It works because of its twitchy pop sensibilities, which gaze longingly back at the '80s, and while that isn't a bad thing, it's still a hard record to get attached to.

Righteous indignation has long fuelled OFF!, but Wasted Years is the band at their darkest and most venomous.

He might have the Midas touch when it comes to genre, but when it comes to his last word, Terje is wise enough to say it in his first language.

Heavily favouring material from his first three albums, but picking carefully from his less well-known post-'70s work, this double album provides a broad and engaging overview of Browne at his best.

Like any good folk record, The Nocturne Diaries explores timely social and political issues, with songs about troubled youth and abuse survivors, but these pieces lack the raw immediacy that makes politically-tinged folk music work.

With the majority of the tracks being in-and-around the two minute mark, Sage The Gemini presses the gas pedal too quickly before capturing your attention lyrically or sonically.

Inner Fire further cements the Souljazz Orchestra in a class of their own on the world music circuit.

Overall, Holtkamp's constant push into uncharted territory on Motion – Connected Works is highly respectable and a new step forward for him, but its length and fatiguing, aggressive timbre hold it back from being his most pleasurable release to date.

There are no false steps here in this forest of dreams.

On Salad Days it becomes a lot clearer. He's honed his skills to write wonderfully weird, often gentle pop songs.

Here and Nowhere Else is another heavy, catchy-as-hell Cloud Nothings record.

He really can write a song, and the fact that it never wears out its welcome makes his music damn enjoyable.

Forcefield strips down the Tokyo formula to its most basic components of guitar riffing, a strong sense of melody and a brilliant ear for unforgettable hooks, which has birthed some of their finest work yet.

There are no interludes or breaks, a consistency that is both the band's greatest strength and only weakness.

With Sun Choir, this Edinburgh trio found a way to pull a thousand (almost literally) voices together to create a singular vision.

With impressive growth, and while still operating within the genre's tight confines, Carnifex put the final nail in deathcore's coffin, giving it an appropriate sendoff.

With its singalong choruses and eminent likeability, New Gods is the kind of album that will only add to his reputation as being one of Scotland's finest.

The rest is more than art for art's sake, and a pleasure for the ADD listener in all of us.

As with their previous six albums, Liars find a way to both innovate and deliver a brand-loyal effort with (dis)ease.

Seer is certainly another step towards greatness for Golden Retriever.

Out Among the Stars is, at least contextually, a reminder that sometimes things got in Johnny Cash's way, but there are very few forces on Earth that could stifle his voice and conviction when he set his mind to getting a song across.

It's rare to find an album this coherent and firm in quality. But best of all, a good half of the record will give you plenty of inspiration to channel Herring's sweet dance moves.

Teeth Dreams arrives to colossal expectations, but weathers them fine and showcases a band returning to form.

Worth is at once fully realized and brimming with potential.

Elements of jazz, ragtime, blues, Hawaiian and folk are audible, but there's a consistent sonic thread throughout.

A touch of '80s-style production, including occasional saxophone-as-emotional-beat, at times threatens to nudge things into a satirical mash-up of Dire Straits/Bruce Hornsby hits, but they ride the right side of that precipice.

Gibbs' genuine reflections on being broke, losing the girl or simply growing up help to break things up a bit and add a welcomed bit of realness where both humour and originality are somewhat absent.

While Unfidelity isn't the greatest or most ambitious album in the Edwards canon, it certainly sounds the prettiest, making it a perfect port of entry for interested listeners with sensitive palates.

There isn't a bad track here, and from the sound of Ibibio Sound Machine, it appears that Soundway is intent on delivering new music every bit as distinguished as its esteemed reissues.

Vermont make their retro intentions more than clear on their self-titled debut.

While the band's earlier material sounded lo-fi out of necessity, Underneath the Rainbow disappoints due to its inauthentic attempt at sounding like an album recorded long before its time.

Where Darlings shows growth and change is in Drew's fine-tuning of his illustrious sound.

The sonic clarity is improved somewhat, but it's still messy as hell, meaning that Say Yes to Love sounds more like another demo than a proper album.

On We Got Love, his sophomore LP, the Irish knobturner has managed to produce a coherent album brimming with ideas, styles and guest musicians.

Although Tycho and company seemingly recycle a few ideas on Awake, it's a rewarding, mood-inducing listen that's best digested whole.

While being one of the most serious Hauschka albums yet, Bertelmann still managed to produce an album of experimental music that you could dance to, if you weren't too busy having your mind blown.

Despite its title, these Brits find themselves with their most diverse offering yet, a culmination of their career's work to this point.

The Private World of Paradise is certain to earn Wake Owl a legion of devotees among the late-night headphones crowd.

While not nearly as exploratory of space as his stunning work with Supersilent and Christian Wallumrod, this release is near-perfect winter night listening.

A Trip to the Coast is the welcome return of a familiar form of hooky, melodic minor scale pop balladry.

Lift Your Spirit is rather formulaic from that standpoint--not as spicy or daring as past efforts--but it's folksy, soulful, and groovy enough to catch your attention.

The album is a joyous, well-executed mish-mash rooted in crisp sounds, thanks to James' rock-centric production.

Love Letters isn't the next move many expected from Metronomy following the astute pop of English Riviera, but it's a logical move and likely the best one possible for a band as imaginative, unconventional and talented as this one.

Simply put, there are few artists with the precision and poetic fortitude of Carla Bozulich, and on Boy, she commands attention like no one else.

The improv pieces are purposefully positioned so that the Unsemble seemingly upset their own composure, like a film reel that's become stuck: it distorts slowly, then bubbles feverishly until it finally melts away.

Guilty of Everything is thus an emotional affair, but it's balanced by moments of grandness.

On their third album since Andrew Neufeld moved to vocals, Comeback Kid were poised to strike out, but pleasantly, they instead knock Die Knowing out of the park.

Although a few tracks ("Geryon," "Four Gut") suffer from muddy and unfocused melodies, there are far too many great ideas, quirky earworms and sonic peaks to give any critic reason to lampoon the title of this well-conceived, well-executed album.

It's amiable, deceptively dense and, ultimately, rewarding.

Satellite Flight: The Journey to the Mother Moon occupies a space between what is and what's coming, but Kid Cudi's admired originality falls short and is almost lackluster here in comparison to his previous works.

Kire had a vision to create his dream album and War Psalms is true punk rock, done exactly right.

English Oceans, their 12th album in 17 years, confirms they've lost little of their potency, despite major personnel changes over the past decade.

Much like Ross' affinity for mink coats, Mastermind is grandiose in its presentation, but it still only shows the surface of the man behind it.

It's an elusive and subjective notion, but it's impossible to listen to this rich, remarkable album and not be left thinking that this is the sound of Ellis coming into his own.

There's enough here to suggest a breakthrough is coming, but Axxa/Abraxas isn't it.

Tomorrow's Hits sees the band honing the sound of last year's New Moon into a tight collection of pop-minded rock songs.

Rambunctious and irreverent, Oxymoron blasts bullet holes in the theory that gangsta rap can't sound fresh for 2014.

As with most DJ-Kicks comps, this one shows a different side to the group and is as much of an homage as it is a glimpse into the trio's future.

Estoile Naiant works as a satisfying continuation of patten's work, albeit one that moves his sound in a sideways direction.

The only notable shift in balance is a slight tipping of the scale towards the weight of electronic over acoustic instrumentation.

Island Intervals is barely over half an hour, but it's so rich with mood and detail that it stretches out and out and out to the horizon and beyond.

The production is competent, yet very derivative for 2014, appearing stuck between ornately symphonic leftfield pop and Timberlake-brand R&B.

It is unquestionably their finest, and strangest, work to date.

He's probably too modest to just come out and say that Present Tense is where beauty lies, but he should; this fourth Wild Beasts album is a stunner.

Clark has made the beautiful ugly, the ugly beautiful and the difference between them nearly indistinguishable. If that sounds pretty complex and incredible, you've got a pretty good idea what listening to St. Vincent is like.

After 17 odd years of making solo albums, Neneh Cherry surfaces with the force of a jab rather than an uppercut. We appreciate the contact regardless.

While the earlier LP was harrowing in its soul-searching melancholia, Morning Phase is warm and soothing, its tone coming across as beautifully bittersweet rather than overtly depressing.

The dynamics are top notch, shifting masterfully from a melodic tone to a heavy, empowered voice.

The theme of being a descendent in a musical sense is extended to Rashad's familial reality on Cilvia Demo, delivering some of the EP's strongest moments.

Musically, Guilt Mirrors is all over the map in the best possible way.

The record is, ahem, a solid debut that should provide a jumping off point for something great next time ou

Lost In The Trees might not be as distinctive as they once were, but they still make highly emotional music; it's just better disguised than it was in the past.

Those willing to get past their preconceived notions may be surprised to find that Lo-Fantasy is perhaps the most dynamic recording of Roberts career.

The production on Somewhere Else is crisp and clean (though they could have pushed Loveless' distinctive voice slightly more out front).

Motivational Jumpsuit, the band's fifth studio album since the band's recent reformation finds the band continuing to the mix of psychedelia, garage-rock, post-punk and pop that they've perfected over time.

Galore, is a soulless collection that feels more like a grasp at brand synergies than an attempt to make meaningful music.

Poemss plays like a journey, musically, but it's a journey of discovery and boundaries as the two differing producers find their common ground, a process you can hear throughout the album.

This is music of pure catharsis, making Hardcore Traxx not only an invaluable historical document but a hell of a great time.

The eight-part suite greatly expands on Thug Entrancer's previous efforts, yet still finds the producer relying solely on analog synthesizers and drum machines

With Ghosts of Then and Now, Illum Sphere strives to balance the ethereal with the earworm and, for the most part, succeeds.

Stuffed with guitar histrionics, Cheatahs do fall prey to hero-worship, but they nevertheless deliver an album worthy of its influences.

It isn't easy listening, akin to catching up with an over-sharing friend going through troubled times, but the stories are sad, funny and surprising, and the rewards are plentiful.

Sun Structures is a simply wonderful record.

A band that could forever rely on their fascinating back-story and critical adoration alone, Tinariwen strives for much more on Emmaar.

Although the album may carry a serious and meaningful message, Rostron has enough hard-won maturity as an artist to know that vinegar only attracts flies, and All Love's Legal is a perfect marriage of thought-provoking and hip-shaking.

Compiled by Sofrito's Hugo Mendez, Haiti Direct is an amazing collection from Haiti's illustrious but sadly unsung musical history.

Nothin' But Blood is religious music for people who are too drunk and high to give a damn what God may think.

Moody moves away the deep soulful grooves that made his name and instead focuses on creating a new sound that, while retaining the breaks and drum machines that are his trademark, is now coloured with live instrumentation and Kenny's delightfully sleazy croon.

Instead of cowering, Behemoth have triumphantly returned with characteristic ugliness and chaos, though this is skillfully juxtaposed with a newfound delicacy.

With no shortage of hooks and crescendos, Wonderland continues to revel in the spirit of TTA, demonstrating more greatness by this industry anomaly.

Ethereal strings, guitar and softly humming bass arise in delicate arrangements around them.

Sure, there are more awesome parts on Wolves Within than you can shake a (drum) stick at, but so too are there plenty of misplaced ones.

Oblique's songs are intricately woven into a dark, discordant tapestry, alternating between longer, more atmospheric songs and straight-up destructive doom.

Celeste put out a sludgy doom-inflected black metal record; this year, Indian turned the equation on its head and put out a blackened doom record, that's equally depraved, nihilistic, and crucial for any fan of truly heavy music.

The depth of Cantrell's songwriting is best appreciated the second or third time around, once you're over the sheer prettiness of her voice.

Essentially a pared down version of last year's singles box set--minus the singles, of course, and with a couple of additional tracks--it brings together acoustic takes on old favourites, a handful of covers and a muddy live cut.

An easy listen it isn't, but Ghettoville is full of such textural subtlety, rubbed-raw sound design and spatial aural play that it will leave you somewhat discombobulated yet curious for more.

Songwriters Brendan Kelly and Chris McCaughan are in peak form and are far too self-aware to fall into that old trap; they know better than to chase capricious youth.