The abrasive noise gradually builds, the rhythms intensify, only to smoothly slip apart at the end, leaving us with an open ending that is delightful and disturbing all at once.

The album's winning touches come from Bruner's soulful vocal melodies. They're a calming element tying each of the record's varied creative efforts together beautifully.

If the self-titled debut was the unobtrusive introduction, Avalanche represents the showy breakthrough the duo have been angling for.

It's the fact that Disclosure make bookish, aurally factual electronica sound so carefree that makes Settle such an artistic success.

Desire Lines refurbishes '50s pop, turning it into modern classics filled with unabashedly lovely melodies, just the way Camera Obscura want it, and just what we've come to expect, and love, about them.

At just an hour in length, Immunity savours every moment, pulling on your heartstrings, lifting you off your feet and inviting you right back for more.

Lesser Evil proves that Doldrums can roam without fear of getting lost.

There are some missteps along the way, namely the plodding electronic misadventure “Time Cloud”, but Bleeker still manages to pack a nifty little story arc within How Far Away’s 10 short tracks.

A brooding, groovy, muscular album, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here is a more mature and thoughtful application of Alice In Chains' undeniably powerful aesthetic.

This is a forward-looking release by a group still searching for reverence.

Rich and vibrant musically while raw and emotive lyrically, Ultraviolet is Kylesa's highest achievement to date.

It's a very welcoming album that will please Pastels fans, and hopefully find some new ones.

Innocence is Kinky is by turns surreal and hyper-real, a Lynch-ian underworld of avant-pop, alt-lit poetry and potent sexuality.

While Howl falls squarely into a no man's land between soul and pop, Brooks's smooth style ultimately proves refreshing.

On False Idols, Tricky steps forward with a renewed confidence, proving himself equal parts mentor and maestro.

Obsidian is a gorgeous suite of electronic pop songs that will draw you in and stay with you for days on end, and somehow it sounds like Baths more than Cerulean ever did.

Nothing is off the table, influences are blended and bounced off each other, and it's this tension between elements that makes this a very special record.

The album starts out blazing with Fogerty and the Foo Fighters doing "Fortunate Son," and that pace is largely maintained all the way through to a rousing "Proud Mary," with Jennifer Hudson, which manages to simultaneously pay tribute to the Ike & Tina version and the song's original New Orleans inspiration.

While her peers may be filling arenas with banjo anthems, Marling has long freed herself from that particular pigeonhole and presents another collection of songs that showcases her astounding talent.

It's a dynamic album, one so vibrant that listeners can easily envision themselves at the Barbican witnessing all the musicians mesh in the creation of something grand.

For those under the impression Hooded Fang subscribe to a right-note-right-time, throwaway pop formula, Gravez offers something meatier to chew on.

This is music made for dancers (and highly dextrous ones at that).

The interludes and instrumentals only serve to interrupt the flow of the record, and it becomes clear the album is a bit of a mixed bag.

For as often as Impersonator threatens to dishearten, it's anchored by an equal and opposite force: a humanity so earthbound and maternal that it washes away your petty sorrows in a birdbath of optimism.

Thomas is still a little too fond of playing around with distortion on the vocals though, almost like a call-back to his really lo-fi days, and it sounds more out of place than ever.

Fertile Crescent sees Homeboy Sandman adding another project to his growing library, and it's one worth repeated spins.

The Last Spire, their tenth and last release, combines all that the legends do well: snail-paced doom, upbeat Sabbath stoner rock and craggly sludge.

This minimal format emphasizes Hungtai's talent for setting a skin-crawling mood.