There are times though, when the record slips into a degree of smug self-reference that leaves you wishing that Lewis would spend less time considering what it means to be a songwriter, and more time just being one.

This album suggests that there’s gas in the tank yet, especially when such pondering is matched to the spiky, inventive instrumentation on display.

All fascinating stuff, and the resultant album is a fitting testament: exciting, yet flawed like the man (John DeLorean) himself.

For a band whose frequent line-up changes repeatedly threaten to leave them at an impasse, Post Electric Blues is a testament to Idlewild's stylistic and thematic consistency, while standing head and shoulders above the two albums which preceded it, if not quite equalling their career highs.

So whilst the fire might need more kindling before it can truly become a beacon, the potential and ambition cannot be faulted.

‘Hocus Pocus’ is a tricky record to listen to and it’s twisted roots of songs are unlikely to win the band much more than a cult following.

It is nothing more, and nothing less than a decent Morrissey album, and for some that is all the recommendation needed.

This attempt to marry together two equally confrontational (in their own distinct ways) musical forms reaps real rewards, and undoubtedly makes Wake in Fright a more consistently provocative record than the duo’s debut.

The whole of In Our Nature benefits from the air and space around the songs. Rather than attempting to embellish his new album in an attempt to garner a wider audience, Gonzalez keeps to minimal pleasures that make his work an unfussy yet sophisticated joy.

Either way, while Abe Vigoda 2.0 are a group to be respected, I have a feeling, going forward, I'm going to spend a lot more time listening to Skeleton than I am to Crush.

As an observer however it’s tempting to shoo him away awhile into the redwood forests, just long enough that he might wrestle with something a little meatier, a work as gently heartbreaking as it is cerebrally seductive.

Yes, the style and the evocative mood that positively drips from this record are perhaps its most obvious elements but the spirit that underlies these sweltering ballads is massive.

Michel Poiccard is an inconsistent, raucous, sleazy mess. But that's what The Death Set do best--and you sense that Beau Velasco would approve.

The twelve songs of Nightlife rattle by the listener with alarming speed, and at only thirty minutes long the record seems to be over just as soon as its begun.

The album bubbles and whispers along. You can listen to every word and every inflection or you can let it carry you--Foster's casual vocal style holds true for the lyrics, so each phrase is a shape as much as it's a fully formed, structured section.

As a relative paradigm shift of an album, The King is Dead is a success, with The Decemberists managing to make their transition smoothly, creating a work that is well-structured, hook-driven and coherent.

It’s clear that, especially now they’ve released Lacuna, Childhood are indeed making the right kind of noises that’ll ably assist them in making that important career leap from dreamy infancy to artistic maturity.

Stevens and Vogel have been playing together for almost 22 years now, if you can believe that, and We Are Undone is a fine addition to their catalogue.

For now, this just about gets the job done, but a little more variety, even if it's just a return to the noisier interludes of those past recordings, would be welcome next time.

Ellipsis isn’t a career-defining album. ... This is a worthy addition to their catalogue and a couple of songs are their in years. For a band on album seven, that’s still an achievement.

Whilst not wholly unique,Golden Suits is undeniably individual--a wholehearted, open but personal space--built from imagination, memories, stories: what he knows and who he knows.

The happy-go-lucky, Casio-plated sheen surrounding their elegantly crafted pop songs disguises what are, by and large, tales of bitterness, regret and longing for things that are impossibly out of reach.

There’s a huge range of styles on display, but Innocents remains a remarkably cohesive and creative record, thanks both to Moby’s instrumentation and to the album’s conceptual feel.

. This isn't an album you listen to in a conscious sense: it's an album you put on and switch off, allowing it to carry you on a journey through the wilderness. It's O'Death's most accomplished work to date, and a fine piece of work at that.

‘Warnings / Promises’ is the work of a band pushing itself to the limits of its generous, but ultimately not boundless musical ability.

Girlpool make themselves a deliciously relatable pair, filling the songs with as much soft warmth as harsh fire, putting a sharp, snotty edge onto a new wave of riot grrrl. They’re exactly the sort of act 2014 needs.

Humanz is good, because Gorillaz are good, and it distinguishes itself by probably being the band’s most party-orientated record, which is great. But ultimately it feel like Gorillaz are now more curators than provocateurs, locked into a classy, comfortable groove.

With Bright Sunny South, Amidon has taken a huge step forward as a folk artist, creating arrangements which preserve his musicianship, while deepening the maturity of his interpretive skills.