til The Casket Drops' (Columbia)
Walking a fine line between fame-hungry thugs and existential thinkers
Album Review: Autechre - 'Oversteps' (Warp)
An imaginative offering from these pioneers of electronica
Album Review: Sharleen Spiteri - 'The Movie Songbook' (Mercury)
More Tannoy music for upscale supermarket chains
Album Review: Serena Maneesh - 'No 2: Abyss In B Minor' (4AD)
The soundtrack to dark times ahead
Album Review: White Belt Yellow Tag - 'Methods' (Distiller)
A duo that are more than flyweight guitar cannon fodder
Album Review: The Black Box Revelation - 'Silver Threats' (T For Tunes)
A trip down memory lane worth forgetting
Album Review: To Rococo Rot - 'Speculation' (Domino)
If only this album was more tuneful than testing
Live review: Lady Gaga/Alphabeat/Semi Precious Weapons
O2 Arena, London, Saturday February 27
Album Review: Breakage - 'Foundation' (Digital Soundboy)
Bass music that embarks on world domination
Album Review: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - 'Beat The Devil's Tattoo' (Abstract Dragon/Co-Op)
An earnest offering and not much else
Album Review: Breakage - 'Foundation' (Digital Soundboy)
Bass music that embarks on world domination
Album Review: Plastiscines - 'About Love' (Because)
Modelled angst proves model horror
Album Review: Goldheart Assembly - 'Wolves And Thieves' (Fierce Panda)
Beating the Yanks at the Americana game - if only the lyrics stayed closer to home
Album Review: Drive-By Truckers - 'The Big To-Do' (Pias)
Word from the mouths of the debauched
Album Review: Goldfrapp - 'Head First' (Mute)
Once the source of pop inspiration, now it seems they're content to follow
Album Review: The Besnard Lakes - 'The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night' (Jagjaguwar)
Teenage dreams are hard to beat
Album Review: Envy - 'Set Yourself On Fire' (Stop Start)
hotly-tipped gobby British MC puts her money where her mouth is on her debut
Album review: White Hinterland - 'Kairos' (Dead Oceans)
The alchemist strikes again
Album Review: Laura Marling - 'I Speak Because I Can' (Virgin)
The growing pains of an old soul make for compelling and powerful music
Album Review: The White Stripes - 'Under Great White Northern Lights' (Third Man/XL)
The duo's new DVD and live album makes you realise how much you miss them
Album Review: It's A Musical - 'The Music Makes Me Sick' (New Music Club)
Keeping emotions in flux from start to finish
Album Review: Errors - 'Come Dine With Me' (Rock Action)
No new surprises on their second album, but they're still working harder than most
Album Review: Ulrich Schnauss - 'Missing Deadlines: Selected Remixes' (Rocket Girl)
At times homogenous to the point of distraction
Album Review: Amy Macdonald - 'A Curious Thing' (Mercury)
A more predictable thing that you'd imagine
Album Review: North Atlantic Oscillation - 'Grappling Hooks' (Kscope)
A journey into the sublime
Album Review: The Smoking Hearts - 'Pride Of Nowhere' (George Street)
A worthy contender to Gallow's punk supremacy
Album Review: Sennen - 'Age Of Denial' (Hungry Audio)
Expansive exploits that channels the splendour of Spiritualized
Album Review: Bomb The Bass - 'Back To The Light' (!K7)
Quantity proves no bar to quality for this Brit outfit
Album Review: Pavement - 'Quarantine The Past: The Best Of Pavement' (Domino)
A faultless retrospective of one of indie's greatest survivors
Album review: Blood Red Shoes - 'Fire Like This' (V2/Co-operative)
Rumours of the duo going 'soft' were just that - they're as thrillingly loud as always
Album Review: The Automatic - 'Tear The Signs Down' (Armoured)
The Welsh outfit fail to get into gear
Album review: Two Door Cinema Club - 'Tourist History' (Kitsune)
They're Northern Ireland's brightest hopes since, er, Snow Patrol...
Album Review: New Young Pony Club - 'The Optimist' (Pias)
Ty and co's new dose of pure pop disco punk is edgier and more eager than ever
Album review: The Courteeners - 'Falcon' (Polydor)
Liam and the other three finally take flight on their second album
Album Review: Liars - 'Sisterworld' (Mute)
You are about to enter a universe you've never before been to. Be prepared...
Album review: Toro Y Moi - 'Causers Of This' (Carpark)
Stylishly soporific, the glo-fi pioneer's debut is a blissed-out masterpiece
Album Review: Kris Drever - 'Mark The Hard Earth' (Navigator)
Drever fails to adventure further than the blueprint of his debut
Album review: LoneLady - 'Nerve Up' (Warp)
Not just one in a line of great Manchester acts, this is a unique, brilliant debut
Album Review: Alphabeat - 'The Beat Is...' (Polydor)
The Danish outfit fail to punch above their weight
Album review: Holly Miranda - 'The Magician's Private Library' (XL)
Sitek-assisted triumph with songs as odd as her back story
Album Review: Sugababes - 'Sweet 7' (Universal/Island)
The new look girl group's sound doesn't live up to past endeavours
Album review: Marina And The Diamonds - 'The Family Jewels' (679)
Ms Diamandis mixes sparkling pop with beautiful darkness for a debut that dazzles
Album Review: Titus Andronicus - 'The Monitor' (Merok/XL)
Breaking all the rules has mixed results
Album Review: The Brian Jonestown Massacre - 'Who Killed Sgt. Pepper'
Eleven albums in and Anton Newcombe still loves to hate
Album Review: The John Moore Rock And Roll Trio - 'Roll Your Activator Volume 1' (Greaser 2000)
Bridging the gap between the old and the new
Album Review: Erik Hassle - 'Pieces'
It's all falling apart for the Swedish composer
Album Review: So So Modern - 'Crude Futures' (Transgressive)
A rock ensemble with one foot firmly in the past
Album review: Gil Scott-Heron - 'I'm New Here'
Staying one step ahead of the pack with one of the old masters
Album Review: Frightened Rabbit - 'The Winter Of Mixed Drinks' (Fat Cat)
A stunning return from the Selkirk five-piece
Album Review: Retribution Gospel Choir - '2'
Low frontman Alan Sparhark returns with a vengence
Album Review: Groove Armada - 'Black Light' (Work It Out/Cooking Vinyl)
A pleasant surprise from the musical equivalent of 'playing it safe'
Album Review: Gucci Mane - 'The State Vs Radric Davis'
Rap's latest contender proves a poor imitation of a what's gone before
Album Review: Archie Bronson Outfit - 'Coconut' (Domino)
A triumphant return for the alt.rock trio
Album Review: The Strange Boys - 'Be Brave'
Fortune seems to have favoured this Texan outfit
Album Review: Baby Dee - 'A Book Of Songs' (Tin Angel)
Antony Hegarty's close friend and collaborator goes it alone
Album Review: Emma Pollock - 'The Law Of Large Numbers'
The former Delgardos frontwoman's triumphant return to grandiose indie
Album Album: Voice Of Seven Thunders - 'Voice Of Seven Thunders' (Tchantiler)
A change in direction proves a blistering success for Tomlinson's latest incarnation
Album Review: Quasi - 'American Gong'
The indie stalwarts don't just bear a resemblance in name
Album Review: The Kissaway Trail - 'Sleep Mountain' (Bella Union)
The Danish outfit pull out all the stops for their latest record
Album Review: Fun Lovin' Criminals - 'Classic Fantastic'
Fun? No. Lovin'? No. Criminal? Yes
Album Review: Johnny Cash - 'American VI: Ain't No Grave' (Lost Highway)
It's time for the Man in Black should to be left in peace
Album Review: Nedry - 'Condors'
Sometimes naughty but altogether too nice
Album Review: The High Wire - 'The Sleep Tape' (Grandpa Stan)
US indie of yore cushions the impact of this dreamy offering
Album Review: Shy Child - 'Liquid Love'
The Brooklyn outfit's latest offering makes them more of the retiring type
Album review: Ellie Goulding - 'Lights' (Polydor)
She may be gathering plaudits, but her debut doesn't quite win the glittering prize
Album Review: Nitzer Ebb - ' Industrial Complex'
Industrial estate of mind
Album review: Joanna Newsom - 'Have On On Me' (Drag City)
Joanna leaves fantasy behind and enters the real world for three discs and two hours
Album Review: Dag For Dag - 'Boo'
No surprises with this mediocre twee-pop offering
Take your seats for the new heroes of experimental indie
Chew Lips through caution to the wind and leave off the hits
The soundtrack to the beginning of the end
Steve Albini-produced icy fifth album from Scout Niblett
Not just 'going pop', the Brooklyn boys coagulate the world into hummable form
Album review: Lil Wayne - Rebirth (Island)
The Carter's much-delayed reincarnation proves rocking isn't as easy as he thinks
Album review: Massive Attack - 'Heligoland' (Virgin)
A host of special guests on duo's comeback can't hide an identity crisis
Album review: Beach House - Teen Dream (Bella Union)
Dreampop duo come of age and steal our hearts with a wide-eyed, lovestruck third
Album review: Hot Chip 'One Life Stand' (EMI)
There are moments to treasure here, but a classic still somehow eludes them
Album review: These New Puritans - 'Hidden' (Angular Recording Corporation)
Former students of post punk step out of the classroom into a league of their own
Album review: Los Campesinos! - 'Romance Is Boring' (Wichita)
Still baring their souls but now stepping up their sound, they’re niche no longer
Album review: Owen Pallett - 'Heartland' (Domino)
Prolific arranger brings the grand flourishes to his own work
Album review: Midlake - 'The Courage Of Others' (Bella Union)
The Southerners’ monumental third is a little hippy, a lot heavy
Album review: Hadouken! - For The Masses (Surface Noise)
The death throes of the new rave party are far from pretty...
Album review: Four Tet - There Is Love In You (Domino)
Four Tet fails to move forward on a nevertheless lovely seventh album
Album review: OK Go - Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky (Parlophone)
- Third album still pounding the same treadmills
Album review: Tindersticks - Falling Down A Mountain (4AD)
A sophisticated grape dislocated by drones, jazz drums and trumpet
Album review: Adam Green - Minor Love (Rough Trade)
Sophisticated lounge-country crooning that retains something of the scatalogical
Album review: First Aid Kit - The Big Black And The Blue (Wichita)
Rich, vintage-sounding warmth from the precociously talented Swedish sisters' debut
Album review: Eels - End Times (Vagrant/Cooperative)
The soundtrack to a divorce lawyer's waiting room
Album review: Yeti Lane - Yeti Lane (Sonic Cathedral)
A harmonious union of cosmic rock with sparkling pop
Album review: Lostprophets - The Betrayed (Visible Noise)
After four years away, Lostprophets return sharper than ever
Album review: Ke$ha - Animal (Sony)
LA Clever rhythms and rhymes from a debut that takes no prisoners
Album review: Laura Veirs - July Flame (Bella Union)
Proof that Americana needn't be the pursuit of the hirsute
Album review: Fyfe Dangerfield - Fly Yellow Moon (Geffen)
Guillemot goes it alone to lose the musical quirks of his former band
Album review: Timbaland - Shock Value II (Atlantic)
Awkwardly pieced together third solo outing
Album review: Paperplain - Entering Pale Town (Destructible)
A delicate first effort that's short of a spike or two
Album review: Vampire Weekend - 'Contra' (XL)
Moving on, with old charms still remaining
Album review: Spoon - Transference (Anti)
The Texas natives' seventh album should finally give them the UK success they deserve
Album review: Delphic - 'Acolyte' (Polydor)
The first great debut of 2010
Album review: The Soft Pack - The Soft Pack (Heavenly)
It's been a while coming, but the San Diego quartet's debut just does the job
Album review: The Bravery 'Stir The Blood' (Island)
They haven't exactly moved on, but The Bravery remain pleasingly weird
Album review: White Rabbits - It's Frightening (Mute)
Brooklyn's genre-interbreeding machine produces another corker
Album review: Animal Collective - 'Fall Be Kind' (Domino)
The most talked about band in the world with an EP that still defies easy categorisation
Album reviews: Good Shoes - No Hope, No Future (Brille)
Lacklustre second album from former voices of suburban boredom
Album review: Wetdog - 'Frauhaus!' (Angular)
Post-punk ladies can't step outside the limitations of scrappiness
Album review: The Magnetic Fields - Realism (Nonesuch)
Tuck into some sophisticated sarcasm from one of pop's finest songwriters
Album review: Laura Gibson - 'Beasts Of Seasons' (Souterrain Transmissions)
Delicate autumnal folk beauty
Album review: Fool's Gold - Fool's Gold (Family)
All the high-life sounds, none of the passion
Album review: Blackroc - 'Blakroc' (V2/Cooperative)
The Black Keys team up with rap's big names for a pretty sweet collaboration
