It is the bravery of the album that is its greatest triumph.

Where there was honesty in the lyricism of "Losing My Edge" in 2002, there is now sonic honesty in the vivacious rock and roll that is the London Sessions.

The Plot finds the group building on their palate, zeroing in on the details more than ever before, meaning the straight up fidgety punk ("Sheena Is A T-Shirt Salesman"), keyboard-led silliness ("A Guide To Men") and the obligatory epic closer ("Notes On Achieving Orbit") are all better realised than their cousins on previous albums.

Not since Everything’s Fine has Quelle Chris sounded so surefire and determined. He wears beats with flair now, and lyrically he’s in top form, moving like a chameleon behind the mic and in front. Deathfame is easily the best solo outing for Chris so far.

It’s a consistently good album, and one that harks back to their previous work while also suggesting new possibilities as they move forward. It would be nice if they could take less time to get the next album out, though.

The album is the sound of Penelope pushing back, deciding that the closing of motherhood is not the end of her life. She’s confident and resolute in spirit and vision. It’s art defined by ageing and it’s all the more powerful for it.

Judging from these recordings, it’s unclear where Secret Machines are heading. Their strength lies in dynamic live shows, and those are postponed until further notice. Awake in the Brain Chamber possesses the clean-cut sound of a mainstream rock album that can sell large quantities, but it lacks the wild abandon and unique inspiration that leads to fervent adoration – the qualities that made their debut album into an underdog classic of the era. But the potential remains.

Her transitions between language and style are seamless, and the carefully crafted and idiosyncratic arrangements help to guide our ears along with her mind and heart.

Evangelic Girl is a Gun would be parallel to [David Bowie's] Young Americans.

Given her focus on the internal world she’s created, Night CRIÚ arrives feeling something like an emergence. Indeed, the emotions on display are still furtive and inscrutably personal, yet the music here is the most tangible Woods has offered to date, the most vivid.

Yes, it's clearly obvious what Yuck's main influences are; they're placed very firmly on the band's sleeve. But with sounds that tie the band to modern indie as much as alt-rock, Yuck have crafted something incredibly refreshing, and more importantly, good.

In the end, you get 44 minutes of solid beats and bars and a handful of songs to put on your best-of playlists for Savage and/or Metro. That’s not the worst thing, but on Savage Mode II it feels like there’s both too much and not enough going on at once.

2 finds Mac DeMarco growing as an artist, settling into a workman-like rhythm and puttering through some of the catchiest tracks of the year.

A new album from a new artist, with an old sound newly restored, think of this as a letter of recommendation to you, dear America.

While these influences [Nick Drake and Ella Fitzgerald] are certainly present, A Common Turn is undeniably and entirely Savage’s own; these are her trials and confessions, and it’s a stroke of great bravery and generosity for her to have released them in this enrapturing manner.

With Transcendental Youth, the Mountain Goats have proven that they're more than capable of engaging us with even without the unimpeachable witticisms of their frontman.

It is perhaps her most approachable and her most celebratory, and a solid reminder of why she garnered our attention in the first place.

It’s big, heavy, and worthy to soundtrack plenty of dancefloors. The only thing Ghost System Rave is arguably missing is the real personality from its creators.

Ultimately, Colourgrade feels like staying up all night on the couch alongside Tirzah, but rather than chatting away, you exchange the occasional warm remarks, getting no nearer to knowing what’s really going on inside her head.

All ten of the songs here are grandiose and muscular in the great tradition of Spiritualized songs.

Kveikur is the band’s noisiest and most muscular record yet. The variety of experience it offers not just from Valtari, but from the band’s entire catalogue, means that it stands among their best.

The diversity of styles on CAPRISONGS would likely end up a disjointed mess in any other hands, but with twigs (and her stacked team) on hand, it all sews together brilliantly. It bounces back and forth from outwardly confident to more stately anthems of self-love, and even songs that might seem throwaway in isolation are key in sequence.

It's bold, cathartic, and essential; a candidate for not only one of 2012's best, but one of the most important records in all of American soul.

This record – like most dark art – is not merely meant as an extreme experience, but a critique of structure that commodifies human bodies.

The end result then, is the sound of Bird settling down, becoming comfortable with his music and letting it come off as natural, without losing the sense of enjoyment and the hypnotic dynamism of his core elements.

With a heavier reliance on piano and this newer emphasis on these samples, it's an astounding achievement in a young career already marked by solid works.

As good as Poppy’s previous work was, this is a whole new level.

That’s what How Many Times is: another record about lost love. Yet, what saves Rose’s version from sinking into tired banality is the earnestness of it all: she displays the full gamut of her emotions in the songs, from longing to anger, yearning to acceptance.