Boards of Canada have created a fascinating vision, one that will reveal more and more gifts over time.

After a decade of dividing between his priorities, this is Dallas finally taking the step out on his own. And it suits him extremely well.

For creating something as fresh and strong as this at album number eight, Portugal. The Man deserve to be applauded.

Not only ambitious, Blood & Chemistry is also invigorating.

It should go without saying but it needs to said: this is an intricate, jarring and complicated piece of work and is undeniably brilliant.

Fleshed out with a full band, tracks like newest single ‘In Your Car’ sound dramatic, full-bodied, but still in possession of the emotional intricacies that made us enjoy Big Deal in the first place.

So while there's nothing vastly wrong with From The Hills Below The City, there's also nothing vastly right.

The fire will simmer out, and one day this record will sound ridiculously dated, but for the time being it is everything 2013 requires.

With this record Hopkins has finally succeeded in putting on record a definitive statement of his musical vision and ideas.

Throughout, the record oozes an elegant stream of sophistication and songwriting nous, backed up by a rich, clearly well-thought out and measured Tucker Martine production.

Cave Rave is outlandish, silly, summery and as brilliant as its title, and Crystal Fighters have somehow managed to continue in making their seemingly unattainable mix of traditional instrumentation and ideas and dubby electronics work without disaster.

R. Cole Furlow has managed to piece together a jigsaw of DIY recording methods, thrashy punk, grungy distorted noise and glowing synths to brilliant effect.

The Days Run Away is a simple, pleasant, good-at-what-it-does indie pop album, but nothing spectacular.

In the wider picture, this may not make the impressive strides 'Visions' or Purity Ring's 'Shrines' did, but there's every chance Lesser Evil can find an audience to smother it in all the affection it deserves.

The lo-fi pop is still there, it’s just more precise and glossier.

Individually these would be two good albums. But as a complimentary pair they become much more.

Even when 'Turns Turns Turns' or the astonishingly upfront 'Bugs Don't Buzz' offer vital, personal refuge, an evil, grating side to you will crave a crescendo, a clamouring climax all coloured and epic. Majical Cloudz is the antithesis of such, but when he flirts with dangerous grey areas, he actually ends up striking gold.

Spend any element of time with it and each passing play opens the album up, showing it off as the special, if often-understated record that it is.

CocoRosie certainly revel in their unorthodoxy but this doesn’t always make for enjoyable listening; perhaps if their Tales Of A Grasswidow knew how to breathe, their macabre hymns might pack a little more pluck.

Notably looser is ‘Oblivion Overture’s classical, Fantasia-esque take on earlier track ‘Oblivion’, while ‘Morning Of My Life’ finds a softer side to Flemmons’s nasal vocals, accompanied by little more than soft plucks of guitar. When combined though, these opposing elements transform Jackal into a distinctly outright collection of songs.

The narrative drawn by Marling throughout is at times heart-stopping, segues and recurrent motifs creating effortless enjambment.

This is one of the most engaging dance albums you're likely to hear this year.

That MCII can jump from sound to sound isn’t a surprise; but at times it does make for a slightly schizophrenic listen.

It may be easy to enjoy at the time, but this third full-length leaves no lasting impression.

For all its unoriginality, Clarietta more than makes amends with the proficient psychedelia of its groove-based jams.

There's a gulf between even At The Drive-In and how extreme Dillinger can be, but on One Of Us Is The Killer, they've finally written a record that bridges that gap while staying true to themselves.

While The National don't progress or indeed offer anything new to outstanding cynics, they instead rejoice in their strengths of detailing life and all its sorry baggage in the most beautiful of ways.

Land Of CanAan's mix of warmth and sorrow sees Marques Toliver finally create an accomplished and whimsical sound that we only had glimpses of in other artists’ work.