Lookout Sea paradoxically Silver Jews' most complex and most accessible work to date. Better yet, it improves with each listen, as more and more nuances and links are revealed.
In Ghost Colours finds the band brimming with confidence, delivering their catchy choruses and synthesizer hooks with a conviction that's difficult to resist, staying true throughout to a groove that fits in with early house music.
The Red Album brings forward everything they do best, with hooks aplenty, emotive and funny lyrics, all washed down with the odd frisson of self doubt.
Though it stands up well enough on its own The Stand Ins does feel like a follow-up, rather than something completely new and fresh and forward looking, and it is not as instantly gripping as The Stage Names, it takes longer to wind your way into your mind.
Out Of Control is, generally, yet another excellent album from a group who may have risen from a lot of people’s ‘guilty pleasure’ to becoming full-on national treasures.
Big production bombast in the latter half of the record--especially on 'Africa,' the English-language 'I Follow You' and the title track--could happily be skipped over, but there's at least half a record here that's as indispensible as it is likeable.
Some may listen to Songs From A&E and dub Jason Pierce a one-trick pony. Which may be true, but what a trick he's managed to perfect.
Thanks, in no small part to Spank Rock producer Armani XXXchange, Midnight Boom also possesses of this air of modernity and experimentation which is never less than startling.
Twenty One is an excellent album replete with brilliant, clean, original production and instantly memorable songs.
By the time the final notes of the acoustic closer I Wish I Were Here have faded away, then you're more than convinced that this is yet another triumph for the Wainwright family.
You can almost feel the wind and rain outside, and this adds to the mixture of melancholia and euphoria throughout, the latter realised most obviously on Waving Flags. And that's the spirit that runs through this fine album, staying with the listener long after the final stanzas of We Close Our Eyes bring it full circle.
Richly melodic and beautifully performed, A Piece Of What You Need deserves to be a big commercial hit.
Rook is a hugely self-assured and often compelling album, which looks outside of the world of modern man for inspiration, and in most cases, finds it in spades.
If you know what's good for you ... you'll drink the whole album in, because intelligently constructed and musically thrilling records like this are a rare, rare find.
As a document of its time, then, Stainless Style is remarkably successful. Taken on the base level of being an enjoyable pop album, it also triumphs handsomely.
Overall ... this is another wondrous album from a band at the height of their considerable powers.
Joan Wasser has shown herself to be an assured torch singer and original artist. To Survive is a challenge at times, but ultimately rewarding.
The Hawk Is Howling is a record that shows Mogwai’s lips to be sealed, but speaks volumes about their depth and ingenuity. Whether simmering or reaching a rolling boil, the album proves that, after 10 years, the band continues to contribute admirably to the alternative rock dialogue.
The sounds on Microcastle form a lush landscape.
While Street Horrrsing may never scratch the surface of the mainstream, it is going to make an indelible mark on all those interested in ground-breaking underground music.
Nick Cave is a master storyteller, and DIG!!! LAZARUS DIG!!! continues his tradition of remarkable and provocative songwriting. It is a decadent, meaty opus worthy of slow digestion that emphasises the transient thrills and inevitable dissatisfaction inherent in life.
Her songs are similarly sparse and fragile, with some astonishingly mature lyrics framed by beautifully pretty melodies.
This is a record substantially more alive than its eponymous predecessor. Portishead still sound like no-one else, but more importantly they aren’t just sounding like themselves, either: this is an album that occupies its own space, untethered to any of the musical trapping and quagmires of genre that snare so many other artists.
This could be the closest this generation gets to its own Pet Sounds. A stunning debut then, and one that will make Fleet Foxes one of the most sought after bands of the year.
Lyrically, Vernon is revealed as something of a poet. These are words that are destined to be poured over and analysed
Deep Science should enhance TVOTR's reputation as one of the finest, forward-thinking bands around, along with fellow Brooklyn acts Animal Collective and Liars.
The Seldom Seen Kid keeps the band on this upward trajectory.