This is peak Metronomy, Mount and his charges at the top of the game as they move with pop music’s ever-evolving sound.

Star Eater’s Delight is Neale’s best, and most accessible, work to date.

There's something appealing about their brand of music with its light, sunny harmonies and direct choruses.

Dear's tempos here are mostly slow, never rising above moderate, and the result is an anxious but exhilarating journey through the night.

G_d’s Pee AT STATE’S END! might follow a certain well worn path but still sounds magnificent, especially at volume, pulling you in like a rip tide.

At times, the low-key, downtempo atmosphere may threaten to overwhelm, but Nocturne is an album that both solidifies and enhances Wild Nothing's growing reputation.

The most pleasing element of the album is those earlier demos floating around the internet, have for once been well produced. Songs such as Bandits now have an added edge with more strength, depth and substance to the original foundations.

Cursing The Sea is an enjoyable listen from start to finish; whilst not possessing anything in the way of a number one single, the rawness and lo-fi feel will appeal to many.

Richly melodic and beautifully performed, A Piece Of What You Need deserves to be a big commercial hit.

There’s a definite ambiguity in these songs that means that it is possible to find both the beauty and the beast depending upon how they are approached.

It's a bold, inventive record that bristles with energy and passion.

awE naturalE gives us a beguiling glimpse of an unfettered talent that most certainly is promptly, and most satisfactorily, on track.

These worries are dressed with music at peace with itself and its surroundings, making as much resourceful use of digital and electronic possibilities in an intimate studio setting as previous album Frontier Man did with an orchestra.

By and large though, this challenging, multi-layered record requires complete and sustained immersion to properly appreciate its full range of ideas and textures.

Although the majority of the songs only hang around for a minute, Dead In The Dirt are quite adept at changing tack mid song, no matter how ridiculous it might be.

Try it once and you'll be back for more--even if you're a long term convert to the beautifully sculpted world of Apparat.

After such a traumatic few years, it’s a minor miracle that Silberman is now back in The Antlers fold and sounding as good as ever. What’s more, for a band who made their name playing epically sad, often emotionally traumatic songs, Green To Gold sounds positively sunny and mellow in comparison.

She may have cut a slightly different path than she hinted at on Dead Flowers, but make no mistake: Caitlin Rose is the best thing to come out of Nashville in a long damn time.

If Moves shows anything it is that maturity coupled with the cold UK winter months have their compensations.

They've managed to inject 15 punk songs with youthful energy and just enough variety to keep things interesting, crafting a goofy, yet determined record.

A great deal of thought has gone into these covers, now transferred to her own private collection. That does mean not everyone will buy into some very individual takes on well-known songs, but with soul and body laid completely bare, no emotional stone is left unturned.

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

The EP manages to stand alone in its own right, with the seven pieces here each offering subtle developments on that wonderful album's sound.

Some may miss Taylor’s presence and powerhouse vocals, but Slow Club fans will still find plenty to enjoy--and the uninitiated will be able to hear a truly talented songwriter coming into his own at last.

Nadler does what she does so very well. Even on familiar territory, like the dreamy, shoegazey closer Mistress, she's in sublime, beautiful form.

At over an hour long, this isn’t an album to dip in and out of--it’s that rare album that you have to commit to, and let it wash over you.

While the album's last two tracks proper--Go Deep and The Fish Of Little Thoughts--may well have the restive ear agitating for greater variety with their continued gossamer construction and dreamy folk structuring, they leave little doubt as to Snowblink's assured grasp of naturally beautiful melodies formed simply, patiently and organically; Long Live as a whole is the creation that proves it.

The vast majority of I'm New Here sees Scott-Heron looking back on his life. The result is remarkably honest; as he puts it at one stage, "If you have to pay for what you've done wrong, then I've got a big bill coming".

In Search Of Elusive Little Comets is a lean, provocative and utterly enjoyable statement of intent, and belated confirmation that Little Comets, having proven their ability to defy pigeonholing by deftly handling a multitude of diverse musical elements and influences, are a genuine proposition to behold.

Yes, it’s true, the music stands up more than well by itself. But this is an album designed for listenwatching. So listenwatch.

It is the sound of a band entirely comfortable and confident with where they are.

The whole of Entomology should open new ears and eyes to Josef K's thrilling, scraping, clattering greatness.

This collection of quaint, feel-good numbers is not going to set the world alight, but it offers something warm and comforting to come home to.

The EPs are kept distinct on two separate discs. Whilst they vary in texture and mood, they also work remarkably well together, as if representing two sides of the same coin.

Dig deeper and you'll find that Goat has managed to create not just a world of their own, but an album that draws on influences from all over the world.

Castle Talk is their Born To Run, scrappy and brimming with flashes of greatness; it's the album that could very well launch them into a lasting place in the indie rock canon.

A Work Of Heart [is] the positive, life affirming work of art its creator clearly wants it to be. On it Ty feels like an older, wiser brother who doesn’t preach--but who also has your back at all times.

My Finest Work Yet an album that will immediately appeal to Andrew Bird’s long-term fans, and may well attract a few new ones as well.

Clever, original, complicated, sometimes frustrating but more often revelatory, it will, given time, uncover its manifold delights.

As Born Under Saturn reaches its final third, the level of consistency remains high, with tracks such as the expansive High Moon and the almost nonchalant Beginning To Fade both worth a mention.

This album will bewitch with the impact of a classic and sets a benchmark to progressive singer-songwriting that doesn't compromise. Moore has created a thing of wonder.

Fake It Flowers is a very well-accomplished debut, featuring a consistent, enjoyable style, a fully-formed persona and catchy tunes which speak to the head and heart.

It showcases a remarkably assured collection of songs (at times sounding like The Long Blondes do surf-pop--in no way a bad thing) as well as a real depth and maturity to songwriting that dwarfs the offerings of its home-recorded predecessor.

Micah P Hinson is a natural byproduct of his time and place, but he's also an artist with a steady hand and an unflinching eye for the gruesome details.

Simplistic yet perfectly arranged, these songs are quite wonderful and open the way into a dreamworld that is familiar, strange, welcoming and every so often, quite terrifying.

It's an impressive work from a genuine legend and as a response to our current situation, leaves us with a pertinent message: in Bruce we trust.

There is a clarity of musical and lyrical vision here that is rarely found in modern music.

The Psychedelic Furs needn’t have made anything this good. Many of these songs will grow in potency in a live setting (if we ever get back to that).

There’s little else to nitpick about this latest collection; just like artificial sweeteners, it’s a simple but dangerous addiction.

A compendious set of cinematic, soothing and poignant songs, showcasing a deeper maturity not only in Melua’s voice, but also in her songwriting.

Final track Modern Love Stories plays out with acoustic guitar and strings in tandem, emphasising the new textures that Once Twice Melody has introduced, perhaps not with universal success, but nevertheless there are moments here that rank alongside Beach House’s finest work.

It’s a beautiful, fitting send off to one of music’s finest lyricists and an excellent postscript to an incredible career.

Being a live album, some tracks are stretched out beyond their natural lifespan (the average length of the songs here is about six and a half minutes), but even then it's a joy to listen to the interaction between Thompson and his band.

Blackberry Smoke are the ultimate antidote to bad vibes, and You Hear Georgia is more than just escapist fun, it’s a superb record.

It challenges, questions and, quite frequently, unnerves. Despite all of this, you can’t quite stop listening. It’s a record that leaves you frozen.

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.

Quiet The Room is the perfect introduction to Helen Ballentine’s hazy, dreamy world – a world you’ll want to spend an awful lot of time in once you experience it.

There’s an edge to these performances that couldn’t have come from a more rehearsed band. Slightly fudged lyrics, instruments not turned on, and a palpable sense excitement give every single one of these songs a sense of electricity and vibrancy.

You won't find a more compelling wall of sound in many other places this year.

For a debut effort, Amanda Mair's record offers both startling clarity and cohesiveness, a cherry picked smattering of so many inter-related pop elements, here weaved together into a lustrous tapestry of accomplishment.

It's hard to go into explicit detail on Music Sounds Better With You, simply because of how happily delightful it is.

Strangely, this record might be the first grower they’ve ever made, sacrificing some immediacy for subtlety and, presumably, greater endurance.

There is, thankfully, life in the old beast yet.

This is a fascinating record that will initially bewilder, but rewards repeated listens.

This is a fine and often beautiful album, full of sensual delights and productions that vary from wafer-thin to chocolate rich. Throughout the focus is on Lanza and her feelings, which are reassuringly human and grounded. Combine that with its underground origins, and you have a record for the everyday listener.

As a vocalist, she continues to command attention.

The songs are stronger than ever, and the production remains recognisably the work of Hamilton’s hand.

Despite the 22-year hiatus, Crime & The City Solution sound as if they’ve never been away, and with such a strong comeback there’s no reason why they can’t finally make an attempt of gaining the recognition they deserve.

It's an accomplished debut album that lays the foundations for a very bright future.

It’s catchy, perfectly executed, and succeeds in both honouring the better aspects of a much maligned scene whilst also sticking two fingers up at the horrific ideologies that still populate it.

Konkylie is a vibrant, often intense, mix of house and pop, infused, wonderfully, with both a spiritual glow and a dark clubland soul.

While the later tracks on Songwriter do start to feel slightly samey and Cash by numbers, they remain highly listenable, with impeccable performances from the band throughout. The arrangements and production merge seamlessly with the original demos, proving how intimately the key players knew Cash and his music, with the man himself in fine voice, sounding simultaneously both sonorously world weary and vibrantly fresh.

Grant’s lyrics have always been striking, often highly emotive and confessional, but also frequently designed to raise more than a few eyebrows. Here, there are moments where he is more cutting, and more sleazy than ever.

Beach Music will almost certainly push Alex G into the wider consciousness, and rightly so.

It is the sharpness, leanness, and absorption in detail found on Howl that combine to make it a success. It’s not impossible that it could ultimately out-shine a lot of the bigger names it has been pushed up against this year.

Mostly, it's gorgeous stuff.

Where Avery was perhaps a little formulaic with his previous record, Song For Alpha, here he is inventive and reinvigorated, and Illusion Of Time stands out as an emotional and enjoyable, if bracing, release.

This is a debut album of startling originality, that seems set to cast its spell most acutely on a hot summer's night.

Arguably one of Dutch Uncles’ greatest strengths is that their music never sits still and is devilishly difficult to categorise, thanks to the intricate tapestry of expertly woven threads painstakingly constructed on each song so adroitly that it all fits together perfectly, without any single element being allowed to monopolise the listener’s attention.

Diplo's original production work is the real joy of this compilation though, and probably the crowning gem is 'Solta O Frango,' from the sublime Bonde Do Role album.

Water On Mars is a very impressive rock LP that easily takes Polizze and Purling Hiss to another level and bears comparison to the best of the nation’s numerous indie rock luminaries.

Overall, June Gloom is an accomplished return from Big Deal, one that shows they are more than worthy of their name.

This isn’t their strongest album – that’s a dead heat between Sehnsucht and Mutter – but it’s at least as good as the three albums preceding it, and that means it’s a very good album indeed. ... This is also – you’ll see – an endlessly replayable album.

Sinister Grift, as the title implies, has a shadowy underbelly, a curious tension at its heart that makes it equal parts happy and sad. Yet it is a beautiful record throughout, enjoying the freedom that characterises Panda Bear’s best work.

Silver Eye is undoubtedly a masterfully crafted, emotionally rich and enjoyable record.

Musically it’s a subdued affair, but there are echoes of the dancefloor euphoria mixed with relentless paranoia drifting in and out throughout the song’s duration, conjuring up images of the long walk home from an unsuccessful night clubbing.

Sometimes the sound can appear overly clean, but on the whole Arnalds makes intelligent, informed decisions on the musical options available to him.

Caustic Love is the sound of Nutini finally finding his groove and producing a record that lives up to his talent.

It’s not simply an album that will leave you resonating with morbid thoughts or feeling a connection with the mundane inevitability of all things life related. Instead, it’s a collection that will make you think for yourself and one that will keep on giving for a considerable time.

Not only is I Have Made A Place the most consistent work Oldham has put out in some time, it is up there with the finest in his now very extensive back catalogue.

Lanegan has infused much of this material with the sounds of his influences successfully. Admittedly it is a little tinny in places, and sometimes the warmth of that voice makes for an awkward fit with the detachment of the music, but for the most part, it works rather well.

It’s amazing how true auteurs constantly shift their attention, shift their style, but always retain a razor-sharp focus on the artistic integrity of their projects. Kevin Parker is a true auteur, an artist who has moulded pop music to match his incredible vision.

This album provides a gateway to a spine-tingling and thought-provoking experience which more than compensates for the intermittent poor man's Bjork moments.

It doesn't have any pretenses about being great and achieves in the most basic way possible: by being impeccably organized, well-sung, and well-written, with not an ounce of filler in sight.

Yesterday Was Forever provides plenty of evidence that she can still hit top form when she wants to.

Lush and atmospheric, with shades of the paisley funk of Shuggie Otis, the laid-back, freewheeling early ‘70s Marvin Gaye and Todd Rundgren’s cosmic mishmash (with centrepiece soul medley)--A Wizard, A True Star, Green Twins demands your attention, in a subtle but compelling way.

Speech Therapy is a startlingly good debut album from a woman who could well be the biggest thing in UK hip-hop for many a long year.

The songs effortlessly speak to all classes, to all walks of life, from a songwriter who never sings down to his audience. As always, Richard Hawley is one of us.