If Conduit was the warm-up for their come back, then Chapter & Verse sees them break into a full sprint.

Halo expertly shuffles musical microclimates like a card shark elbow greasing a three card molly hustle.

What you really need to know about Courtcase 2000 is that it's an incredibly accomplished LP--maiden or otherwise.

To reiterate, then: it’s not the third Beirut album, like, proper. But as a means of sating collective appetites before that record does arrive--heightening expectations, even--it is a remarkable achievement.

case/lang/veirs is a record full of compelling, tender, starry energy.

By insisting on its purpose as soundtrack, Daniel Lopatin addresses that separation head-on. This defiance asserts Good Time as a record to listen to in the here and now, with or without its filmic accompaniment.

Not quite a milestone then, but a release that’s set to be remembered for a very long time to come.

This is a great rock and roll record.

The musicality on Pylon remains suitably elastic.

In spite of its sweeping musical and thematic ambitions, The Electric Lady emerges as a surprisingly coherent listen.

Fundamentally, this EP is the sound of a very good band becoming a great band.

A fitting eulogy.

On the first spin this is a set of highly listenable light pop tunes. However, this is by no means insubstantial and some real gems begin to reveal themselves.

It's a richly evocative record that is impossible to sit still to and confirms Laveaux as a unique talent.

Weller seems enthusiastic, upbeat and genuinely inventive across the whole LP, with only a couple of minor missteps throughout.

Other changes of note are a full remaster, which has actually made a palpable difference to the plumpness of the bass in songs like 'Hispanic Impressions', and three extra tracks, all released on split EPs prior to this album coming out. They haven't ruined it or anything daft, but also aren't cooking at the level of most of the actual album.

Thankfully, the album’s final act is as convincing as its opening movements.

All We Love We Leave Behind retains the fire of Jane Doe and harnesses everything they've learned since, combining to create something unrelenting, brutal, and never short of magnificent.

Although Kember's trademark floaty production sound is omnipresent at the forefront throughout, its Porpora's disconsolate vocal performance that steals the show.

Beyondless is an ambitious and accomplished ride that will claim a deserved spot on most Best-Of lists this year. Wrap up warm: the ice age has arrived.

Shadows illustrates the band's strong points - simple yet effective melodies coupled with sumptuous vocal harmonies courtesy of Blake, McGinley and Love while lyrically scaling a fine line between happy-go-lucky romanticism and solemn melancholy.

Even with that super high-gloss finish, it's hard to dispute the depth of songwriting talent throughout American Slang, and as a summer rock album, it's (quite literally) nigh on faultless.

Distinctive in style and sound, particularly Hecksher's drawling vocal and JC Rees expedient guitar surges, it's a record that pulls no punches in execution or delivery while conveying some of the most heartfelt lyrics Hecksher has ever penned.

At the purest of all levels, this is a presentation of sound in detail, which, to listen to carefully reveals surprise after surprise.

If it’s their lighter side that appeals, they’ve never made such a consistent pop album, and I use the term with not the slightest hint of cynicism.

Between the Times and the Tides is advertised as his first 'rock album' which makes it sound more abrasive than it is, although it packs more of an aural punch than Thurston's latest Beck-helmed Nick Drake tribute album.

For now, Tegan and Sara have reached the end of a thorny, awkward path to pop perfection. Those years of uncertainty have only sweetened the realisation.

Somehow all these disparate parts click together and make Government Plates the most captivating Death Grips album yet.