Alexander Tucker muscles up to his psych-folk antecedents to posit himself as an artist of singular merit, as comfortable within the realms of conventional song as well as the abstract sound world.

Trouble is an album of bewitching treasures, equally at home in the bedroom or in the throes of the most intense club dance floor--an extremely impressive debut that introduces TEED as one of the UK's premier electronic artists.

In what has already proved to be a strong year for breakthrough artists the duo have gone and raised the bar once again, and in doing so, created one of the most essential albums of the year.

Long term fans might find Worship not as visceral as previous outings, whilst those intrigued by occasional flashes of melody might find themselves beaten into submission by the album's oppressive nature.

Haines is a compelling performer, and there's certainly more than enough decent songs here to satisfy the faithful who may have been put off by the lacklustre Fantasies.

It is the best album start-to-finish from Hot Chip, one that continues to show their deft range--from infectious disco hits to soulful ballads.

With mystique to spare, it's a record to cherish.

Ultimately, it's an accomplished record that makes all the right noises (in the most literal sense), but it lacks the final wow factor to push it into true greatness.

Choice Of Weapon sees The Cult back to doing what they do best, which is producing slightly dark and remarkably catchy rock 'n' roll.

If you've any common sense, plot a listen soon.

The Bravest Man In The Universe is a success. It doesn't re-invent Womack as some sort of lost beacon of soul, nor is it an ersatz look at the career trajectory of a legendary figure. Instead the album posits Womack as a restless spirit, ever expository, invigorated and emboldened by age and experience.

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.

This debut is a polished effort which manages to balance both sweeping synth pop with euphoric indie anthems.

Even if you weren't expecting much from everyone's favourite four part harmony-peddling pension queue, this record would be something of a mixed bag.

Nite Jewel has blossomed into a something not too far removed from a genuine pop star. Yet you feel One Second Of Love is a promising step forward rather than the finished article.

Could very well be one of the soundtracks to the summer, with their heavy use of percussion setting them apart from other similar Brooklyn acts. Unfortunately, there are times when Manifest! feels muddled.

At 10 tracks, Endless Flowers gets in, does what it does best and gets out again, leaving a stunning corpse with beautiful cheek bones.

This is a dreamy, sometimes queasy synth pop record with a good amount of bite beneath the wash of keyboard calm.

With Lex Hives they not only add further credence to their reputation, they also spit in the respective faces of their many lesser contemporaries.

If only her music might just occasionally match the freeform, flighty, extravagant nature of her words.

There's an alertness and sense of movement within these carefully crafted soundscapes.

One Day I'm Going To Soar still feels like a triumph, in spite of its transparent flaws.

WIXIW is a wonder of an album of endless layers and contrasts to get caught up and lost in.

Utterly everyday yet utterly recognisable and distinctive, Celebration Rock is pounding, lithe and youthful.

It's this flitting between moments of brilliance and sections of dainty sounding but ultimately rather tedious meandering that defines the album.

If anything they're more powerful this time.

They are a band who want to form a real lasting connection. Diver only sporadically does this, but this is still an album that shows vast promise.

It's undoubtedly an acquired taste, and you can't imagine actually wanting to listen to it all that much, but there's definitely much to admire here.

There are few laughs here - but there are plenty of thrills, the hug of the band's name now delivered of a tighter chest and noticeably sharper nails in the back.

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

This isn't an album of standout moments though per se; rather it's a record to be enjoyed as a whole. The true worth of each track is found in listening to them in order start to finish.

At just eight tracks, The Sister never outstays its welcome, and by the time it's finished, you're likely to want to go straight back to the start. And if this is your first introduction to Nadler, you'll want to explore her back catalogue straight away.

It's Tesco shelf filler, it's Father's Day fodder, it's the stack of cover versions every lazy advertising executive is craving now that Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want is all played out.

They've created a finely honed album that hints at a multitude of influences but because they are ploughing their own furrow they're in debt to none of them.

It is a valiant, but ultimately fruitless attempt to add to the already brilliant back catalogue of the Ramones.

Calling on a series of well worn rock staples, King Tuff is a fine album that pushes no boundaries, but is quite content to get the party started.

It never really breaks free, but The Absence is, in its best bits, an album of real beauty and elegance, and should cause hearts to grow fond of her.

Heaven is a tantalising glimpse at just how brilliantly amazing Rebecca can be when she wants to be.

Utterly compelling.

2:54 is deep and dramatic, taut and poised. It stands up to repeat listens with a unperturbed grace and a wonderful habit of showing you something new and unheard each time.

This disc proves that their ascension to lofty heights is complete and something heavenly indeed.

Foot-stompingly perfect pop, achieved without sacrificing the folky feel... [However] while there isn't a weak track on the album, they don't always seem particularly well stitched together.

This is Public Image Ltd at its best. This record is good. Outrageously good. Better than a record of an artist of Lydon's vintage has any right to make.

Like fine steak, Born Villain is at its best raw and bloody.

This is the sound of a band truly enjoying themselves in the studio, confident enough in their abilities to freely collaborate with other big names.

She probably remains a bit of an acquired taste for some, but What We Saw From The Cheap Seats pulls off the impressive trick of stylistically bouncing about all over the place while retaining a very identifiable vision all of its own.

An album that is beautifully performed, but which could do with a little more of the sunny disposition that defined the band's first album.

Valtari is a complex album and time is required for these songs to become truly effective. Once their beauty becomes apparent however, it becomes clear that Valtari is up there with Sigur Rós' best work.

[Majenta is] an album that brings the influence of Prince on his music to the fore. It works well, with a healthy funk quotient present throughout, going with some lyrics that might make a grown adult blush but which stop short of being too risque.

With A Monument they have clearly shown that the have the scope and ambition to cross over far beyond that Portland milieu and establish themselves as a fine in their own right.

For the time being it's very hard not to fall under Exitmusic's intoxicating spell. Best not to try.

The major problem with It's A Corporate World is that it's all a bit too nice.

Replete with tacky production and recycled ideas, its few merits are stretched to near breaking point.

With this album and its predecessor, he has achieved a genuine gravitas and, more importantly, a believable honesty.

Cancer For Cure is a dependably bold, powerful statement, perhaps not quite as masterful as its predecessors, but still overflowing with ideas and innovation.

Here Comes The Bombs is an impossibly refreshing new direction - the sound of a man revitalised and back on form.

While the album's opening single, Sentimental Dishes, is far from the endgame--its jauntiness an awkward fit for the album's wider angst--there's a recognition in its pace, and the broadening ambition of the sound, that PS I Love You may be ready for more.

Nelson's voice is the shining star on this album, and that feels like the only thing that matters.

Céu can still sit squarely in the middle of the road at times, particularly when she attempts English language pop songs.

The four pieces here make an album that carries a powerful impact, as well as recognising the obvious talents of both composers in writing for the string orchestra. The down side of this is that because of the performing forces the textures stay relatively similar the whole way through, and listening to all four pieces at once is not the best way to experience the album as a whole.

The tracks are well made and good stuff, but on the whole Urban Turban feels a little too all over the shop to pack the wallop it deserves.

It feels like a work in progress, skeletally over-precise and over-long.

Words And Music isn't just a celebration of popular music, but a hymnal ode to a loss of innocence, an end to the passions of our childhood.

Whilst undoubtedly, and commendably, experimental, very few tracks on Ufabulum hit their mark.

As a collection in the SMD back catalogue, Unpatterns is certainly their best work since Attack Decay Sustain Release, but it still falls a little short of those admittedly towering heights.

A Joyful Noise is the sound of Gossip taking their love of dance floor pop to its natural conclusion with their most obvious and accessible album yet.

While some of the studio tricks are a little too familiar, the band is clearly re-invigorated and, unlike like the last fractured Garbage offering, the result is a cohesive collection of sharp, aggressive songs.

The two note piano trick gets slightly overplayed on Practicing Magic, but then it represents the only real misfire rather than a lack of ideas. This is an utterly intriguing and unsettling album.

The consistency and linear aspect of Bloom ensures it is, as the band recommend, best experienced as an whole.

Galaxy Garden is a compelling exploration of Matt Culter's experiences of dance culture over two decades and its nods to the past, coupled with Lone's infinitely fresh and modern twist, make this one of the premier dance records of 2012 so far.

Unremarkable and uninspired.

Aufheben may not be vintage BJM but it's still pretty groovy stuff.

The Big Sleep have presented a collection of often excellent songs of real substance, making for an album that warrants, for the most part, unmitigated attention; preferably through some decent speakers.

Overall, In The Belly Of A Brazen Bull is an impressive fifth album from the trio, one that contains elements of their earlier work, while also demonstrating the Jarmans' intention not to be constrained by one particular sound.

A Different Ship might be the sound of a band often cast adrift, but in Godrich there's now a firm hand on the tiller, his steadying influence streamlining their sound and taking them to the next level.

Allo Darlin' have achieved their aim of not producing a carefree record again, and then some--instead, they've created one of considerable, admirable depth and nous, though it retains the warm, personal nature of its predecessor.

It only fails in that its broad pallete means when Mondo is good, it can be very good. When it fails to hit the mark however, it's pretty average fare.

What you do get with Dr Dee is a fleetingly beautiful record that is baffling and bewitching in equal measure, and one that should inspire people to see the accompanying opera as it tours this summer.

Long Black Cars retains a common sense of cohesive purpose throughout.

The album works best listened to in its entirely rather than separating each cut from one another.

If some of the sound could be better defined, and the special effects shaken on with a slightly lighter hand, it would be more coherent and ultimately more impressive.

As opening statements go, Better Living is comprehensive and, as a hardcore punk album, it is extremely successful.

When Various Cruelties gets just the right balance, the sound is beautiful to listen to, and would be perfect for soundtrack for summer.

While the melodies are stodgy and predictable, the lyrics don't help a great deal.

Drokk should not be dismissed as a niche project--it's dark, rich and compelling in its own right.

Strangely enough, as short and freespirited as the tracks are, the album itself is a behemoth that takes some listening dedication to unwrap and to assign meaning to--and it's an effort that's well worth it.

Seasons Of My Soul... rarely moves above midtempo or out of 6/8 time, and in its warm duvet of production it makes for a soupy listen, even more so on the second or third spin. But that won't diminish the album's efficacy as music for dinner parties or - let's face it - tender baby-making.

There is a lot at play here, both sonically and lyrically, and the album rewards repeated listens. Most importantly, Little Broken Hearts is an album that just works.

Despite the prevalence of rootsy Americana throughout the album, there are a pleasing variety of styles on display.

Minor rants notwithstanding, Heartbreaking Bravery is a decent album.

Kweller's talent as a pop-rock songwriter is plainly evident, but despite the consistent cheeriness that's offered across Go Fly A Kite, it never manages to shake off the feeling of being merely an appetiser for a main course that never materialises.

Gravenhurst's most solid and unsettling work to date.

His fans will lap this up for being another solid Brendan Benson album.

Whilst R.I.P. certainly has some of the cold detachment that often characterises electronic music, it is also a remarkably thoughtful and creative work that has clearly benefited from a more personal and human compositional approach.

There's no pretentions, no concepts, just an exploration of music and Zammuto is starting to write the book of the future once again.

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.

Electra Heart showcases glimpses of a clever, ballsy pop star.

Adventures... is an accomplished album, one which makes the most out of not over-complicating things.