When the band truly comes together, there's a lightness of touch and a winning intimacy.

The Earlies are like a stripped-down take on the [Flaming] Lips: psychedelic, lo-fi and indie in the purest sense of the word.

It’s full of the minute anxieties of life that keep you awake in the early hours, but set to some of the most life-affirming sounds you’ll have heard for a long time.

Animal Collective have made the album I hoped they’d make, and even that it’s autumn and summer’s over.

Young Adults Against Suicide is fun but two-dimensional.

Brash and trashy.

This is a great rock and roll record.

A record that will endure beyond this year, this decade and the rest.

Where YFIIP meticulously arranged the collective of instrumentation for precision, like a ballet, this self-titled album throws everything into a blender, almost completely overwhelming the pretty melodies underneath - but not quite.

Whatever magic they once had appears to have deserted them.

It's far from a poor record - the sole problem is that a number of songs do blur together, forming more of an aural whitewash than the technicolour trip some had predicted.

It seems they’ve not only gone and made that sensible and mature fifth album that every band past their sell-by date inflicts on their effervescently loyal fans, they’ve actually made a record that would be more appropriate in an old folks’ home than your local indie niterie.

Technically sound, simply arranged, atmospheric and occasionally psychedelic, Calla don’t just write musical warning shots bearing messages of violent frustration... they are also capable of immense beauty.

An unremarkable, yet solid record.

Siberia is... essentially a re-make of the Grey Album.

The sisters show an ability to pull different sounds and shapes together to make something extremely enchanting and really very lovely.

Whilst a complete reinvention of rock this may not be, a beautiful soaring record for messy nights and hungover Sundays, it most certainly is.

It hardly makes for the most exciting record of the year.... But it is clearly a very accomplished album.

It is missing IT - that something that makes a good album into a great, standout album.

If you had Nada Surf down as a one-hit wonder indie band that should remain sidelined to compilation tapes, then the magnetic glory of this album will turn your head.

Still as irksome and tuneless as ever.

Unfortunately, by stretching the album to an unnecessarily long 16 tracks, ‘A Bigger Bang’ suffers from its fair share of non-starting filler.

'The Invisible Invasion', like both it's predecessors, takes one or two listens to really get into, but once there has an engaging appeal about it that makes it possibly The Coral's most obvious "singles" album to date.

[It] leaves this bizarre aftertaste – one not of immediate dislike, but one that’s pretty far from appealing enough to warrant a second sampling.

'Gods And Monsters' isn't a bad album, merely average which is a real shame.

BRMC’s third album is a triumph.

The potential and promise that was spoken of so fervently when Minus The Bear arrived is slowly being fulfilled.

'Surgery' isn't the unlistenable, depression-fest it's lyrical content threatens it to be. Instead, it's heartfelt message combined with the monstrous sound behind it make it one of the most curiously uplifting records of the year.