Wounded Rhymes is an album that has not escaped unscathed from its wounds.

Whereas other pop-punk bands revel in sheer stupidity, Superchunk conjure up a profound musical purpose and sense of wonderment from behind every goofy-eyed chorus and oversized hook line. It is bloody impressive to say the least.

Tasteful and tactful enough to use their wide range of influences, this is an impressive body of work that upholds the finest garage tradition: missed completely by the majority, but obsessed over and taken straight to heart by those who can’t resist their records a little on the rougher side.

The Hunter is a pitch for the mainstream--but it doesn't compromise on Mastodon's core ambition.

This emotive disc balances a hushed intimacy and vast expanse that places it in a unique sonic terrain.

Theirs is a career of true progressiveness, in every sense of the word. What was hinted at in parts on 2007's Grindstone has been, bettered, battered and even bludgeoned. Chalk up another one for Norway, then.

It's a worthy album for consideration should you find yourself browsing in a record shop of a Saturday afternoon and fancy something at once familiar and different.

His music really is art for the ears, with hues, colours, textures and aural brush strokes dripping with vibrancy and imagination.

It's astounding that AB can reel off so many downright enjoyable songs that it almost hurts.

There’s a rawness to this record that most new bands – sorry, most bands made up of new musicians – would do well to soak up.

An extremely compelling, beautifully articulated, bonafide masterpiece.

Everything from the minimal arrangements, to the briefly heard flutter of a page turning draws you into the world that Jófríõur and Ásthildur inhabited when they were making the album. They may have been apart for a while, but Sundur is proof that the musical connection between the two sisters is as strong as ever.

Black Noise manages to navigate the tightrope of expectation and creative vision with aplomb. It’s rich and meaty, the kind of album you can really get to know over a long period of time.

Under Color Of Official Right packs a dynamic punch from starting to finish, never outstaying its welcome at any point.

The whole thing is put together with such love that nothing ever feels like a burden, nor an obligation. First and foremost, this is an LP which can be enjoyed by anyone. You don’t need to know the album’s backstory to be swayed by its charm.

Visiter has a hidden treasure aspect implying future generations may be more willing to appreciate this album.

Accelerator's savage vitality hasn't diminished one iota in the intervening decade-and-a-half: quite what point it's ultimately trying to make remains typically elusive, but you get the sense that it's somehow been proved right in the long-run.

As an accompaniment to the original album--which I'm sure most people reading this will already own (and if you don't, you should)--it stands proud as a comprehensive update to a timeless record.

Goodnight Rhonda Lee never feels like a pastiche or a rip off of classic soul songs, but a celebration of the genre and life. Yes some songs could be trimmed a bit and maybe some of the motifs would be tighter, but overall this is an album by someone who knows exactly what she wants to say and how she wants to say it.

God’s Favourite Customer isn’t quite perfect - it lags in the final furlong as piano ballads are fallen back upon one too many times (the title track, ‘The Songwriter’) and lacks the unified overarching narrative of ...Honeybear--but it continues to showcase one of the finest songwriters of a generation.

While Smith uses this album as an outlet to explore a variety of different styles, importantly he never loses sight of the source material. Even so, in paying tribute to a great artist, Jamie XX has laid significant claims to being deserving of that title himself.

At its best, it’s the purest yet expression of Garbus’ exploration of the corporeal: an album with sounds you can see, a voice you can feel, and music you can all but touch.

It is, ultimately, an unimaginative album from a promising band. Better records may lie ahead for them, but for now they will struggle to reach far beyond their existing fanbase.

Out of all the stellar releases in 2014, this collaboration is the one which is most likely to stay with us all, and the one from which the most new conclusions will be made as years in the future, we’re still dissecting and seeking to understand the stories and emotions captured therein.

Age Of is a maddening, compelling, even thrilling record that feels like a conclusive summation of everything the Oneohtrix Point Never project has been (or even hinted at) to date.

It’s the points at which A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships veers away from the preset aesthetic that feel the most profound.

So anyhow--crossover album of the year, no contest.

Over these ten songs Lenker continues to carve out the little slices of magic that at this stage we now fully expect from her.