It’s one of the best late-night albums of the year so far, and deserves to be remembered in the best of 2009 polls.

Bands normally falter in their attempts to create an album full of 'hits' instead of remaining true to whatever their mission statement is or artistic roots are, but this is clearly the field where PB&J excel--creating bittersweet musical moments that we will be compelled to revisit again and again.

Are The Roaring Night is by no means a perfect record, and there are minor flaws to stand alongside the frequent moments of brilliance, but what cannot be questioned is how skilled they are at shaping layers of sound to form an enveloping whole, with each overlapping texture or shifting tempo plunging the listener further and further into the darkness.

The everything-but-the-kitchen-sink promotional campaign--an appearance on Made In Chelsea here, a cover of ‘Wrecking Ball’ on Dutch radio there--might smack of desperation. Fortunately, In the Silence is more than good enough to dispel any such impressions.

Paradoxically, despite--or perhaps even due to--its directness, Living With A Tiger is a challenging record, only revealing its full depth on repeated visits.

This is one person using only the bare minimum but still crafting something beautiful.

Arnalds says he spent months agonising over this mix, and the effort shows. This latest addition to the Late Night Tales catalogue isn’t just a seamless journey into his music collection--by the end, you definitely feel like you can relate to him too.

Konkylie is an impressive, accomplished collection of songs from a band coming into their own. They've succeeded in accomplishing what all so many artists strive for: cleanly synthesising their feelings and thoughts into sound.

There’s certainly nothing anywhere near as anthemic as ‘Even When The Sun Comes Up Her’ and later material, particularly Are We There, is far more fleshed out. But here we get the most incisive look into the soul of Sharon van Etten and that’s hard to replicate.

The Queens’ music has always been a kind of battleground for the proverbial devil and angel on Homme’s shoulders – with the devil winning, of course – and that continues to be the case here, with Homme’s bewitching falsetto croon acting as the spirit to the band’s tattooed, hairy flesh, and bruising, cactus-dry workouts giving way to lush, psychedelic oases of darkly reflective sound.

It’s a Big World Out There (And I Am Scared) has taken Kurt Vile to new heights, proving that his offcuts and extended versions are infinitely better than most bands' singles.

Out Of Touch In The Wild feels like an album album, with the tracks naturally feeling their way to one another, but with enough stand out moments to show how far Dutch Uncles have progressed since they recorded that debut in Germany.

When SSVIIB play to their strengths--most of the time--the songs are so smooth that you lower your expectations for any strong hooks, as you would when listening to ambient, only to discover that you’re caught up in a glorious anthem,making this a kind of secret dance-music you didn’t know you were swaying to.

Williams has managed to get out from under the pressure of having to be the perma-grinning frontwoman, and the emotional uncertainty that’s exposed is fascinating. Musically, meanwhile, this is as free as they’ve ever sounded. Again: Paramore have always been a pop band. They’ve just never been this proud of it.

Even if the album loses its way with its final two tracks, you are left so exhausted by this stage that it almost comes with a sense of relief. By reinventing what they do best, Doves have fearlessly strutted back onto everyone's radar.

Although a quiet album, it’s not one that ever seems to tire, always remaining interesting.

Swapping the winding soundscapes of ‘Rock It To The Moon’ for punchier, vocal-led pieces, Electrelane have struck creative gold.

The result is a brilliant, imperfect record that affects you in ways Enter Shikari never have before and subverts what the entire band is all about. Anything from them would be ridiculous.

If 2003 debut ‘Keep On Your Mean Side’ was a barren sounding album, their new LP is positively spartan.

It’s an experiment in construction, its sandbox carefully sparse. Fitting then, that Explosions In The Sky find that elusive spark and thrive in such surroundings.

Justice know when to curtail the industrial strike and dazzle you with some star-skipping pop-chime, or a warble of gloopy future funk, before tossing you back into the unlit mire.

Hera Ma Nono still possesses an often awkward transition between the jarring Kenyan and North American influences, but this also essentially provides Extra Golden with their character.

Earrings Off! is undoubtedly a brave, intriguing release, and should cement Adult Jazz as a band you really can’t afford to ignore.

Nothing unduly groundbreaking here, yet at the same time always brutally refreshing.

Cosmogramma is dense and devotional, Ellison piloting his craft into the fading slipstream of his aunt Alice Coltrane's cosmic strain of jazz. Not that it's jazz, exactly. Well, no more than it is techno, dubstep, chiptune, P-funk, IDM and, by no means least, hip-hop.

It is a record to indulge in, one melting synth note at a time.

To those who care about the small differences, it's another tremendously strong album from a career already littered with them.

Overall No. 4 is serene, still, and deep. It doesn’t allow you to become transfixed by predictable patterns by rather relaxes you into accepting the next step, whether you are being visited by a herd of headless horsemen, flying away on a magic carpet or sinking slowly, irresistibly, into torpor.

What they have created is a consistent work which showcases the band’s diversity as well as their skill and passion in making music which treads the ground between weird and wonderful.

The record is certainly the best distillation to date of a band whose careening fun places equal value on Radiohead at their most brow-furrowed and novelty chart hits without any trace of preening post-irony.

The Raveonettes take you to the dark side and articulate every sharp pang of aching heartbreak and rejection you ever felt but they make it sound so goddamn lovely.

If you need something to invigorate your soul and send you on a journey then look no further.

There's a delicacy, a deftness of touch throughout Total Loss that's wondrous.

The entire record sounds like a calmly-executed upswing, both personally and professionally.

If you’re already a Lanegan obsessive, Has God Seen My Shadow? might not be for you, although the lavish presentation of the physical release sounds like it might be tempting. For those that have always been intrigued by this shadowy sideman and want to learn more, or for anyone with a love of dark, poetic songwriting, this anthology is easily the best overview of his solo work around.

Bitte Orca isn't a record that'll reduce many to tears, except perhaps of awe. But when something's so astonishing in every other respect, we can allow for that.

Although it still occasionally feels like there is something distant about Ekstasis, something yet to thaw (chalk this up to its chilly aesthetic and Holter's wilfully eclectic approach to her art), it is a genuinely enthralling listen.

In these 28 minutes, Badwan underlines his determination to expand beyond traditional patterns, creating an album that's absorbing and rewarding.

An inviting, maturing album that still shows enough vitality to still be classed as a good rock album.

It’s undoubtedly Avey’s best solo work to date, and another welcome reminder of Animal Collective’s ability to rejuvenate, surprise and delight.

'Surgery' isn't the unlistenable, depression-fest it's lyrical content threatens it to be. Instead, it's heartfelt message combined with the monstrous sound behind it make it one of the most curiously uplifting records of the year.

The standout pieces are the lengthier ones. Perhaps, if you are already aware of her work on Ceremony, then The Miraculous will not be a surprise to you. But if you have not, then it may well be a complete revelation.

These five songs illustrate the beauty behind a constant movement, instead of dreaming up a desired fate or meaning. It treats tranquility and chaos like elements we could harness, not opposites we must cement in our fleeting existence; the doing instead of the being.

It's an album sufficiently laced with despair to render the not-committed listener uncomfortable; delve deeper, though, to where the darkness makes way for an eerie underworld glow, and the record's beauty emerges.

It's understated, yet incredibly ominous. This album should convince you that solitude can inspire great musical work.

If you put in the effort this is one of the most rewarding albums of the year so far, but like pronouncing its title, don’t be surprised if you don’t get it first time.

With Images Du Futur, though, the band has stretched into unknown territory while remaining true to its own sound.

It may lack the fictional cryptic storytelling of Pallett's past work but such elements were merely peripheral to the overall picture--this is art set loose on pop with its teeth bared.

Son Lux veers away from the straight forward and chooses to make records as wonderfully complex as Bones.

While there may not be any surprises here, this is a small record holding some big thoughts--and Beam doesn’t need a big band sound to do them justice.

Like classic Stereolab at their very best.

All in all, it’s the usual captivating chaos.

Once again, Kanye has released music filled with contradictions and confusion. Once again, it’s like nothing heard before. Once again, it’s good to have him back.

Keep your sense of perspective and remember that The Promise really is an offcuts record, and you'll find it's a staggeringly good one.

Tackling weighty themes and wrestling difficult truths with aplomb, it ultimately emerges triumphant.

It's different without being aggravating and intelligent without ever being overbearing.

Although Blood only features ten predominantly short songs, the myriad flashes of brilliance render the album’s brevity irrelevant.

What this duo have is exactly that – heart. They also have balls to spare, but don't tell them that – those little fellas get into all kinds of trouble. Wouldn't want to worry them.

With a record as good as it is, it's difficult to believe that both they and pop music aren't alive and well.

Will Oldham's still got it.

With lyrics so accomplished, entertaining and labyrinthine as these to be matched with well-measured, anti-bravado beats and textural sensitivity it’s difficult not to see a bright future for Speech Debelle.

Olsen’s most ambitious album yet. Taking a more polished--though not straight-up glossy--approach, Olsen sounds more vulnerable for having made her vocals more central to the mix.

Invite the Light should be regarded as a triumph, a neo-funk gem which stays true to Dâm-Funk’s vision, without alienating those who’re arriving fresh to the party.

The positivity is never over the top, nor does the pure sincerity exhibited throughout ever feel excessively earnest. It’s this which sets this band apart from their indie-pop contemporaries, and makes Try To Be Hopeful a record which should be revered as a truly important piece of work.

If iii was a pizza it would be kinda disgusting to look at, it would never really cool down and it would probably give me indigestion, but it would taste absolutely delicious.

Believers isn't a rousing album. Its allure is slow-burning, almost unnoticeable.

Having set high standards for two-and-a-half decades, Modern Nature serves as another prized addition to The Charlatans' already wealthy canon.

Attack On Memory might be on surface a pretty routine blast of crashing percussion, throaty vocals and biting guitars but repeated listens reveal a more nuanced affair full of charisma and spark.

The group's palette is widening promisingly.

It feels like a body of work that’s been carefully planned and thought-out, which is ironic, given so much of it was just 'a happy experiment'.

It's amazing, actually, that despite having been around for over a decade, through trauma and breakups and now their fifth record, Menomena still sound fresh and uncontrived and, well, endearingly innocent.

For sure, dollops of Franz, Blur and Supergrass have been whisked into this epileptic mix of guttural, quick-witted punk-pop but Little Death is no pre-packaged ready-bake; it’s an improvised, home-cooked palate-whetter, coated in rhythm and sprinkled with bite.

Chorus serves to highlight what a vital band Lush were. Understated and underrated yet undeniably consistent throughout their tenure. And with new material set to surface next spring, their story hasn't reached its conclusion yet.

Serotonin makes its intentions pretty clear – it is a pop record, it has themes, it knows where it wants to go, it knows what it wants to do. It does those things – it is melodic.

It may not be perfect – there’s the slightest suggestion as the album draws to a close that ideas may be running thin – but for a debut record to sound this accomplished suggests a promising future, and surely they’re in the right hands.

It may not be an album to die for, but it is a rare album of note, as much for its context as its content.

Hospice is an album of white walls, long desolate passages, and sudden blitzkriegs of high emotional drama – it’s not always comforting, but the players are hyper-attentive to the nuances of each note and lyric.

Not so much a natural progression as a foray into new fields, Skyline is a wonderful album brought about by a sense of restlessness and curiosity.

The release of Broken Wave heralds the arrival of a genuine creative force in British folk music, and one of the scariest things about it is that you get the impression that Peel hasn't really even got going yet.

It's true Lidell darts from one scene to the next, and not every moment earns its place. Yet it all makes a curious kind of sense in Compass' vivid canvas.

By focusing inwards, Born Ruffians have done that whole 'maturing' thing that us reviewers like to talk about, and created a much improved piece of art.

It’s comparable to blending all the best bits of Led Zep and hippie rockers Grateful Dead, with a spoonful of Motown classics to help the medicine go down.

The record works not because it feels cynical, but because beneath the obvious lyrical headlines, you can sense Longstreth’s genuine enthusiasm for the new forms he’s exploring so vigorously.

It is a joyous, emboldened return to form and one that reminds us of what a treasure Edwyn Collins is.

There is enough in the moments which don’t quite astound to suggest that Lawrence Arabia is on the cusp of making a real classic of a record, until that time arrives, go check out ‘Beautiful Young Crew’ and drool at the prospect of an album which tops it not once but twice.

Skying is very much a record of polar extremes boshed into close proximity. Withdrawn and welcoming; subtly bold; gently hyperactive.

St. Vincent and David Byrne have brought out the best in each other--they should do this more often.

Secret House's obvious appeal lies entirely with its musical, or rather compositional, diversity.

An album that as a whole sounds like a collage depicting a comprehensive list of everyone who's anyone from the past 40 years of popular music.

Damaged... rises to the same dizzying heights achieved by their last few long-players.

Along with fellow Birmingham rabble rousers Table Scraps, Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam have made a record that proves the spirit of DIY is alive, well and living somewhere off the M42/A34 axis.

An entrancing, wonderfully surprising record which manages to feel both refreshing new and strangely timeless.

Whichever way they decide to pursue such diversions on future releases, one hopes that they remain as fixated on fusing together the dance traditions of their two homes. On that territory, Ibibio Sound Machine remain world leaders.

For all of its discordance, there is both the degree of palpable cohesion belying To Pimp A Butterfly and the unorthodox narrative of GKMC that lures the listener close.

if you thought you had a handle on TAP, All aboard Future throws out almost all of the signifiers that would suggest Liars, and reaches back to the late-1970s / early-1980s futurists (This Heat, Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle) as much as any contemporaries (Black Dice, Gang Gang Dance, Animal Collective).

A bottle of red wine and a full listen of the album is when you’re really going to uncover the caveats and subtleties of the record. Anything else and you’re just wasting a wonderfully dark and seething record.

She & Him treat what could be needless and indulgent with care and soul. Volume Two will surprise and charm in equal measure.

Banks is perfectly comfortable in her own skin and artistic abilities, and it shows immensely on The Altar.