Thompson’s classic folk rock formula is revived once more, and his frequent guitar solos are as sour as his lyrical wit.

The duo has followed through admirably with Invariable Heartache, a record that seeps with clear-eyed hope, regret and wisdom.

The suite's key strength, and one of the advantages of brevity, is its focus.

Astro Coast sounds so prescient that Surfer Blood will be riding a wave of popularity for a good few months yet.

Lawrence Arabia's narrator persona, with one foot sternly in the past and the other staggering, trying desperately to get away, loiters before it settles. This makes Chant Darling a charming listen whose dolorous sentiment recurs like a welcome motif, each song taking time to reveal its full charm.

At just 28 minutes long, Cat's Eyes certainly doesn't outstay its welcome. Hopefully this is the start of a very glimmeringly troubled yet wonderfully disturbed relationship. Amazing.

The first four tracks of new album The Big To-Do are a solid continuation of the Truckers’ recent winning streak....But just as it seems clear we’ve got another rough-edged diamond on our hands, the album begins to wander at its mid-point.

She's not displaying much in the way of stylistic evolution, but it's not exactly certain whether this is a negative factor. As ever, raging raw emotion shouts out of Niblett's gullet, whilst sludge-chords resound from her low-hung axe, following the Nirvana (and thence PJ Harvey) school of quiet-then-loud, loud-then-quiet, but nevertheless imposing her own unpredictabilities on this dynamic.

[Blue Moon] could be classified as a highly advanced form of lounge music.

"Powerful" is perhaps the most fitting word, and though the strength of certain arrangements can feel all-engulfing, there are too many moments of near-inexpressible, extravagant brilliance on The Silicone Veil to deny Sundfør's overall accomplishment.

For the most part, this is a fine debut and speaks of even finer things to come.

Throughout there is an attention to detail, to little tics and tricks in the mix, that make this a treat for listeners who still wear headphones. But mostly it's music for defunct--or, rather, Defunkt--nightclubs.

It's actually on the brighter, bolder, faster numbers that Take Care comes alive.

Really, though, this is nothing more than business as usual: some killer, some filler.

There's more to digest, and WALLS' personality becomes more evident.

While there are standouts, the whole is greater than its parts.

Antibalas is musical democracy in action, and an inspiring example of a band practicing what they preach.

It's easier to forgive the tracks that meander, ponder and lament. In fact, for better or worse, that's sort of the point.

These 13 songs are a bold leap forward for Zygadlo, and feel like a personal, intimate success.

Hardly revelatory then, but Nelson delivers hardy material like traditional Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down and I Am a Pilgrim with such wizened assurance, it's impossible not to feel the love.

Ontario's Junior Boys have been charming us with their soulful brand of electro-pop for a good few years now, but they've never sounded as much fun as they do on new album It's All True.

The accessible groove of Flower and party-time refrain of ...Candyhands make for just two more standout moments on this terrific album that appears to achieve the impossible: making a breakup sound like just the most fun you could possibly have.

While The Haunted Man is an impressive record, one heavy with earnestness and polished sophistication, it's more like The Tin Man: somehow it lacks a heart.

A frustratingly slow-burning listen.

This is probably Foxx’s most superior post-Ultravox! LP to date, and definitely his best in a very long time.

Always is one of Stewart's most accessible albums.

In a career of benchmark highs, he's made yet another; and by doing the unexpected, it shows that whatever the sound of his records, the punk inside Moore still lives.

These 11 tracks flow fantastically, sounding like products of a focused period of writing and recording, completed over a relatively short space of time.