David Renshaw
Because of their scattershot nature, Thug's mixtapes aren't definitive artistic statements. Instead, you get momentary snapshots of a rapper on the rise and a window into his bizarre lifestyle. As such, 'I'm Up' represents Thug's most accessible and immediate work to date.
10y
In 'That's The Spirit' the Sheffield band have crafted an album that should see them not just seated at rock's top table, but putting their feet up and getting comfortable.
10y
Although not as immediate as his collaborators’ work, his introversion pulls you into his unique soundscape.
12y
‘This Is…’ offers an unsatisfying compromise between the edgy pop of the Swedes’ previous work and their attempts to become a massive band.
12y
A mix of Trent Reznor and Patrick Wolf, he’s both an industrial piledriver and theatrical show-off, making this debut record disorientating, confusing and exciting.
12y
Warm, thoughtful and special, ‘Half Of Where You Live’ furthers Gold Panda’s winning streak, impressing at every juncture and moving its creator further toward the light.
12y
‘Lysandre’ is an accomplished and confident first outing for a songwriter who already feels destined to nestle alongside Daniel Johnston and Elliott Smith as a master of the cult American songbook.
13y
It's the freakier corners here that shine bright like neon.
10y
‘Pink Friday’ wins merely on points, rather than the knockout punch it should have been.
15y
The Ladykiller is unashamedly retro, but unlike, say, Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black, it lacks the emotional punch to keep it feeling contemporary.
15y
Actor turned rapper Drake’s first album proper sees the Toronto native flitting between champagne egotism and introspective self-doubt in a way that can only be described as post-Kanye.
6y
Stripping away all of the surrounding noise, it allows Krauss to bring her dizzyingly sweet voice to the fore, showing that Sleigh Bells are not just a one trick pony and that these songs work on more than just the basis that they are great at shaking windows.
15y
Dense and obtuse it may be but those who follow this most intense sonic explorer will be rewarded the greatest.
11y
Ellie Goulding is a lost sheep, a girl who should be falling in and out of love whilst learning all she can from people like Feist, Regina Spektor and Joni Mitchell. Instead she is put in uncomfortable looking dresses and made to do dance routines
12y
With a mix of frantic and scrappy pop songs alongside blankets of processed peacefulness ‘Contra’ is a fun and always intriguing listen. Vampire Weekend remain the most unlikely crowd pleasers and long may they continue to make the unapproachable not just relevant but entirely necessary.
11y
Where it tries to be empowering and fun it comes off sounding like a spoilt brat singing the American Pie script through auto-tune. Not even the good American Pie either, the newest straight to DVD one's.
13y
The inescapable feeling that ‘Don’t Stop’ probably won’t sell all that many copies makes the songs sound like electric guitars without amplifiers. There are only so many things a musician can provide and sadly Annie has it all but that key component.
15y
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