As an exercise in not-so-subtle re-positioning the album is never less than effective and its high-points are more interesting and persuasive than most of JLS' peers.

Aside from its undertone of paranoid desperation, however, the album is a largely by-the-numbers exercise and seems almost certain to quickly fall off the public consciousness.

Whereas Walker seemed to grasp something on that album [The Drift], here he seems restless and inconsistent, but his continuing artistic quest remains peerless and fascinating.

This is music that originates from the soul, but it is delivered in an entirely soulless fashion.

For anyone yet to be acquainted with the music of the Jazz Age, this is the perfect introduction to the sound of the era. That Ferry's music can be so interpreted, and carried off so convincingly, suggests strength in depth to his canon of work.

Anyone unacquainted would be better off buying the original album, enjoying the aural experience of one of Mogwai's best for years and then revisiting what is essentially an add on, albeit one which builds on an impressive base and is an involving and exciting listen in its own right.

For someone skilled at making music both accessible and disarming--a talent she displays so seldom on Pale Fire--Assbring has sacrificed the ability to send such a message for the ultimately unrewarding spoils of electronic production.

When it comes down to it, the second part of Green Day's trilogy of albums is another crushing disappointment.

The production is highly polished and everything appears to be utterly disposable.

A great comeback from an artist who's been away for far too long.

Those who appreciate what she does well can recognise that in her own understated way, Thorn belongs in the pantheon of the truly great British female singers, and this is another worthy addition to a back catalogue of consistently high quality.

When you're at Rihanna's level you can afford the best songwriters and producers in the business and sonically the album is generally far ahead of her peers. Yet if Sia's Diamonds is a sultry triumph, its character and uniqueness highlights the ultimately hollow pleasures of much around it.

Emily, Jessica and Camilla have put a new spin on an old formula by reducing their sound to its simplest form--and for the most part it is a success.

Don't be put off by these four tracks being hard work, because the other six are fantastic and consign Broderick as the lo-fi bedroom auteur to his past.

18 Months neatly packs Calvin's hits from the last year and a half into a solid playlist.

Whilst it's unlikely to win over many new fans, it will certainly keep those who have been with the band so far content.

With the third in his Essex trilogy Darren Hayman has surpassed himself, creating an album that is intelligent, heartfelt, and musically stunning.

'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! rewards immersive, though somewhat uncritical, listening: a glorious hymn to the visceral and transformative power of sound.

Perhaps not a headphone masterpiece, but a generous slice of frank and thought-provoking tracks regardless.

As a concept Top 10 Hits… is frequently confusing, often brilliant and at times downright awful. Ultimately, it adds up to a very intriguing album by a band that is quite impossible to pin down.

An album of the year contender.

It is also a daunting record--when is an hour and a quarter of ambience not?--but a thoroughly rewarding one.

You'd have to say that III is a good Crystal Castles album. But given that II was a great Crystal Castles album, the trend isn't going the way that you'd hope.

At The Down-Turned Jagged Rim Of The Sky is a startling album full of nuance, menace and wonder.

King Animal would have been better had it foregone the regal pretensions and just stuck to being a feral beast. There was clearly the makings of a decent album here, but somewhere along the line it's all gone wrong.

Despite the band's relapse into '90s Grunge, Sirens vaunts the odd track that testifies to the band's invetiveness.

It's a wallflower of an album, pretty, nice, but lacking the inspiration needed to lift it beyond the mundane.

While the album does weigh heavily on its dark themes--possibly too much so at times--The Avett Brothers have never sounded better than they do on The Carpenter.

For a man who was once so adept at innovation and seeking new creative paths much of Rave Age is a disappointment, the sound of a man content of tread over old ground.

Smalhans is simply another disappointing album from a producer who once seemed poised to become one of the more significant of his generation.

This then is an album that doesn't quite work, being as it is constantly in a state of conflict.

Their debut self-titled LP is one that is puzzling, slightly strange, sometimes irresistible and a bit frustrating.

Where Do You Start is, in addition to being a superb showcase of these musicians' technical flair and expressive confidence, a typically thoughtful, informed and intuitive statement.

In stepping outside of her recent comfort zones Kylie sounds so relaxed and liberated that it's difficult to escape the sense of untapped potential.

This is a solid record from a talented producer who is well worth keeping an eye on.

With only one true standout track, a handful of fillers, and little innovation or progress, it reeks of diminishing returns from start to finish.

They are a group that exist solely to make abstruse, dark and head spinning noise. As such, Zeros accomplishes its goals very well.

At its best, Psychedelic Pill is an invigorating, ramshackle, heavy beast. At its worst, it's enjoyably daft.

For all Fagen's obsession with precision, this still feels like a remarkably relaxed, quietly confident album--sleek, urbane and sophisticated.

It's certainly fresh but, lamentably, it fails to rival the progression seen on previous releases that grabbed the listener's attention.

In both being muscular and sparkly, they have made a brilliant album that makes being in a band sound like the most fun thing in the world.

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

Taken individually, most of the songs are accomplished and engaging (though we could certainly have done without the dreary Sad Beautiful Tragic) but Speak Now was such a coherent work that Red can't help but feel modestly disappointing.

The record does admittedly sound excellent. Urgent and rippling with intensity it has a power that is let down by the lack of simply great songs. Far too many tracks follow an increasingly tired and weary rock formula.

Sundfør's combination of careful, detailed arrangement and unrepentant magic realism is visionary and enriching.

Lonely At The Top is a complex and elusive album: indulging in the sensualities of aural texture whilst retaining a depth of communicative potency.

Until Now never quite shakes the feeling of being a little gratuitous--a few euphoric gems aside, there isn't enough creative spark on the record to justify its existence, and listening to it feels about as useful as attending a Swedes gig without the live atmosphere.

TRST is a hell of a debut. It's also a reminder that as ubiquitous as they may become, there's plenty of life in the old synth yet.

With Lost Songs, Trail Of Dead certainly have their hearts in the right place; sadly, though, that's the best one can really say about this album.

For the most part, Tall Ships have delivered an album that lives up to the promise of their early EPs.

Brasstronaut don't leap between genres so much as they shuffle, but Mean Sun, at its best, is an album that quietly exhilarates.

It is personal without actually being personal.

As a whole, Glassheart is listenable, with a few ups and downs in terms of the quality of the tracks, but does tend to keep to a very steady keel of mediocrity without much deviation.

This is an album that sounds fresh despite having its roots firmly planted in the post-hardcore/pre-grunge era.

He's an outsider and the best thing about this marvellous compilation, however lush the sound and however catchy the melodies, is that it does absolutely nothing to change that.

Tobin's music is so full on, so conspicuously lacking in any sense of holding back, that the proper thing to do is just leave any preconceptions at the door and lose control.

The commitment to developing their sound into urgent and strident rock is commendable yet the execution leaves you cold at times.

There's enough humour in the words and inventiveness in the production to keep coming back to these songs, though you can only hope Wolf will sound a little less broken the next time around.

It is a straightforward and solid return from a band who sound unsure whether to stick or twist.

It may not be groundbreakingly new, but All Our Favourite Stories is one of the most entertaining albums of the year.

It is an accomplished pop album but one that struggles to make any sort of lasting impression.

It's safe to say that Natasha Khan has once again managed to craft an album that ticks all the boxes, while also showing a maturity and evolution from her Mercury nominated sophomore album.

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.

His debut doesn't feel like poor pastiche [of 60's-era Dylan and Donovan] but rather the joyous tribute of a teenager with the necessary chops.

Papa Roach have the tools to be a damn good rock band, but they'll never be one unless they change the bloody record.

There is still a huge amount of enjoyment to gain from Boys Noize and that overrides some of the consistency issues.

The result is an record of rare beauty, like catching a glimpse of an uncommonly beautiful sunset or a finely crafted ice sculpture.

Gallows may have been floundering during the last days of Frank Carter's time with the band but this very impressive comeback is the sound of a band reinvigorated.

This record can sound slightly off-putting at times, but that's what makes it so compelling.

This new direction from Tussle will disappoint some older fans, but it's going to reel in plenty of new ones. Time and patience are both required, but this album is worth plenty of both.

Tender Opposites is undoubtedly a solid, cohesive and enjoyable first album from the Montreal band.

An underplayed, subtle triumph, but a victory nonetheless.

The Orb and Lee "Scratch" Perry recording in Berlin could have been a disaster but this is anything but.

It's an album that is perfectly inoffensive, but in the end, there is nothing here that hasn't been done before--and done much better.

There's an urgency and excitement to a number of these songs that elevate them beyond being pretty and delicate pop nuggets.

Given its very nature, this is an album that is more suggestive than it is demonstrative, with attuned, nuanced performances creating a range of colours and sensations.

He's combined a sparkly and woozy aesthetic with killer melodies to create a cohesive and fun winning formula.

Peer between the lines and Eitzel has lifted off some of the weight to create his most redemptive, mature work yet.

Rudi Zygadlo proves here that he is far more than an electro producer, and has delivered a second album that frequently captivates and often mystifies.

If he can place more focus on songcraft, his tunes will soar majestically; but at the moment there's not a lot under the surface to make him anything other than intriguing.

The one big drawback of Gold Dust is the danger it may provoke a 'so what' reaction, simply because for all of its polish, it doesn't really take the listener anywhere that interesting.

These songs are made for clubs, student unions and theatres, not arenas. And it's all the better for it.

Until The Quiet Comes is at once iridescent and ambiguous, luminous and impenetrable: an elegantly conceived and executed album which may well come to be seen as Flying Lotus' finest work to date.

Too much of the album simply plods from dreary verse to dreary verse.

The quality, depth, and otherworldliness that Halstead has achieved here elevates it above being just another folk album.

It arrives with sharp impact, melding abstraction and direct sound to impressive effect.

Young Guns may have pushed themselves to the edge to create Bones, but the end result confirms the hard work was more than worth it.

Blood Rushing is a beautifully lilting, melodious album.

This is a solid, if unspectacular, comeback and fans will be crossing their fingers that The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind is a new beginning, rather than a one-off cash-in.

Push And Shove is a decent, solid pop album, but it lacks the sense of occasion and excitement that you'd expect from a band's first album in 12 years.

It truly is awful.

Privateering is arguably Knopfler's strongest solo effort and one which shows off his ability as a guitarist, a vocalist and a songwriter.

Maybe not a wholly successful album then, but at its best, The Truth About Love proves that Pink can still credibly compete with the pop stars she helped to inspire.

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

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

The album essentially involves wallowing in 45 minutes of one man's competently performed but largely uninteresting catharsis, and there are unlikely to be too many takers either now or in the future unless LeBlanc lowers his lofty ambitions and frankly, chills out a bit.

While Love Remains proved a hard listen because of its liberal use of distorted effects, Total Loss is tough going because of the emotional intensity of its content.

It's a perfectly satisfactory album, but save for one or two moments of brilliance, there's nothing here that will keep you coming back for more.