Wasted Years features another 16 blasters to add to your ‘essential punk’ playlist.

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

A largely entertaining but occasionally baffling listen, Enter The Slasher House sadly falls just short of Animal Collective’s best work and Panda Bear’s stunning solo projects.

My Sad Captains do have an unfortunate tendency of allowing their subtle, crafted melodies to occasionally lose focus and meander.

There’s nothing here that has not been done before, and it’s almost too polished for its own good, but she sounds more at ease with her sound than ever before.

There are some quite beautiful and pop-infused moments to be found sprinkled across the album despite the best efforts of EMA and her co-producer Leif Shackleford to keep away from the ears of the commercial fraternity.

At times, it’s the lyrics in Old Fears that firmly stand out over the music itself.

They’re honest about their intentions, and the result is something that feels genuinely effortless.

Dienel and co have surpassed any of their previous efforts, including the incredible debut Phylactery Factory, and the most recent beauty Kairos.

Cope as a whole is a valuable addition to Manchester Orchestra’s ongoing canon.

The music and the narrative are excellently executed by four top-rate professionals who’ve got your respect (and attention) by earning it.

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

The 11 tracks are in fact roughly split between the folk/country side and the jazz/cabaret side, and this makes for an album that can at times dazzle with its omnivorous verve, but which also has a tendency to become disjointed.

Whilst the songwriting skills are still being honed, Soft Friday represents a solid step for a promising duo.

It’s pleasant enough, but there are not enough killer tunes to make this a standout.

They’ve certainly aimed for the mountaintops with Himalayan and quite often they reach the summit.

Sisyphus is a compositionally superb production that adeptly mixes the members’ unique styles.

It’s the variety, vigour and conviction that makes this new record by Night Beats so impressive and engaging.

Hook-laced in all the right places, melodic, rhythmic, intelligent, addictive and slightly quirky: they don’t skimp on any of the ingredients here.

Overall, Hot Dreams doesn’t quite match up to the trio’s last record--it lacks a comparable number of top notch songs--but it still has some great moments.

S Carey’s work may not have the same iconic impact of Bon Iver but through it he has created an album which rewards repeated visits.

The guitar sounds throughout Salad Days are pristine, the lyrics sublime and the vocals... the Lennon-isms are often befuddling but they can only be applauded.

It may lack the standout hits of the band’s earlier material, but the record does at least have the direction and purpose that has previously been missing.

This is an impeccable record from an incredible songwriter.

The old master may not be as abundantly creative as he once was but there’s life in the old fart yet.

The Melodic’s busy, busy style just doesn’t work with non-dynamic mixing. And the album can hurt the ears to the point of irritation.

There’s the requisite lack of variety that ambient records beget, but no lack of depth in the sonic department.

It is at once assured and endearingly self deprecating. It has an open hearted appeal that just might make Withered Hand a household name.

It is consistently fresh, inventive and beguiling, showing a band surely at the summit of their powers.

All in all, Seer is an amazing addition to the impeccable Thrill Jockey canon, even if Alexander Tucker still sits atop his glittering throne at the apex of Thrill Jockey’s recorded output, unchallenged by great but not life-changing records like this.

It is perhaps better as it is, providing the soundtrack to the lives and stories of those who hear it, and with any luck, this is an album that will find its way to everyone.

In Each And Every One sees Polar Bear sounding revitalised and ready to explore new musical combinations and possibilities with confidence.

At best, he sounds like he’s going through the motions, at worst, he’s crumbling inside, slowly realising he’s sold his soul.

Singles is a record that is experimental, yet hugely accessible.

It’s a goldmine of catchy power pop, with the odd misstep, but anyone claiming to find little here in the way of feel good factor is likely to be deaf, ignorant or just sitting within their own sound-proof forcefield.

Odludek is a mixed bag, then. But it’s to Goodwin’s credit that the bravery he shows in trying to pull so much into one album is more often than not worthwhile.

Blonde is an album for those that miss gaudy nightclubs, huge hairstyles and nostalgia, but not much more.

Gallon Drunk are now eight albums in to their storied career, and their strain of narcotic rock is getting more and more potent with age.

This is undoubtedly Liars’ most engaging work, and certainly the best Mute album since, well, WIXIW.

Darlings is a record that feels simultaneously cerebral and carnal--and things don’t get much sexier than that.

It is a unique and challenging experience, and whilst it’s not always pleasant, this is music that dismisses convention and crackles with invention.

This is an antidote to both Plessow and Worgull’s respective day jobs and the way they craft their soundscapes is admirable.

Neontwang is a successful comeback from a band that have been written off more times than they would care to remember.

There’s a nagging sense of the need to develop things further and mesh the mechanics with the human to create a beast that is more than the sum of its parts.

If you’re hankering for a bit of masochistic pop, Mirrors The Sky will soothe the craving. And then destroy you.

For all the wait and weight of expectation, and despite some qualified successes, ultimately The Soul Of All Natural Things proves to havde too big a shadow to fill. Yet hiding within it is a charming mini-album by a sweet lost voice, one that’s ready to be found again.

She is far, far too good to be fronting songs which sound ‘current’ only in the sense that you can imagine them ending up on Rihanna‘s rejection pile.

It’s a solid, if slightly understated, album from one of the many underrated names in underground music. But a lack of variety and a lack of texture that lets this release down.

For now, Held In Splendor is a promising, if limited, stepping stone.

Frankly, Say Yes To Love is absolutely stunning--a blistering mission statement from a band with undoubtable promise and inextinguishable fire.

The album may have been inspired by empty urban voids and desolate space but the ideas and execution found on Abandoned City conversely indicate a depth and creative vigour that is close to reaching peak form.

To those of you out there who crave immediate, wistful pop music that will make you smile about the future and make you cry about the past, you won’t find a better album this decade.

This is a filler-free exercise that sees the band appealing to their purists and pushing their output forward at the same time.

Underneath The Rainbow is more of an assault on the ears than anything else, although that’s mostly in a good way, as the band never lose sight of the style that first brought them success.

This record is recommendable to the happy, the loved-up, the chemically-stimulated and the drowsy. If you’re one of these, Awake could be the record of your summer.

One can’t help but be impressed with how every song is critical to Essential Tremors’ progression, each song being placed in just the right spot.

It may be enigmatic, uneven and flawed in places but at the same time it proves that he is still a single-minded sonic adventurer worth persevering with.

Altogether different from normality, and further down the path towards minimalist orchestral experimentation than expected, Terrestrials is a challenging listen yet it retains some weird, mystic ability to attract and transfix its audience.

The result is a debut full-length that energises, empathises and excites with every step of the way.

No Mythologies To Follow is a solid record, one that features a slightly older and more thoughtful MØ. It should make any fan of pop music look forward to what’s to come next from this gifted artist.

There are hooks and tunes galore, and whether you’re looking for destructive enormity or a quaint Sunday morning soundtrack, you’ll find it in this album somewhere.

There’s depth here, but it’s the introspective kind; this is the sound of untold wonder.

At times, Spectre does feel very much like a serious album, but the tone occasionally seems inconsistent.

They may have hit national treasure status a while back, with all the advantages and pitfalls that that can bring, but as long as they carry on producing music with as much soul, heart and beauty that’s contained on The Take Off And Landing Of Everything, Elbow will be with us for some while to come.

It’s a great release by one of the UK’s most promising bands, and lays down a foundation for them to build on being melodious and aggressive.

It’s a shame that this is an album slightly prone to dwelling on its ambience. Still, this is a promising collaboration which Denison, Hacke and Kotue will hopefully choose to reprise and develop.

Love Letters is great. There’s potential here, and it feels like it had the ability to be a nigh-on perfect record, but for reasons obscured--probably the brick-subtle lo-fi-ness--it feels unfinished. It’s like a final draft.

Silent Treatment is an album that is certainly bursting with ambition, but that ambition seems at this point in time to be to the detriment of the songs.

While they may not be the finished article just yet, there is enough promise here to suggest an exciting future ahead.

A short, sweet ride, and one worth taking again and again.

All in, this is a welcome return.

G I R L may not be breaking many new boundaries, but it’s guaranteed to keep Williams in ludicrously large hats for some time to come.

Basically, this is the sound of a band happy to be coasting, which can be a chore to listen to.

Too often, the same formula appears with uninspiring choruses being too frequent; whilst these short, sharp bursts of fuzzy punk sound great in small doses, this collection will probably find itself confined to the shelf before long, as its longevity may be questionable with little poppy catchiness present.

Highly engaging and tactfully succinct, Axxa / Abraxas is one to share with your friends and lovers, a soundtrack to your groovy summer.

It is a marvellous creation from a premiere talent, and deserves both your time and hard-earned money.

The Men have clearly reached the level where they can turn their hand to anything and, once again, it has worked a treat.

Another excellent album from a band who know how to play to their strengths.

At just eight tracks, it may not be the longest of their albums, but it’s certainly one of their most accessible.

Champs deserve to be gracing grander environs on the back of this album, and while that may not happen, Down Like Gold does ensure that they’ll have thousands of eyes trained on them when they make their next move.

The Notwist is an apt example of a band that is making good music for no other reason than because making music is what they love to do, which Close To The Glass demonstrates in spades.​

At times, Estoile Naiant is a challenging and occasionally thrilling listen, as Key Embedded particularly demonstrates. But it’s almost too typically Warp in its sound and composition.

Nothing new, then, but Manhattan is the indie equivalent of a guilty pleasure.

Ultimately, Blue Film is a decent, enjoyable album that hints at Hemerlein’s undoubted talent whilst never pulling up too many trees.

It’s not a perfect album--few are--but it’s definitely one that’ll have you ensnared

As pretty much anyone will tell you, this sound hits more than it misses.

It’s rare that you get an album by an established artist that genuinely shocks and irrevocably repositions them. Blank Project is one of those albums. This is a hugely significant return.

The essence of what made Penguin Cafe Orchestra is here: the music is dreamlike and does indeed touch the heart of the listener.

It’s a supremely impressive and affecting album that is certain to propel him to an even greater echelon.

Fanfarlo should still be around for a while; you only hope they can make more of an impression in the future.

Beck proves once again here that he’s a tremendously versatile artist, capable of excelling throughout the musical spectrum.

It is an album by a band at the very peak of their powers--one that will make you want to throw your hands up and surrender to its magnificent beauty.

It’s an album that manages to remain accessible while still sounding challenging and unconventional, an album that can sound heart-stoppingly beautiful one minute and scratchily acerbic the next and, ultimately, an album that’s impossible to grow bored of.

Kozelek is a songwriter operating with audacity and confidence, composing wry and forthright confessionals that investigate areas of everyday darkness and despair too rarely explored in popular song.

There’s a sprightliness and a captivating agility present throughout this album, even in its more reflective and graceful moments.

Although The Brink does sound more assured and accomplished than their debut, The Jezabels’ return poses a number of problems, the most central of which being that it is just far too pedestrian.

They’re experimental while making for a cohesive whole, exemplary of a band which has been slowly but clearly refining its sound for 15 years, all to the benefit of listeners who prefer to listen with the lights off.

Each listen reveals moments easily missed the first time around, and they become the moments where Pollard’s underappreciated genius shines brightest.