If I'm listening (as I often am) for review purposes I devote my entire energy and concentration to the album; nothing else can get in the way. TV is off, don't do anything else on the PC (unless it gets boring and I lose interest which will result in a poor review) and hold all my calls. To write a proper review (Breaking news! Trollheart reveals his reviewing secrets and tips!) I first find out about the band, then the album, write a little intro and then do the album track by track, usually. If it's the first time I've heard the album I may run a track back to confirm or clarify something (lyric, instrument used, times etc) but if I've heard it before I'll have an idea what I want to write.
To be honest, each time I listen to an album I'm thinking "will I review this?" and if I decide I will, whenever, I'm already composing the review in my head. It may not be exactly the same once I get it down on paper as it were, but I will have a basic idea of where I want to go. People say, probably rightly, that I go into too much detail and my reviews can be longwinded and boring, but I like to give the best impression of the album I can, so I tend to note where there are instrumental passages, good guitar solos, interesting vocal arrangements and of course good lyrics.
I think after doing this for nearly four years now I'm almost unable to listen to an album without mentally composing notes in my head which may or may not end up in a review or article at some point.
But that's just me: I'm a prick as you know. Others no doubt think and operate differently.
