The Long Blondes - Someone To Drive You Home

4-5 Stars

For all its cynical turns, ​‘Someone To Drive You Home’ defiantly stands tall, proud, and ready to take on all comers.

6th November 2006

Thom Yorke - The Eraser

4-5 Stars

Obviously it’s going to sound more than a little like a Radiohead release, it’s the same creative influences fronting both projects after all.

10th July 2006

Muse - Black Holes And Revelations

4-5 Stars

Muse are back. Sure; they never really went away, but ​‘Black Holes And Revelations’ is the album which should have followed on from where ​‘Origin Of Symmetry’ left off.

3rd July 2006

The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers

4-5 Stars

‘Level’ is sleazier than either have produced until now, and ​‘Store Bought Bones’ more off-beat, despite both benefiting from White’s obsession with the pre-digital era.

15th May 2006

The Research - Breaking Up

4-5 Stars

‘Breaking Up’ could well be the snowballing success of the year. You should certainly make sure it wears the needle down on your record player.

27th February 2006

Graham Coxon - Love Travels At Illegal Speeds

4-5 Stars

An obvious album of the year contender, and up there with ​‘Modern Life Is Rubbish’ as the best work he’s ever done. Graham Coxon is getting scarily good at this solo lark.

13th February 2006

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

4-5 Stars

You can make your references to Blur, Madness and even pick up on The Beach Boys’ influence, but Kaiser Chiefs have made this their own.

7th March 2005

The Mars Volta - Frances The Mute

4-5 Stars

That this record will probably turn out to be the most anticipated of the year says something about The Mars Volta’s musical prowess.

21st February 2005

Super Furry Animals - Songbook: The Singles Volume One

4-5 Stars

For a band that can sell out shows, they’re still underrated, and probably always will be — but they are undoubtedly one of the best bands of whatever era you wan’t to place them in.

4th October 2004

The Futureheads - The Futureheads

4-5 Stars

More impish and charismatic than anything The Libertines could come up with, more immediate than downing a whole bottle of Sunny D, and coming in at well under two minutes.

12th July 2004

Graham Coxon - Happiness In Magazines

4-5 Stars

Sure, nobody really batted an eyelid at the previous four, but with ​‘Hapiness in Magazines’, Graham Coxon is about to wake up the neighbourhood.

17th May 2004

Pixies - Wave of Mutilation (Best Of)

4-5 Stars

For argument’s sake, lets ignore that ​‘Death to the Pixies’ exists, pretend that there isn’t already a ​‘best of’ out there, and assume this isn’t some cynical cash in on the band reforming.

3rd May 2004

The Blood Arm - Bomb Romantics

4-5 Stars

To find faults with ​‘Bomb Romantics’ would be like the people who complain about winning too much money on the lottery.

9th February 2004