In a lyrical and musical exploration of the themes of duality, Cursive have come out with a conflicted gem.

A record built on restraint, tinged by poignancy and wrapped up in poetic human emotion. Quite wonderful.

Mr M is an honest but tough old ride.

This is as useful and high quality a starting point as just about anything they've recorded.

Form & Control's only real highlight is its title track... But when it's surrounded by so much dross, it's hardly redeeming, and getting loaded may well be the only way to endure the rest of this tripe.

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

Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II represents not only the most overt and successful attempt to capture the patience, subtlety and fluidity of Earth's talented cast, but also the most accurate document of their patient, stoical and determinedly psychedelic ethos.

As a work of art, it's sometimes sketchy, always pleasant and gentle, often uplifting, skilled and technically confident. As a statement, it's a bold one.

A deeply affecting album which preserves everything that was so marvelous about her beloved folk-opera [Hadestown], and ultimately performs a very handsome job of keeping out of its vast shadow.

Plumb is a good bet for the end of year polls already.

It's still retro, of course, but it's starting to sound retro in a way that only Tennis can.

It's predominantly a reflection, a look at things moving slowly and a stirring listen.

Although Stage Whisper comprises very much atypical pieces of music from Gainsbourg, it's still equally as lovable and interesting as her other works.

With only the occasional deviation into science fiction filler, Themes for an Imaginary Film is an album to strut to.

This is bliss, it's that simple.

there's no denying Format was made by pop geniuses; maybe pop geniuses being slightly hit and miss, but that's still pretty good.

Such relaxed saunters down musical memory lane have been done before, and often better.

Attack On Memory might be on surface a pretty routine blast of crashing percussion, throaty vocals and biting guitars but repeated listens reveal a more nuanced affair full of charisma and spark.

A surprisingly excellent singles band.

It is unmistakeably A Place To Bury Strangers and they're giving us what we want. The only additional complaint is that there's not enough of it.

The bulk of the problems lies with the performance itself, and the material chosen.

Despite its heart of darkness, Paralytic Stalks is a deceptively gentle, rambling record that gains integrity but loses focus via the strong suspicion that it was recorded more for the benefit of Nina Barnes than for us.

Despite being twice the length of the film it soundtracks the album still clocks it at around 30 minutes and captivates enough with its sense of atmosphere, drama and melodic capabilities to make those 30 minutes fly by like a rocket straight into the moon's eye.

Purer than innocence and richer than gold, No One Can Ever Know confirms that The Twilight Sad are simply too good to remain a-little-less-than-well-known outside the restrictive realms of slightly-less-than-world-conqering 'zines.

Yours Truly, Cellophane Nose is a success, in that it captures what Beth Jeans Houghton has been doing in her live shows for the past couple of years, without diluting or rushing it for the sake of a time-specific tag.

While most would expect nothing less from a Mark Lanegan Band LP, the end result is a record for ardent fans and not casual admirers.

It's a wonderful record, a colossal achievement, and features some of the most breathtaking, moving and downright beautiful music you'll hear all year.

It will surprise no-one that they sound more natural and free when they sing in their native French tongue, but the tracks sung in English are far, far beyond any vowel-rolling cliché and are actually rather sweet and touching.