Those who don’t want to trawl ebay and other such sites for the out-of-print singles will be happy to have these fabled tracks available to them. It’s just a shame that a release a mere month ago would have allowed more people to fit 'David Christmas' on their festive playlists.

It sounds a bit too much like it was made a year ago for Cloud Control's folk-rock to really stand out against new releases from, say, Okkervil River, or altogether newer acts like Grouplove. That doesn't mean Bliss Release is impossible to enjoy--far from it--but it does make it hard to imagine many new listeners making the time for it, and that's a shame.

It’s odd, yes, and quite, quite daft, but executed with some real charm.

More than anything, what impresses about Contrast is the quality of songs on offer.

With barely a duff song here bar the minor irritations mentioned earlier, Tourist History is an infectious debut that may well divide opinion, but at least suggests that amidst all the uneasy listening and obtuse noises coming out of the underground at present there are still those capable of writing the odd tune or ten.

There are parts of Love What Survives that you’ll want to dive straight back into again (like this track), and then others that are a little more ephemeral.

Mothers is a good, enjoyable album. It isn’t the classic album that Swim Deep have been aiming for, but it feels like they’re tantalisingly close to reaching it come album #3.

If the album looks back more than it looks forward, well, its makers have earned the right to a reprise. But then again, it wouldn’t work so well if they hadn’t managed to evoke something timeless all along.

As it stands it’s an indulgent and, at times, gorgeous listen that merely helps restate your concrete opinions about Muse.

Life Is Sweet! veers so frequently from densely orchestrated to intimately raw and back again - often within the same tune - these little throwaway breaks tend to work as conveniently placed little palate cleansers.

It’s not great, it’s not touching, it’s not... well it’s not anything but autopilot AC/DC, as they have been for many years now and it’s none the worse for that.

While nothing on the album quite reaches those lofty heights [of Pumped Up Kicks], Supermodel far outshines Torches as a whole.

If you had to single out something as being symbolic of 2011, you could do a lot worse than this album.

A step forward into what lies ahead for Dirty Projectors rather than the complete self-immolation of its previous attempt. It seems, however, that while Longstreth has indeed found a 'Break-Thru' he still has some way to go if he's to return to his former glories which, perhaps, are now unobtainable.

Palms is best at its tightest, but is perhaps a tad messier than it really needs to be.

So they missed the bullseye. But that's no reason to yell "sell out!", or to deride them as poseurs.

Full of guest musicians helping to bring his songs to life, this latest record might be a little different to previous Hiss Golden Messenger outings, but it also might be his best.

Like everything on L’Orange, L’Orange, the performance carries a naivety that only adds to the record’s stirring sense of innocence.

The only downside with Imperium is that maybe its creators have neglected the more intricate details of songwriting (verse/chorus/verse anyone?) for an angular propensity but on the whole, it's a finely tuned assortment and another welcome addition to Captured Tracks' impeccable catalogue of riches.

this album is never less than interesting. It’s just that with but a touch of discipline, they could create something truly magical.

Temple sets out to tinker with rather than drastically disfigure his familiar surroundings and for the most part succeeds, with occasional flashes of casual brilliance. That these flashes occur with minimal fuss merely adds to the enjoyment.

It won't win many points for originality--indeed they may lose a few old fans along the way - but this is the sound of a band reborn.

With Dynamics, Holy Ghost! have struck a careful balance between revisiting their mid-Noughties origins and playing with new ideas within a similar arena.

At 13 songs it's an eventful ride and one that takes repeated listens to really click but once it does, Ladytron makes all the right noises in all the right places.

The Argument's cataclysmic clashes and multitudinous puzzle pieces that never quite fit together are the stuff of a deeply flawed classic.

Like an unexpected fist in the face from a five-year-old, Ponytail’s boisterous pop-punk jams are saved from saccharine overkill with some unexpectedly tight hooks, plus a paradoxical, feathery lightness of touch that makes their music feel orgasmically flush even at its churningest and most densely impenetrable.

LP3 will keep a handful of indie-rockers happy but may not satisfy listeners looking for Daft Punk danceability.

They are not in tune with trends, or even an aesthetic, so much as something earthier...the seasons perhaps, because there’s no denying that Gorgeous Johnny has a latitude and a longitude... it’s the sound of a fading summer.