Everything that made Transverse great is here on f (x). Carter Tutti Void are reimagining industrial music without the need for in-your-face defiant transgression.

Bang & Works Vol. 2 also captures a genre in transition, as both the old guard and the young producers increasingly look to other genres for a way to progress the sound, or at least re-flavour it.

That’s not to say they don’t come across like an all-singing, all-banging Life Aquatic armed with pots, pans and whatever instrument comes to hand, but from the raw, stamping folk-punk to the string layered sea ditties, All We Could Do Was Sing is much more than it initially lets on.

Lyrically, it's a broad, emotionally-led investigation into 'the state of things'. By no means, however, is it bogged down by the precise or the singular or the definitive. Within its lyrical muddlings, we might be able to tease of a forecast of things to come, or it might just be fooling us with a potent swirling of punchy psychedelic rock.

It’s summer-break music for overachievers who grew up to be misanthropic. It’s nightmare symphonic, something that’d play in the movie of your life once you’ve died and the credits rolled. Stripped back more than we’re used to from Joan of Arc, 1984 preserves their sense of humour in the track names only littering their work instead with pure statements of intent.

The subtlety of musicianship on each track is quite brilliant.

The only spoiler is Sam Herlihy’s lack of vocal abilities.

Lonerism marks Tame Impala's arrival as a genuine force to be reckoned with, and even if at times there's a feeling Parker's trying to cram too many ideas into one piece, it's a record that will undoubtedly be used as a benchmark for guitar music of the near future.

My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky sounds more like the essence of Michael Gira than the Angels Of Light ever did, and ought to also serve as another broadside to the idea of reformations being inherently grubby and uncreative ventures.

An album whose deep felt emotion and effortless execution proves that there’s nothing like a little trial and tribulation to get the artistic synapses firing.

dEUS manage to exhume an unbridled level of consistency throughout the nine pieces that comprise Keep You Close.

The album will appeal to new fans, but for anyone that has followed Nite Jewel’s creative ascendance over the years, Real High will stand out as the artistic apex of what she has attempted to create during her short but eventful career. The overwhelming impression is that of authority; an artist at one with herself and her vision.

If all that sounds like heavy going, a slightly bitter pill to swallow, fair warning, it is. But if you appreciate the effort that goes into crafting a record like this by giving it the repeated plays it needs, you're going to find a piece of work you'll come back to again and again.

This is a collection of elegantly assembled, fat-free pop songs, made from light and air and heart, and great choruses.

Throughout ‘The Orchestra, Sadly, Has Refused’ runs the coherent theme of creeping, haunting lullabies, and that furrow which sees The Silent League ultimately master their own unique beauty.

After 40 minutes you’re still not totally sure what it is you’ve listened to. This could be great, messy pop music, or just as easily be something you dreamt, dozing in post-coital bliss with a detuned radio in the background. Whichever it is, you’ll just be glad it exists. If, that is, it exists at all.

Dead Confederate have possibly made the best record out of all their contemporaries this year, which surely beckons the question 'How much longer can they be ignored?' Time to pay attention methinks...

Perhaps one of the greatest, and certainly most underappreciated, post-hardcore rock groups of all time.

The Megaphonic Thrift marks a well-crafted progression for the Norwegian four-piece.

The Cribs have managed to interpret the notion of 'pop music' into an often-spectacular record.

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.