Whilst Glass Animals excel at sustaining mood all that effort never really builds to any kind of release, just ultimately fading away beneath a queasy drape of melody and a frustrating sense of unfulfilment.

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

International is brilliantly pop in substance and spirit.

CLPPNG makes a sterling argument for the intersection of noise and hip-hop tropes.

This feels like a deeper record than its predecessor, 2012’s well-received Blunderbuss, not as pretty but certainly sharper and more elegantly formed, something that’s reflected in the respective titles.

It might be churlish to suggest that First Aid Kit introduce some rougher edges or explore some other musical avenues, when they’ve nailed what they do so exquisitely. However, over time they’ll have to if they're serious about taking the roads their heroes have travelled.

Vek has channelled these emotions into an album that sporadically bristles and intoxicates with thrilling rhythms and fierce yet monotonously-delivered lyrics.

The witty and intelligent intimacy of his lyrics and his finely restrained vocals growing richer with each repeated listen.

It’s an oftentimes stunning piece of neo-pop that’s enabled La Grange to catch up with the zeitgeist that so eluded her two years ago.

Frost has ditched much of the subtlety and minimalism that echoed within his previous work and birthed a surging, hard charging, straight to the rim, go-hard-in-the-paint beast of an album.

Whilst materially an improvement on its predecessor, the move to electronica is superficial.

Confident song structures, accomplished, fearless vocals and beautifully put-together instrumentation, Heartstrings will coax the band's early fans into forgiving them for their previous offerings.

It’s a record without a weak link, that doesn’t outstay its welcome, and excites you about the possibility of seeing it all played live.

Sure, Abraham's vocal style guarantees an intense outcome, but Glass Boys drives forward, constantly questioning.

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

To be honest though that’s an issue with Towards generally--that so much of this can pass by barely registering a memory.

Unlike its predecessor, this isn’t quite a thrilling record; its energy and invention, though, points to big things for Parquet Courts, especially if they can continue to adhere to such a ferocious work ethic.

Days of Abandon lets the songs breathe and ultimately speak for themselves.

In general, the songs that began life as full band, large productions numbers undergo Young’s intimate reimagining far better than the already bare-boned tunes.

Just like some of the better acts from that period, Breakfast suggests that Teleman’s music will stand the test of time.

Black Hours might be a tad scattershot, but it's held together with real spirit.

As a daytime collection of songs this album has its faults, but as long as it's consumed after hours, preferably in a club, it excels with a persona charged with swirls of unbound desire and dance friendly dazzle.

The tracks may not be anything particularly bold or new, but this formula has been honed for long enough to make them successful, largely at least.

Unplugged is another in a very long line of R.E.M. live releases you wouldn’t exactly call essential, if only because they set the bar so high with their concert films Tour Film and Road Movie. But things don’t have to be essential to be worth owning.

Definitely Maybe: Chasing the Sun provides a timely reminder why he [Liam Gallagher] and his former band are still held with such high regard.

Mark T. Smith from Explosions in the Sky and Matthew Cooper of Eluvium have come together as Inventions to construct something that leans on the ingredients of their day-jobs but is simultaneously exactly what a combination of both acts should sound like and somehow greater than the sum.

Do It Again is eccentric and ends too quickly, but those considerations pale next to the fact that within less than half an hour, Robyn and Röyksopp go from eyeing each other with genuine suspicion to sounding as if they’ve never been apart.

One of the most vivid, involving, troubling albums about the trials of love in recent memory.