[Gloss Drop] is one of the most startling, visually emotive albums we've heard in years. Vividly audacious.

Despite the gloriously odd decision to place Treasures--a piece of music as fragile as the materialistic lifestyles it attacks--first in the tracklisting, there are no real surprises.

Another truckload of ear-boxing drum kicks and chunky basses offer the same unflustered technicality and stewardship as Unbalance.

The punchy indie exuberance pervading this record is its calling card but beneath the surface there's a whole lot more going on.

The heavier, dirtier mood suits these Pirates--the spirit of 1979 burns bright.

Cloud Control's debut is making an early play for the feel-good record of 2011. There are more hooks in Bliss Control's thirty-nine minutes than in Captain Birdseye's entire fleet.

An enthralling listen from a compelling artist prepared to push the unorthodox.

There's no reaching out to new audiences here nor attempts to break ground, just an accessible expression by an artist with the freedom to do just that.

Heartfelt, impassioned and sincere, Mona are reaching for the skies--and taking you with them!

Boxcutter flirts competently with funky house ('Zabriskie Disco'), UKG ('Moon Pupils') and even mid-'80s funk ('TV Troubles'), all showcasing his deft and malleable production styles.

A grandiose, instrumental finale, they're a reminder of the divinity that Moby was once capable of.

Finely crafted folk is elevated towards greatness by the stunning voice of Alessi Laurent-Marke.

The grooves might be intelligently crafted, with plenty of interesting rhythmical quirks throughout, but the songs themselves hold little water.

A credible effort though, with enough promise to merit an investment of anticipation.

With the cool-o-meter currently set at all things synthy and coldwave-y, Austra look set for big things.

One thing is for certain: they've produced a much more pop orientated album. Clash isn't anti-pop, but we are anticheese.

His use of simile and metaphor is questionable but with an irrepressible energy and guest vocal spots from Kelly Rowland (Invincible) and Ellie Goulding (Wonderman) on top of three top five hits, this Peckham born rapper might just have made the most fun pop album of the year.

With such grand ambitions achieved, great music produced, and a five year journey concluded and justified, Morricone would be proud: Rome was well worth the wait.

This is labour intensive listening, but hard work reaps rewards. A gnomic, genre-busting album.

What we needed to decipher from this album was whether Miles Kane was capable of anything audacious, anything unexpected, complex and constructed. Colour Of The Trap displays this on numerous occasions, unrelenting in its boasts of adventurous and candid variation.

If that's not your bag, then this won't convert you, but if intrigue you have; then check it out.

The net result, a tapestry through dark alleys and along river banks, makes for an entertaining listening journey.

Smother does exactly what it suggests but with a poetic fragility and an exacting panache that enthrals and entices like never before. An essential album.

This schizophrenic album will frustrate purists and sate pop kids.

Wistful and plaintive, solemn yet blissful, these are songs from another time - if not another planet - and their mesmerising melodies have the powerful ability to transport you, temporally and spatially, into the band's anachronistic, peaceful, eternal summer.

Hot Sauce Committee Part Two is probably the third best Beastie Boys album ever made. And that is not a pejorative. Boggle!

While there is nothing here as magically refined as 'Made-Up Love Song #43', and Dangerfield's lyrics sometimes veer into fromage-land, Walk The River represents a must-have for those with pop tastes.

Despite his obvious talents as a pop-soul vocalist, you're left with the impression that Woon is far more interesting when he's wearing his producer hat, but we'll keep a sturdy eye on his every move regardless.