Possibly a little early to be wheeling out 'album of the year'-type assertions, but with The English Riviera Mount has set the bar nice and high.

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.

To truly grasp the vigour of Do Whatever You Want All The Time, do it yourself. Grab four mates, pick up some instruments and go nuts. Just don't cut an album from the sessions.

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

Apocalype then, is another Bill Callahan album, similar to those that came before it, with some particularly beautiful songs and some particularly considerate musical accompaniment from the band he has gathered around him. That it happens to be both heartbreaking and life affirming is just something we've come to expect.

Nine Types of Light feels like the work of a band more than content to make a good album - a really, very, very good album, yes - but only because they can't be bothered to make a great one.

So where the Share the Joy may inhabit a broad spectrum of emotions, inflicted with anxiety in places and rife with The Vivs' trademark wit, ultimately, it can be viewed as a shiny beacon of joy in an ever growing climate of discontent.

Holy Ghost! is an interesting album and much of the production is loving, well-crafted homage to some wonderfully overlooked disco genres.

Helioscope is another example of Vessels' growing ability to map out enormously ambitious journeys that go beyond the obvious touchstones and influences. In short: definitely worthy of your attention.

A small and totally unpolished gem, sparkling and anti-lapidary.

A good deal of the success of C'mon is down to its solid foundations – its quality song-writing and deft sequencing.

Because however cheesy, however smothered in Eighties patische, what Within Temptation have done is write a collection of killer melodies that are so strong it's almost impossible to sniff at them. I just wish they'd done it with a little more of a personal flourish.

Limp and uninspiring, this is a disappointing effort considering the potential the band initially showed back in 2009.

The two together make magic: the songs don't feel like they've been crafted, rather that they just floated, fully-formed, into existence. Like the people Diamond Mine talks about, the songs aren't any one thing: they just are.

EUPHORIC HEARTBREAK should at very least cement Glasvegas' status as one of our most intriguing mainstream indie/rock groups and given a chance by those of a more cynical standpoint they might just find themselves enjoying the titular sensations the record promises and, for the most part, successfully delivers.

With Native Speaker, Braids project dreams onto iridescent lakes and marvel at how they glimmer, and the results are every bit as lovely as that sounds.

The album doesn't have that 'grab-hold-and-don't-let-go' emotional pull that would elevate it beyond sounding nice into something to treasure. It's worth your listening time though, because even though it's not always consistently a great album, it's never less than an intriguing effort.

The song quality is set on an upward trajectory from start to end, with the last two tracks also distinguished by their fleshed out arrangements.

Here Belong have depersonalised an already stark landscape, making a record that's easy to admire but hard to love.

Put simply, The Pains...are a pop band with songs about young love and teenage misadventure.

Whilst everyone else continues to pelt fellow pastiche merchants White Lies with sticks and dried lumps of shit, I might unfortunately suggest Cherish The Light Years to be an equally deserving recipiant of your faecal ammunition.

The Kills are back - still covered in dirt, sleaze and reverb, but with a cleaner, softer centre.

Live on I-5 is still a good, if slightly misjudged and mistimed, effort and, regardless of criticism, Soundgarden finally have a live album to their name, even if it doesn't capture the band at their peak.

At this point Rival Schools sound like Nada Surf without the pop nous or OK Go without the videos. Perfectly listenable, perfectly agreeable, absolutely forgettable.

For the most part What Did You Expect From the Vaccines? fails to muster much sense of enthusiasm for itself beyond those first and last tracks.

While there are some moments of transcendentally dazzling pop nous on display on Hunger, it is, fundamentally a cosy, harmless record in a retro stylee, made by an all accounts pleasant bunch of musicians who have enjoyed a fairly smooth --by today's standards--ride to where they are now.

It may not be the old Mountain Goats kick, but whatever it is, it'll keep me returning to All Eternals Deck for a long, long time.

Vices & Virtues is quite some distance from the triumphs of that remarkable record.