Dananananaykroyd are, on this album's evidence, a fine band.

It is this contrast between the mundanity of the everyday life, personal vanities and dissatisfactions of a bunch of self-styled "young adults" and the terrific roar and hyperbole of their dirty, dark riff-laden music that provides the neat twist in Pissed Jeans' tail and gives this album its extra frisson.

Overload contains multitudes, and at times its lack of cohesion can be a bit unsettling. But it is also proof that Muldrow can excel at whatever style she touches on, and a great collection of songs.

The rock history books have not been as generous to Live Skull as to their contemporaries, but with luck this crazy melodic record will go some way to restoring them as kings and queens of the urban jungle.

As on most of the tracks, Wainwright sounds terrific, her voice swooping and hollering at times, and quietly understated at others. No matter the tone though, the emotion is always unmistakeable.

There's so much of this record that causes a big smile to split your face that it can't be described as anything other than a success.

Whilst it isn't flawless, it's as accomplished as it is experimental and it seems to improve with each spin.

This is punk music delivered with a righteous feminine fury.

Monoglot English speakers may have little idea what she’s singing about, but such is the passion and grace of her delivery, Brahim could be reciting the Milton Keynes telephone directory and few would object. The fact that she has an important message to share makes her performance, and this album, even more significant and impressive.

It’s thoughtful, intelligent and considered music that’s not afraid of having a sense of humour.

The magic of this album is its transient nature.

While the record confirms the outfit as a fully-fledged trio, the vocal numbers bring Mount forward as a decent front man with the necessary charisma, and enough variety in his voice to bring decidedly varied results.

Vocally he’s still capable of making the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. The rougher edges and more aggressive attack that coloured his early performances might not be so much in evidence, but what he lacks in rawness, he makes up for with sheer soul.

The acid test for an album such as this is to play it on a grey day and see if it can still work its magic. Begone Dull Care certainly does that, and is all the more remarkable for doing so with only eight tracks to draw on.

This new, untitled beast is another step to Rammstein finally being acknowledged as being the best heavy metal band in the world, and one of the best hard rock acts of all time.

At 15 tracks, it's possibly a bit too long - but this is a man who's lived one hell of a life and has a lot of tales to tell. Indeed, it's a fair shout that this could well be the most entertaining autobiography you'll listen to all year.

The whole album is a new frontier for Necro Deathmort, and it’s one worth exploring with them.

Strangely mesmerising and addictive, this album will have you in its hold if given the chance.

At times, a startling album--one that will please Hitchcock obsessives and also provides a decent gateway for the uninitiated.

Television Personalities fans will be overjoyed with this collection of new songs. Newcomers will wonder how music like this ever got recorded, but bored of Mike Skinner, might rejoice in its working-class accented good humour and honesty.

There’s a massive amount of power and feeling in the music but perhaps even more of an impact is in the feeling of expressionism and freedom that it represents. In forcing herself to look at who she is as an artist and explore new ways of creating Zola Jesus has firmly taken back her power and forged a new way forward out of the darkness.

There’s also enough evidence that If I Can Make It Go Quiet could easily cross over to become a big mainstream pop album. This is a record that signals the arrival of a major new talent.

If you’ve yet to indulge in this band’s output, you really ought to, bearing in mind this is now the third album in a row where their strange but endearing music hits the spot.

In this urgent, dense, ambient, technical music Three Trapped Tigers have produced something that is very much their own.

There is more to Short Movie’s context than odd details, avant garde references and the philosophy of hippy shamans. Marling has long been able to trace a musical lineage back to heavyweights like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, and this is cemented here.

The only true misstep on the album is at the mid point in the shape of Steepless. For the most part this album's music is to be basked in, and after half an album of instrumentals, being suddenly presented with vocals is rather jarring.

This is an impeccable record from an incredible songwriter.

It’s both expressive and inventive while still retaining that alluring degree of mystery.

The Mary Onettes have mastered the art of writing catchy four-minute tunes without compromising themselves, but nor do they take any risks.

Love You To Death is an album full of intelligent, sensitive pop songs, and at a time when the watermark for such music is pretty high anyway, it really does stand out from the crowd.

Despite the unsettling nature of Abyss as a whole, it’s a work that is strangely comforting once its charms are fully submitted to.

This is possibly her most satisfying album to date; it is, at times, quite spellbinding.

Anyone looking for party bangers may be disappointed (apart from Natural Skin Deep) but Broken Politics is the sound of an artist growing and maturing very nicely. These are intelligent, beautifully crafted songs to sink into and luxuriate, and tracks like Black Monday and Synchronised Devotion will live with you for months after first hearing them.

the result is a formal yet brilliantly informal album from the pair.

While not completely successful in showcasing in her transition into pure pop, 1989 is a great listen for those refuse to believe both the hype and the haters.

It's an anarchic mix which is fun, exuberant and passionate.

It probably won’t break her out of the cult status in which she’s often resided, but for those who seek it out, it will prove an immensely rewarding listen.

Here is a songwriter effortlessly recounting his joys of youth and getting lost, and in the process finding himself through a set of subtle musical gems.

You wouldn’t wish the circumstances that brought about Weirdo on anyone, but it’s resulted in an album unafraid to take risks and one which only underlines Thackray’s huge talent.

No Shape is awkward, full of weird sounds that shouldn’t fit together but do.

Iit’s not a huge leap from previous albums The Magic Place and Nepenthe, but the overall sound is richer and lusher than ever before.

We already knew he was a talented composer and producer, but Wolf suggests he now may just be the finished article.

She’s bringing a perspective which is often fascinating, but never less than interesting.

72 Seasons is monstrously long – 77 minutes to be precise – but the bloated run time actually does it some favours, particularly as the band turn in some of their most creative work to date.

Sun is an album that conveys the full spectrum of emotions, but at the same time it manages to never sound convoluted or patched together.

As an overall piece of work, Songs flows seamlessly, with the consistency in mood and tone and meticulously crafted arrangements meaning not a note sounds out of place.

Two Suns is a dense, intricate album that features at least six brilliant songs, two of which are pure pop gems.

Tell Me How You Really Feel is a wonderfully curated record, which manages to be both cynical and whimsical at the same time. The depth of musical ambition and of poetic expression deserve a suitably large audience’s attention.

Whether the stylistic digressions work for you or not is immaterial really, because they’re impressive no matter what your expectations were.

Fortunately, all these madcap tangents pay off amazingly, and we’re left with a sublime, varied LP that’s a perfect accompaniment to the impending sun-pecked skies.

It is put together with a huge degree of dignity and respect that makes it the perfect swansong for the Man In Black.

The more you let yourself bathe in this unsettling aural shower, though, the more its weird beauty will captivate you--the sort of album you’ll keep coming back to without quite knowing why. If you’re willing to invest the time, this is the most beautifully strange journey you’ll take all year.

For Howard it’s important to not just make music that sounds interesting; it’s vital to make music that exists in its own little world, unknowable and distinctly alluring. Nostalchic is an album that certainly achieves those aims.

Reflect. Time. Loss. achieves its aim handsomely, with many a moment to stop the heart of its listener, in doing so adding another dimension to Maps as a musical outfit.

Never less than dreamy, My Electric Family is endlessly inventive and rewarding.

With instantly infectious attitude and a seemingly unending supply of irresistible hooks, Brand New Eyes comes close to perfecting the emo-rock art.

eternal sunshine also represents a triumphant return to form, sophisticated pop music complementing her distinctive voice beautifully.

Despite the occasional hippy-dippyness, there is an elegance to Hazlewood's work.

There’s no wallowing in self pity on Proxy Music. Instead it serves as a celebration of one of folk’s most talented figures, and it’s great to hear that Linda Thompson has found her voice again, with a little help from her friends.

A truly superb comeback.

It’s always a joy to hear a band blossoming into something bigger and bolder. Apar is the glorious sound of Delorean taking that step.

Play Me is an album that never stops subverting expectations.

The tunes are back, the harmonies are still weirdly endearing, and the album hangs together really well as a whole. As a single piece of work it is a fine achievement, a rival to Oracular Spectacular in its personal and political observations.

Hellfire is a superb and strangely seductive album that adds another gem to the crown of a band who are fast becoming one of the very best of their era. Mystifying, terrifying, essential listening.

The production, by Foy herself together with Harry Fausing Smith, is perfectly judged, coating these songs in a warm yet otherworldly air. It’s unlikely that you’ll hear a collection of songs so striking and attention-grabbing. And, as impressive as this debut album is, the most exciting thing about it is that it hints at even greater things to come.

Sometimes, Kinsella keeps it simple (as on the acoustic lament Headphoned) while at other times, such as On With The Show, the sound is more lush. It’s a testament to Kinsella’s abilities that he can pull off both equally well.

It is a pleasure to report that the latest SFA opus is a joy from start to finish.

For the most part The Universal Want lives up to that triumphant return presaged in Carousels. Calling back to various touch points from Doves’ career to date, it’s a fitting summation even if not a culmination or a career peak.

It may have been a long time in the making, but Spooky Action is the album Mansun fans have been waiting for.

The Veils may be a little late to the party but Total Depravity is good enough to sit pretty at the top of their far from mediocre catalogue. It will draw you in with repeated plays, track after track gradually vying for a place as your favourite.

A bright, brief, crystalline work that is a more than worthy addition to one of the most consistently excellent catalogues in alternative music.

Another superb Zero 7 album.

Peyroux is a wonderful singer and this collection of songs is her best yet.

It adds up to Folds' finest record yet, and while nobody would dare suggest that Nick Hornby would give up his day job, a sequel to this fascinating collaboration would be more than welcome.

For a debut it’s a remarkably confident and assured album, while hinting at even greater things to come in future years.

A startlingly confident and welcome comeback for Rose.

It's when listening in this way [on headphones] that the nuances of the music, with its dark underbelly, open up and reveal themselves in a weird yet absorbing way.

Music for The Age of Miracles is an excellent record and a level above Minotaur, without scaling the heights of their first four albums. More 2009’s Bonfires On The Heath than Suburban Light, perhaps.

Smug, smarmy, metropolitan critics might declare the album generic and derivative, but the kid undeniably has tunes--more tunes than such people have ever written even in their wildest rock star fantasies.

It’s a debut album that’s been well worth the wait.

It shows that regardless of environment, aesthetic and personnel, Holtkamp is as capable as ever of making quietly unassumingly transporting music.

It is inevitably an unfinished work. Studio banter is left in and some songs are mercilessly brief or feel like sketches. Nevertheless, its spacious textures, starkness and the emphasis on Molina’s understated but haunting vocal delivery mean that this music provides a window into Molina’s working process and creates a moving intimacy. It is like listening to the voices of ghosts.

Romance Is Boring is a triumph, a glistening, breathless success. Musically and lyrically Los Campesions! are a rare treasure of a band at the peak of their considerable powers.

While Surrender was an album that immediately hit you, Don’t Forget Me takes a bit longer to work its magic. That does, though, bode well to her longevity as an artist. These songs have a timeless feel to them, and seem like ones we’ll be listening to for quite some time to come.

There’s not much in the way of lax to be found here, Liberez are for the time being, geared towards building tension continuously without ever letting go.

Nevertheless, like British Sea Power have recently done with Man of Aran and From the Land to the Sea Beyond, Mogwai have again produced a soundtrack that stands up as an album in its own right.

It’s difficult to see too many glimmers of light on We Are Millionaires, but once again the duo have delivered a collection that is stunning in its simplicity.

his is a very heavy listen but with enough subtle dynamic changes to keep it interesting and fresh and proof that there is still plenty of life left in a genre that will, at some point or another, burst into life.

The Savage Heart is often just that,uncompromisingly breaking new, often bleakly fertile, ground for the band, showing they can still evolve emotionally.

Ill Manors is visionary, it's bold, but most importantly it's very good.

Trick is an interesting, compelling listen and one that pushes Kele’s burgeoning reputation further.

It may not be up there with Rumours or Blood On The Tracks, but given the emotion and heart poured into it, Chemistry is a more than decent break-up album.

Countless Branches is just 27 minutes long, but it’s majestic. Its brevity allows the listener the chance to become immersed in Fay’s lyrical world of love, time and hope.

Part catharsis, confession, panacea, exhumation and confrontation, these are mantras for healing, hurting and helping. Their elliptical nature leaves room for interpretation, and offers a way in for those who may be suffering unawares, without losing any of the passion behind their delivery.

Part of Lopatin's considerable appeal is his apparent refusal to settle.

It’s messy in places, beautiful in others, and constantly in motion – Microtonic is the first step towards greatness on the band’s own terms.

While there could have been an effort to eliminate some of the canned percussive elements and other recording anomalies, Elf Power have crafted a wonderful album, filled with plenty of catchy hooks and interesting musical ideas based on simple progressions.

In spite of his reputation as a collaborator, Parks remains the very definition of a musical auteur.