Overall, Bubblegum, is very much a triumph of restyling, that makes it perhaps the most necessary Clinic LP since 2000's Internal Wrangler debut. Perhaps however, it's also time that Clinic developed more as a songwriting vehicle, with singer Ade Blackburn making his vocal/lyrical presence more memorably penetrating.

The Vision stands far above many of the other products of its genre, and hints at the ability of McClean to eventually gain massive crossover appeal and subvert the trappings and constrictions of his genre.

Veering through infectious reflexions on self-imposed domestic isolation (“Staying In”), being contentedly single (“It’s So Weird”), confectionary-addiction (“Sugar”), rampant life commodification (“Everything’s For Sale”), the fake news-mired polity (“Paid To Lie”), personal body and space dishevelment (“Broken Doll”), these are some of the most consistently likeable Hatfield cuts of recent times.

While the rest of the album fails to live up to the breadth of “City” and “Crumbs,” and while it takes serious missteps on the shockingly bad “Man and a Woman” and “Yahweh,” this is, by and large, an album to be thankful for, regardless of your demographic.

Some patience and repeated plays will be needed to digest the concise, offbeat and scratchy melodies from this eccentric, bedroom electronic artist.

Despite the possibility for a scatterbrained collection, the album holds strong and each track maintains a certain commonality through the writing and the emotional build within.

A bright, urgent, and charming album from an excellent young band.

No alarms, no surprises.

Gloss Drop is a definitely strong final outcome.

The record sounds tailored for mass consumption, which means every song packs a melodic doozie and indomitably contrived storylines about soldiering on while our world threatens to spin off its axis.

While at first some of Repo will undoubtedly seem oriented towards those with an attention deficit, it is in every sense of the word a “grower.”

Where past efforts have been brash and speedy, this one takes its time and delivers messages of love(!) instead of messages of insubordination.

The menace, exhilaration, and sheer catchiness of the band’s earlier songs, however, have been diminished, leaving pop and rock tunes that rely heavily on Adele’s vocals and a chronically agitated tempo to carry them through to the finish line.

Whilst Around is hardly groundbreaking stuff – Verlaine’s retro equipment preferences automatically predicate a retro feel – it is a genuinely unforced unfurling of a reclusive talent and a worthy companion piece to Warm and Cool.

The Letting Go is arguably the most pretty and richly detailed record Oldham has released in years.

Those whose expected Pollard to bow out in a blaze of lo-fi glory will be sorely disappointed, but true fans will recognize just how well the mid-fi approach suits Pollard.

It’s the core songwriting beneath the band’s rich sonic layering that needs the greatest sharpening.

Those who are desperately clutching onto the past few months' sunny days and starry nights – or planning for Summer 2011 already – are likely to dig the unpretentious, casual atmosphere of Eternal Summers. For everyone else, there's bound to be something else out there better suited to pumpkins spice lattes and fall harvests.

A hell of an album that reveals further treasures buried in the mix with each listen.

For the most part the music on Infinity is a skilfully crafted mixture of ambient soundscapes that are transformed into cohesive songs as Tiersen layers percussion and other elements across the initially sometimes formless tone generations that will inevitably have some listeners confused and others enraptured.

This is an album that's tough to love but impossible to ignore.

In the end, I am hesitant to say that this is Vanderslice's best album; however, it is undoubtedly his most rewarding. Just be prepared to spend a lot of time with it.

In essence, Male Bonding provides much of the same on its most recent addition, Endless Now. But with their unique knack for incorporating melody while still maintaining the urgency, energy and punk nature of their music, more of the same is just fine.

If there is one tiny flaw on this disc, it's the way some of the songs, after teasing us with intensifying waves of sound, tend to drift to an ending prior to attaining their destination.

The album’s dose of personality and how it transcends beyond its influences is equally impressive and in the end, Elephant Stone is a solid outing.

It is far too lengthy to function as a coherent hip-hop record.

It might be an altogether superfluous release but when the music is as expertly crafted to begin with, it's a solid sensation for anyone to notice.

Happy New Year's only flaw is that the second half drifts a bit.