Its clarity, confidence, and cohesion set it apart from their debut which had room for improvement on those fronts.

Arc sees a stripped-back, 'more accessible' band.

Broadcast's soundtrack for Berberian Sound Studio is a triumph not just because it is inescapably aware of itself as a soundtrack but also serves as a fitting epitaph for the band's singularity and vision throughout their all-too-brief career.

Pere Ubu's first studio recording in three years is a suitably abstruse, challenging and dense record, and yet another example of how Pere Ubu remain at the very peak of experimental avant rock.

Regardless of how wonderful, awful or daunting it sounds in principle, Laibach command that you listen to it regardless.

It's a unique record in the wider sense, but maybe less so within the band's own back catalogue--if you've yet to be snake-charmed by the occasionally venomous but oh-so-shiny Black Moth Super Rainbow, this is certainly a good place to start.

This is a gorgeous album of soundscapes that are able to stand up alone.

As stirring as some of the material is, there are a number of tracks where the weighty lyrical themes are coupled with languid and ponderous melodies which drag the pace right down to a deathly crawl.

An album of stirring highs and deeply intimate confessions takes the traditional live album to a new level.

Joshua James' second release of 2012 is a thoughtful and pleasantly warm collection of songs that are steeped in the sound of Americana.

The free jazz of the title track grates and some of the record falls a little bit into the background and seems almost too polite at times but Mars is a sophisticated and beguiling album full of wonder.

Umberto has created something which, despite being by its very nature incidental, is incredibly enveloping.

John Cale's latest is a visceral, thrilling ride, capable of soundtracking any seedy disco on the outskirts of Nookie Wood.

Kin is a hypnotic album on its own merit and needs no elaborate campaign to stand out.

The result is a set of nine songs, each one brimming with musical interest and experimentation.

There are a number of genuinely interesting pieces here that make this a very worthwhile addition to Bjork's discography.

Mason's voice is lazier and more monotone than it ever was on the debut (a good thing) but the infectious nuances and off-beat concepts in the music are still not quite at their 2005 levels.

sity. Dayve Hawke has created a record that's as graceful (sorry) as it is mighty.

Given time and patience, it will eventually unravel into a truly gripping that, although disturbing, is worth every minute of your time.

The result is a tight, neat little package of postcard pop, as radio-friendly as ever, embossed with Field Music's auteur sound.

It's an immersive album, without ever fading away from your immediate attention

Though different in style and construction, they all succeed in doing in giving you the chills, in a whole new way.

A more succinct approach to these re-assembled works would have done wonders, though as it stands leaves these ten tracks merely as a curiosity for long-standing Mogwai fans only.

Whilst this beast will satisfy the ravenous converted, skeptics are set to remain agnostic.

It's so well constructed as pop music the only thing you can really say is that there's not much diversity.

Dead & Born & Grown is a record perfect for those long dark winter nights, an emotionally rich collection of songs that deserves to put Watford firmly on the musical map.

Ultimately, These Walls Of Mine is too incoherent and disparate in style to merit any amount of satisfaction.

This is an album to intently listen to every single line and every single syllable. There is a strange kind of hope and joy to the album's warmest moments that belie the, at times, dark themes.

It's easy to see from this record just why Hugo Manuel is in such demand and his debut, as Chad Valley will provide a significant springboard to ever more exciting climbs.

There are enough fragments of warped interference to ensure this is a worthy collaboration albeit one which doesn't entirely muscle up to the canon of its individual progenitors.

While it may be an album with a fairly prescribed pattern, it's one that is done so well and embellished so cutely, that it leaves you feeling an enormous sense of contentment.

Medicine is an album that baffles just as much as it thrills.

They use a quiet/loud formula to epic create drone-filled symphonies, which rumble, crackle and erupt perfectly.

Lonerism is an absolutely amazing and inspiring record.

With Koi No Yokan the band have not only delivered on their promises, but exceeded them so, whilst remaining one of the most engaging but remarkable heavy bands of our times.

Our House on the Hill' is at least a welcome addition to their lexicon; its 50s-tinged 'woah-oh' backing vocals and neo-retro chord changes just wistful enough.

There's a bewitching quality to it which suggests Clinic actually only exist in some form of musical vacuum. And right now, that sounds like a most spellbinding place to be.

If we're honest, it doesn't start well, 'Be My Girl' is easily one of the worst tracks on here. But things do pick up.

While there certainly are some massive tunes in here, there are too many other instances that make you wonder what might have been.

The echoic wisps and nebulous smoke clouds from their first album have been significantly dialled-back, resulting in a more taut, wiry sound that feels both more focussed and more sinister.

'Look To The Sky' sees him returning to the spotlight with an album that only fleetingly hints at his past glories.

Sophisticated yet uncomplicated, misty yet vibrant, luxurious yet disquieting, 'Melody's Echo Chamber' is a lovely record full of dualities.

It is a fine album. Pointed without being preachy, cerebral without being inaccessible and never anything less than thrilling.

Even if you weren't a fan of their last couple [of albums], there's definitely going to be something for you here. As soon as the synth kicks in for opener 'The Theory Of Relativity', you know you're in for a treat.

Sonnymoon have taken all that we know of our earthly pop, and reconstructed them through the eyes of an alien, and as their first official attempt, it's a pretty good one.

A unique record that puts a contemporary spin on an era that modern music forgot.

Unsurprisingly, this collection does sometimes border on becoming stale; 10-30 second fillers appear somewhat pointlessly bookended between certain tracks. But, more often than not, Friedberger does spice things up.

Thrifty, perhaps--hey, these are austere times!--but Errors' evocation of eighties pop, tricked out with post-rock structures, is fresh and exciting.

Whilst it's a shame we've had to wait the best part of a decade for this collection of songs there is rejoicing in the fact these have been released to the musical world. There is little that will trouble MTV playlist compilers but much to satisfy soul-deprived purists.

[Shut Down the Streets is] a truly mature and well-rounded work, with a complete lack of pretension, and a lot of warmth and heart.

You can't help have a smile on your face when you listen to the excellent harmonious vocals of 'Sore Tummy', featuring Alice Costelloe, or the hilarious lyrics of the riff-tastic 'Pony'.

GEM is nothing short of spellbinding.

For such a madcap, experimental pop act, this is a reasonably cogent collection of songs, and one that serves as a decent follow up to their last 'proper' LP, 'Paralytic Stalks'.

It's a strong album and shows once and for all that Paul Banks doesn't need Interpol, Interpol needs him.

Whilst it's not the most cohesive electronic debut, there are some interesting ideas grounded in 'Order Of Noise' that are a jumping off point for Vessel's later material. This darker, more apocalyptic realm of electronic music is often cold and uninviting; sometimes that can work to its advantage but here, Gainsborough just falls short.

In drawing together all his disparate styles in to one distinct context, [Wolf] might have created his most accomplished album yet: albeit one that is a little too long, and rather in love with itself.

It's an extremely fine album that is without doubt her best work yet.

As an album, it's quite a varied piece of work, despite never really emerging from its shell.

Tender New Signs may be an exhausting listen but it is definitely a rewarding one.

As ever, there's a sonic depth here that most artists could only dream of attaining, he works melodic light and shade beautifully; perhaps never more so than on 'Hangtown', which is a veritable swoonfest.

[The Haunted Man is] beautiful, daring, and captivating, the sound of pop's dark heart carving out its own niche and cementing Khan's status as one of our most inventive, ambitious artists.

Concept albums may not be for everyone, and that's understandable, but they usually prove interesting at the very least, and this is no different.

If it's right to say that 'Circles' sticks close to what has come before, it also proves that Moon Duo are masters of their craft.

It's sometimes a difficult listen, there's a lack of lucidity and guile that at times leaves the less striking tracks to come across rather samey.

The majority of the album is not different or progressive enough to be exciting--and it's not enjoyable enough to make up for it.

WHY? have always been an acquired taste but anyone with a shred of interest in Yoni Wolf's idiosyncratic talents will find much to savour on a very impressive return.

'Incorruptible Heart' is a frustrating listen. You are left with the sense that there is a brilliant pop group waiting to burst out but for the most part, they are sadly suffocated by the arrangements.

'Out Of The Black' represents that failure [to push their sound forward].

They're drifting between The Killers and Two Door Cinema Club in a sea of meaningless tunes with no depth whatsoever.

It's one of those albums you could listen to again and again.

There's a lack of progression from previous albums that makes Heavy Mood a bit of a disappointment.

At times, the record is a grower. Off the bat, the singles sell the release but other numbers require additional listens to click. Having said that, once you hear that click this record is completely blinding.

'Mauve' isn't a bad album. It's competently made, it's mixed pretty well. It's done well. But it's been done before, and better.

This is an album that sounds like it could've been recorded at any point in the last thirty-odd years.

The range of influences on the album ensures this is a rather uneven listen, unhelped by the cast of vocalists.

This is an album's cutting room floor yet each song still retains Hutchison's instantly recognisable Scottish drawl, infectious hooks and intelligent lyrics.

Until The Quiet Comes is an album that is celebratory and desolate, dense and sparse, dark and colourful--a trippy, fantastical ride that only he could create a path for.

The result is one of this year's most welcome collaborations. Definitely worth the ten-year wait.

There is not an ounce of fat on this record, nor one wasted note.

There's a certain urgency lacking to 'Kill My Blues' - Tucker seems determined to tap in to a certain rage and angst, yet still manages to sound rote and homogeneous.

Strapped is a significant step forward from their debut; far more expansive and ambitious.

This is a seductive if not immediately obvious piece of work, her adventures into folky-jazz work well, never straying too far from pleasing familiarity into all-out experimentalism.

It might take more than one or two listens to really appreciate it, but it's worth your time.

The fact that Efterklang have managed to cultivate such an effortless sounding exercise in sonic geographies is sheer testament to their skill as master artisans.

Minus The Bear may have returned to the style that made their name, but there is still enough mileage in that sound to ensure that 'Infinity Overhead' is a marked improvement on their previous album.

'Breakup Song' manages to hone and control their more outré-moments into a more cohesive structure than before without every compromising the band's predilection for sheer bonkers-ness.

With the lyrical focus on family life, this record is their most personal, powerful and cathartic yet.

[Breakthrough] is so much more than the hectic pastiches of exoticism that The Gaslamp Killer is famous for. Meticulous arrangements, pace, narrative and emotional authenticity are prioritized over an all-out assault of catatonia-inducing madness to convey its message.

The most interesting element of his chosen samples is the way that more classical instruments and acoustic guitar strums are looped, while his vocals occasionally get the remix treatment and judder along.

Amongst all that haze, it's clear that Krell has produced another gorgeous record that is incredibly open about love and loss.

The Sea & Cake could have been in danger of becoming an indie-band-by-numbers, but 'Runner' is performed with all the vigour and aplomb of fresh-faced youngsters and executed with the deftness of touch of grizzled old hands.

Overall the album is never really present enough to make an impression, beyond a hazy silhouette in the distance.

Sic Alps is an often fine, often frustrating listen which only succeeds when some flesh is applied to those skinny Californian bones.

This record is completely free of direction changes but at least they are consistent.

They're bold, they're tight in their production and they're not afraid to strip things back to their bare essentials or allow outside influences to shine through.

[Sun] is never less than intriguing, and more than often, grabs you by the heartstrings and pulls you in.

Gallows at their harshest, their angriest and their most thrilling and it turns out that no change in frontman can stop that.

If you like a theatrical sound with a dose of anarchy, quirk and unpredictability, this record comes highly recommended.