For those of us with Attention Deficit - The Skinny has those brief capsule reviews without all of the flowery adjectives. 5 words, 5 sentences, 5 stars. Check it.

Bruce Soord's Pineapple Thief have recently signed with Snapper/ K-Scope. Will their debut label release Tightly Unwound be a new direction, or an evolution of their sound? Review here.

Planet P Project's 4th CD in 25 years is something that should not be missed. Perhaps their most accessible work, Levittown: Go Out Dancing Part II finds them as lyrically relevant and musically dynamic as ever. What are you waiting for?

Nosound's sophomore effort (and Burning Shed debut) Lightdark is indeed and excercise in contrasts. Read the review.

Cambodian Surf Rock. Well, it is and it isn't. It's a lot of things, but it's never boring. Check out our review of Venus On Earth, the third CD from Dengue Fever.

Marillion's 14th album Somewhere Else is a challenging listen. Not as immediately engaging as their previous work, we gave it numerous listens to see what stuck. So what stuck?

New Orleans artist Abigail's Ghost have released their debut full-length Selling Insincerity. Is it greater than the sum of its influences, or just another case of mimcry run amok? Read the Studio M review here.

Israeli pop star Aviv Geffen and Porcupine Tree frontman Steven Wilson try to recreate the glory of Blackfield's debut on the appropriately named Blackfield II. Here's what we think of it.

Damien Rice seems to have nothing to prove. But that hasn't seemed to stop him from producing his second masterpiece in a row. Find out more in our in-depth review.

It's been the year of the dinosaur. 2006 has brought new releases from Pink Floyd's David Gilmour (in addition to a tour from his former bandmate, Roger Waters), the Kinks Ray Davies and Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham as well as Bob Seger and Tom Petty. With the year drawing to a close, one of the oldest dinosaurs has resurfaced after a 24-year recording break. Read more.

Tom Petty, for me, is a rarity among musicians. In close to 30 years of releasing music, the man has yet to put something out that totally sucks. Sure, some of his discs are better than others, but as a whole, the man has released some consistently good albums. Read complete review.

Who is Emm Gryner and why does she keep ending up on our top 10 lists? Her exceptional Summer of High Hopes will hopefully answer that question, and for once get her the exposure she has earned. Read the complete review.

In case you've accidently stumbled onto this review, Jeremy Enigk was the vocalist for a fantastic 90's indie rock band called Sunny Day Real Estate. If you are not familiar with them, I suggest you quickly review before moving forward. Read complete review.

Following the release of their successful 2004 debut, Up All Night, Anglo-Swedish quartet Razorlight return with their self-titled sophomore effort, a strong collection of concise, alt-rock tunes that finds vocalist/guitarist Johnny Borrell, guitarist Björn Åquen, bassist Carl Dalemo and drummer Andy Burrows storming through a quick set of 10 memorably tuneful songs. Read complete review.

Earlier this year, Geoff Downes booted his longtime Asia cohort, John Payne, and reformed the original lineup of Asia. At the time, Downes and Payne, joined by guitarist Guthrie Govan and drummer Jan Schellen, were in the middle of recording the follow-up to 2004's Silent Nation, tentatively titled Architect of Time. Read complete review.

Iron Maiden are back and they're pissed. Pissed about the war, pissed about getting egged at Ozzfest. And perhaps it's for the best, as A Matter Of Life And Death is their best album in 15 years.

If you’re familiar with the stranger electronic songs on Radiohead’s brilliant 2000 release, Kid A, you should have a pretty good idea of what the songs on Thom Yorke’s solo debut, The Eraser, sound like. Read full review here.

Richard Butler. Who? Richard Butler. The dude from the Psychedelic Furs and Love Spit Love? Yeah. Surprise, his debut solo release is sublime. Not the band Sublime, the adjective.

Can the Flaming Lips possibly get any weirder? Of course, they can. At War With the Mystics. Indeed.

The former Kinks frontman makes a valiant return to form on Other People's Lives

The long-awaited return of David Gilmour is discussed at length by our resident Floyd savant Jim Clark.


Our exhaustive guide to King Crimson's exhaustive compendium, The 21st Century Guide To King Crimson. Lovingiy crafted in bite-sized morsels.

Shriekback's tenth album Cormorant marks a welcome return to form for the innovators of toe-tapping intellifunk. With guests Andy Partridge (XTC) and Finn Andrews (The Veils), the band take their sound forward with a nod to the past.

Depeche Mode's latest release Playing With The Angel has been hailed as a return to their more accessible, less dark past. Jim Clark says yes, and no in his in-depth review.

Hot on the heals of our very late review of Riverside's debut is our early review of their next one, Second Life Syndrome.

With the 2nd Riverside album on the horizon, we felt remiss not commenting on the terrific debut by this Polish powerhouse. Very much the sleeper album of 2004. Read the in depth Out Of Myself review.

Sigur Ros have landed their 4th full-length, Takk (meaning Thank You in their native tongue). This one even includes real actual lyrics, should you speak Icelandic.

Queen and Paul Rodgers. Call it a morbid fascination. We just had to know more.

Catherine Wheel's Rob Dickinson finally returns with his debut solo album, Fresh Wine For The Horses. After a five-year silence, will he return to the shimmering layers of the past or evolve the sound again?

Yes' 3 CD Live Box The Word Is Live gets a close look from Jim Clark.

Annie has come to save pop music. Have a read at what you should be listening to, windows down, as the oppressive summer fades to evening naughtiness.

Dredg may just be the best band you've never heard. One part Tool, one part U2, one part something totally new, their 3rd release Catch Without Arms is a sonic supper.


It seems that finally Dream Theater gave broken out of their prog wankery rut and delivered a solid albums of actual songs. Check out Jim Clark's review.


Coldplay's X & Y is perhaps the single most anticipated release of 2005. Find out what direction Chris Martin and crew have taken their critically-accalimed sound, and why X & Y is bound to silence the Radiohead comparisons.

A more pissed off, ironic Trent Reznor has returned with the cathartic With Teeth. Our reviewer Jim Clark deconstruncts the angst and tallys the F-bombs.

An Aimee Mann concept album? What next, a Metallica orchestral suite? A catchy Eric Clapton song? Seriously. on The Forgotten Arm, Aimee Mann breaks new ground.

With Present, Van Der Graaf Generator perhaps hold the record for the most time between albums. It's been 30 years since their last one, which makes this one that much more impressive.

Former Toad The Wet Sprocket frontman plays it very close on his second solo album, Winter Pays For Summer. With special guests like Ben Folds, Andy Sturmer and Dan Wilson, how will his sound evolve?

New Order put the beat back with their latest, Waiting For The Siren's Call. Are they still relevant in 2005?

Ben Folds is back after four years, a live album, 4 eps and an encounter with William Shatner. And, perhaps, his best album yet.

King Crimson guitarist/vocalist Adrian Belew has a new solo album, but really its a power trio with the Tool drummer and Les Claypool. Get the fat and the skinny here.

The Stereophonics have returned to form with their guitar-driven Language. Sex Violence. Other? Eleven one-word titles and perhaps their finest single yet. Read the full review.

Can Kathleen Edwards escape the sophomore jinx on Back To Me? As our pick for Best of 2003, we certainly hope she can, but do see for yourself.

In Absentia was our pick for the best disc of 2002. How will Steven Wilson and Porcupine Tree follow this up? The compelling Deadwing is reviewed by Jim Clark.

Eight years, one band and one busted relationship later, David Gedge and The Wedding Present have returned to form with Take Fountain.

Tori Amos returns with a nestful on The Beekeeper. How have marriage and motherhood affected her music? Read the Studio M review.

With members (and ex-members) from Arena, Marillion, Porcupine Tree and It Bites, Kino are something of a prog rock supergroup. On their debut- Picture, we discover how well their unique chemistry gels.

We can just about guarantee you missed this one last year. And we can guarantee you'll quickly make up for that after reading our review of Monarch's debut, The Grandeur That Was Rome.

Spock's Beard's second release without founding vocalist Neal Morse is a step in a new direction. Read our comprehensive review.

After 10 years, The Wonder Stuff have returned. Will we get the Size Of A Cow pop Stuffies or the Wish Them All Dead angst? Escape From Rubbish Island arrives as a little bit of both.

After over 30 years as a musician, Richard Barbieri releases his first solo album. In his detailed review, Jim Clark sees if it was worth the wait.

A massive, sprawling masterpiece of an album, The Pineapple Thief's latest required two full reviews to cover. Read the review of the main 12 Stories Down and the accompanying bonus disc, 8 Days Later.

The Innocence Mission release an album of lullabies and reinterpreted classics. Their purity has never been as evident as it is here. Not for late-night road trips!


Trying to collect Saint Etienne's best tracks onto one CD is like trying to get both hands into a Pringle's container- it's just not going to fit. But on their final Subpop release, Travel Edition, they attempt just that. Studio M is there to make sure justice is done .


Lanterna's fourth offereing is everything you would excpect and then some. The instrumental road soundtrack is another high point in Henry Frayne's canon. The Studio M review awaits you.

The Canadian Wonder Twins Tegan and Sara have returned with their fourth and most interesting disc, So Jealous. Better check out the review by Joe del Tufo, before he changes his mind and rewrites it.

You've heard the stellar single Static On The Radio (with Aimee Mann), see how Jim White's third release fares in the review by Jim Clark.

Sweat and blood dripping tales of the South across 70 epic minutes. The Drive-By Truckers have returned with another conceptual opus on The Dirty South. Read the review by Joe del Tufo.

After eight years, we are finally graced with the presence of a new Blue Nile disc. Certain to expand on the wondrous soundscapes of their first three releases, High is a sublime reminder of what perfection sounds like. Read the review by Joe del Tufo.

Mike Skinner and The Streets are back, with a concept album! Zuh? Deconstruct it with the review by Joe del Tufo.

The DVD-Audio release of Porcupine Tree's In Absentia is the icing on the cake for this marvelous collection. Read the review by Joe del Tufo.