Cat Stevens - sitting, 1972

"Record World described "Sitting" as a "magnificently produced up tempo tune" that is "one of [Stevens'] best."

The Radio Dept - a token of gratitude, 2010

"This song brings back some very bittersweet memories. Such a good album."

Beirut - venice, 2009

"Venice is alil more lush and slower going than his Beirut music since he strips the track down to only him singing, a hypnotic synth melody, and muted horns."

The Lightning Seeds - marvellous, 1994

"This song is another great catchy number, and Marvellous is definitely far better than Perfect, even if UK chart placings say otherwise (#24 vs #18 respectively)."

The Stranglers - always the sun, 1986

"From bad-mannered yobs to purveyors of supreme pop delicacies, the group was responsible for music that may have been ugly and might have been crude – but it was never, ever boring."

The Style Council - sweet loving ways, 1993

"The Style Council also released an amazing list of B-sides like The Piccadilly Trail, It Just Came To Pieces In My Hands, Spin Drifting and Sweet Loving Ways, which I find flawless."

The Beatles - don't bother me, 1963

"Liverpool journalist Bill Harry claims that he encouraged Harrison to write a new song, and that Harrison's response of "Don't bother me" served as inspiration for the song's title."

The Shins - australia, 2007

"Still familiar and addictive, the song nevertheless turns the tried and true formula on its ear, coming off slightly like a New Wave dance anthem."

Editors - bones, 2007

"Bones" was the fifth and final single from An End Has a Start, the second album by Editors. It was only released in Continental Europe under the PIAS label as a download-only single. It was released to help promote the band during the festival run and their support of R.E.M. in July during their German shows. "Bones" was one of the first songs off An End Has a Start to be performed live, along with "The Weight Of The World" in 2006. It has since gone through many changes, most notably the bridge and outro of the song which was previewed via a short video made by the band months before the album came out."

REM - near wild heaven, 1991

"Near Wild Heaven" "already overdoes the contrast between dark-edged lyrics and a light-hearted melody by folding Mike Mills' lead vocal into a sugary arrangement. Adding strings to the recipe is like putting frosting on cherry pie."

Voxtrot - missing pieces, 2005

"When Voxtrot appeared in early 2004 with the single “The Start of Something”, fans and critics alike both made immediate comparisons to The Smiths, mainly due to the vocals of Ramesh Srivastava, a trait that often sounded remarkably similar to Morrissey himself. I certainly echoed their sentiment, though they sounded more like a Housemartins mold to me, as I wrote here about a year ago. The song eventually landed on the excellent Raised By Wolves EP, a debut which set the tone for their reputational growth and British jangle-pop comparisons. Despite the quick judgments, I also found several of Voxtrot’s songs to be quite unique."

Imagine Dragons - demons, 2012

"Demons" is a song by American pop rock band Imagine Dragons. It was written by Alex da Kid, Ben McKee, Dan Reynolds, Wayne Sermon, Josh Mosser and produced by Alex da Kid. The song appears on their major-label debut extended play, Continued Silence, and also makes an appearance on their debut studio album, Night Visions, as the fourth track. "Demons" was solicited to American triple-A radio stations on January 28, 2013, and to modern rock stations two months later, on April 1, 2013."

Fanfarlo - let's go extinct, 2014

"with Let’s Go Extinct, Fanfarlo have dodged the bullet fired by the Smith & Wesson revolver of irony (a rare model) by ensuring that the quality of their songwriting remains solid."

Barclay James Harvest - friend of mine, 1977

"a rarely seen country rock side to the group propelled by Holroyd. It is remarkably effective and, after the initial shock and several listens, actually works well in the surroundings of the more progressive numbers."

Azure Ray - silver sorrow, 2010

"‘Silver Sorrow’ succeeds on aesthetics alone, its layers of vocal adornments recalling Cocteau Twins’ sublime Liz Fraser."

The Durutti Column - tomorrow live, 1985

"I really don’t like my own music. I really enjoy doing it when I’m doing it, it gives me a great feeling of expression and fulfillment and pleasure – just the physicality of playing a guitar and putting a piece of music together. I just love all that. And for maybe half an hour after I’ve done it, it feels great. But it soon passes. And after that, I really don’t want to hear it again."

Pet Shop Boys - bright young things, 2012

"The PSB song bears in many ways a marked similarity to one of their other soundtrack numbers, "Nothing Has Been Proved" (from the film Scandal), most noticeably in the way that its lyrics refer cryptically (from the perspective of anyone who hasn't seen the movie) to various characters in the story, providing tantalizing "snapshots" of their attitudes and actions. It's obvious that these are people who lead lives of scarcely concealed desperation, partying ceaselessly to escape their troubles."

Neil Young - comes a time live, 1979

"The guitar always sounds like Young’s dipped the strings in a mixture of honey and carpet fluff just before coming onstage and his vocals are always out there."

Seapony - go away, 2011

"I expect this band to grow and provide its fans, which includes me, with good songs for a long time. But for the present, I doubt that fans of indie pop will find a more perfect summer album than this one."

Etienne Daho - tombé pour la france, 1986

"Tombe pour la France, a synthpop torch song that set off Dahomania in his home country."