An epic album, one that is occasionally repetitive but never less than one eye on the future, one eye on the road and the third eye gazing in awe at the heavens.

Breach is a fine return, but will most likely be seen as a transitional album in years to come.

Unfortunately, Acoustic Dust suffers from the age old problem that acoustic albums generally face--lack of variation.

Like Britney herself, Glory is a fascinating if flawed listen--while she remains very much a singles artist, this is her most successful record in a while, and still contains glimpses of why she remains so compelling, 18 years into her career.

Locus, then, is an intriguing beast, one that enjoys experimentation but doesn’t forget to please its listener through driving rhythms, colourful sonics and powerful musical statements that might be derivative but are a sharp blow to the consciousness, especially if heard loud on headphones.

Some people may find the pace of Bow To Love a bit too pedestrian, but most of the time, Campbell’s music feels like a soothing balm for a troubled world.

While this never quite touches the highs that Erasure can produce, there’s enough moments on Ten Crowns to convince that Bell and Aude make a good partnership for when Vince Clarke wants a rest.

Unremarkable and uninspired.

It's no stinker, more a transition, a typical third LP that just doesn't catch light enough.

Words are used minimally and to great effect.

Cold Cave are not shooting for nuance; the tracks here all beg to be the highlights, striving for anthemic bliss without any modesty.

Call it the fascinating intersection of jazz, lounge, prog and electro, if you must, but ultimately Tortoise produce music of the most valuable and enduring kind--beyond genres and labels, in a category all of its own.

Bella is a decent album, but one that is more likely to attract appreciative nods than the slap-me-on-the-patio lust that Thompson needs to raise his career to the next level.

Alexander is a thoroughly enjoyable LP, but one that comes across as ever-so-slightly lightweight.

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.

Absurdly entertaining, and quite disturbing, Ropechain will most certainly not be to the tastes of many. But it must be admired for its originality and brain-shakingly ridiculous beauty.

Though his aims of presenting this as a robust, high-concept album aren’t necessarily met, this is still wonderful pop.

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

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

It won’t be for everyone and there will be those who continue to look at Pete and Carl’s relationship with utter bemusement, but their songwriting prowess has ensured that the decade-long wait between albums has been more than worth it.

While Further ironically does little to further The Chemical Brothers' sound, they have once again produced a strong and sturdy album of high quality electronic music that still leaves many of their peers sounding one dimensional and unexciting.

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

But for both ["The Heinrich Maneuver" and "Mammoth"], and indeed elsewhere, it's the way in which the elements of the track click into place with a Swiss watchmaker's precision and artistry that really hits home.

Despite the variety of styles on offer, Remiddi’s songs still have a tendency to seep into one another, and there seems to be more of an emphasis on atmosphere than melody on some tracks. However that atmosphere is well worth soaking in.

Her combination of interior logic and the immediacy of improvisation is also captivating. This is deceptive, singular and highly creative music.

Common raps with the calm contentment of a man who’s reached his destination, and it certainly sounds satisfying.

Amongst the buzzing guitars however it is possible to detect small signs of improvement and fine-tuning, whilst it also boasts a greater melodic strength than its predecessor.

For now, though, they’ve managed to rekindle their affairs and surprise a few doubters.

There are sections of this album where the excessively excessive for excessiveness’ sake draw attention away from the parts that are genuinely fantastic. Not that Prince cares what anyone thinks. He proves with this album that he will experiment and make the music he wants to make.

Like its predecessor, The Boy Who Knew Too Much is an eclectic work, lurching between exuberant pop, vaudevillian knees-ups, disco and sombre ballads. Mika would probably describe the album as 'kaleidoscopic', but it can come across as scattershot and unfocused.

It’s a pastel water coloured effort that’s like The Byrds with less shimmering jangle, The Beatles with less melodious catchiness, The Velvet Underground with less fuzz and Lou Reed drawl: but it works.

The Happiness Waltz may not be the most exciting record you’ll hear this year, but it does exactly what it says on the tin.

Despite its unprepossessing title, Not Music is put together as meticulously as any Stereolab album released during the band's 18 years of service.

You might not be able to play Dungeonesse at a summer party from start to finish, but it can be brilliantly interspersed among other hipster-approved pop.

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.

Those seeking greater musical challenges will probably want to look elsewhere, but there is much here to praise and enjoy.

While the songs aren't particularly complex and won't be to the taste of anyone after something challenging, the band impress with how easy they make straightforward songwriting look.

With the band straying very little from the original templates, the main surprises come when they have to change styles to fit the songs.

Any one of these songs has the potential to be a dance floor filler and that's what they've been designed for. There is nothing too original here, nothing big nor clever neither, but then if you like guitars and songs about teenage love you're going to be well catered for.

A brave experiment then, and more than likely a fabulous live experience too, but ultimately more of a novelty for the curious than an essential purchase.

Overall though, Stith’s second album retains the frustrations of his debut. The songs feel fragmented, with lots of memorable moments--a gorgeous chord change here, an inspired juxtaposition of sonic ingredients there--but very rarely are they memorable as complete compositions.

No Mercy In This Land sits somewhere between the the classic blues records of BB King and the mellow folk tunes of bands like Angus and Julia Stone. Whether you are a die-hard blues fan or just after a narrative driven and emotive album, No Mercy In This Land has something to offer.

Overall, Feel Feelings represents the complexity of the human experience in that it’s not perfect, however the work put into this album is undeniable. It can be hoped that for her next album Soko continues to, indeed, feel her feelings through her music for us to enjoy.

The Hospot may be a fictional place, but Warmduscher have created the kind of soundtrack that makes it feel like the kind of place we’d all want to hang out in.

More than half of this album is mind-blowing, so it would be nice to leave Sholi with a brain buzzing with that same intrigue, confusion and happiness.

It all stays just on the right side of self-indulgent, although like most albums consisting mainly of cover versions, there are peaks and troughs.

Sudden Elevation is yet another solid display of Arnalds’ talents and is arguably the LP that most newcomers to the singer-songwriter should arrive at first.

It's one of the finer conversions of 2011, managing the delicate task of crafting a record that sounds both incomprehensibly universal, deeply personal, and, yes, endlessly listenable.

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.

Repentless does possess a few standout moments but, whilst Slayer’s return is welcome, there’s little here to suggest they’re ready to push on and dazzle their fans with something mindblowing.

Fans will be relieved that after such a protracted labour Strangers To Ourselves has emerged in surprisingly good shape, even if it lacks the robust conviction of Modest Mouse’s best work.

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

This album of covers brims with intensely organic and engaging moments, breathing new life into songs that could've just hung out like tired old windbags.

Rossi has worked well with producer Steve Albini to clean up the tracks, and pick up the pace, making them sparse and wonderful, like intricate machines.

With fewer studio effects and electronic twiddles, Crash Love is a simpler rock record than its US number one predecessor "Decemberunderground." If anything, it's better however, and shows that while fusing goth, punk and pop doesn't need to be rocket science, when AFI are involved it's very definitely an artform.

Miller has done a decent job here; there’s nothing particularly striking or eye-opening about the album or its songs, but their simplicity and Miller’s all-round talent suggest some real promise.

It’s A Pleasure ultimately comes across as slight as its deliberately platitudinous title, but Dury remains an intriguing talent who’s worth following.

Exceeding an hour in length, though, some may find it a little too lacking in variety and be soundly asleep before the end--which would be a shame, as it’s one of the better psychedelic albums to reach our ears this year.

Whilst Ash's signature energetic punk-pop pastiches are very much in evidence in the shape of "I Started A Fire," "You Can't Have It All" and "Princess Six," it's fair to say that they have managed to explore acres of new territory.

We'll settle for saying it's a great record. Full stop.

PINS give the impression of enjoying themselves while not taking this whole rock ‘n’ roll thing entirely seriously. Just seriously enough to make something really fine.

Here We Go Magic have made a fantastic album that is at once inseparable from its Brooklyn beginnings and transcendental of its place in time and space.

The songs on Once Upon a Little Time bloom as slowly as lotus blossom, their graceful colours and subtle variations revealing themselves gradually.

There are some amazing moments on this record; it's a crying shame that they're linked with the sound of a band treading water.

Flux is a qualified success, then – an ultra-cool album of moody music to listen to in ultra-cool places. Even if you might not be emotionally heated by the end, it subtly makes its mark.

For new fans, this is a pretty good introduction. For fans who already own all his previous work, it's more of the same, but so well-crafted that they probably won't mind.

A curious mix of musique concrète, poetry and Ranaldo’s longstanding metier, avant-rock. The near-absence of guitars means that there is a sparseness to some of the tracks, but the prominent percussion, combined with samples and effects, makes for an industrial feel on many songs

The Power Of Rocks is a deceptively calm affair, so feel free to roll up your jeans and wade in. Just brace yourself for how crisp and punchy you might find it initially, because it takes a while to get acclimatised. But once you are, you’ll want to dive down to its murkiest depths.

They appear to have hit the ground running, and have kickstarted their year delivering a cocksure record which welcomes repeated listens.

Some more cynical types may find this heart-on-sleeve approach too cloying, but the delivery and writing is so honest and heartfelt, it’s impossible not to be charmed. Carner is a genuine talent, and this second album demonstrates just why he’s so highly rated.

Helping along YACHT's approach is a frisson of punk attitude, often expressed in Evans' vocals but also helped by a refreshingly unfussy focus on production.

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.

At almost 55 minutes, some of the 12 tracks could have done with a bit of trimming, while some songs work better than others. But overall World Peace Is None Of Your Business is a distinctive contribution to Morrissey’s oeuvre.

This is not necessarily a needless welding of two disparate musical styles, more a lost opportunity for a magical fusion of two sonic diviners.

This is handcrafted, in-it-for-the-long-haul music, which will give many hours of pleasure.

It would be apt as the soundtrack of a credit scene in The Inbetweeners, or to accompany an advert taking place on a summery day full of good times and beer. That is the image evoked by the album, which blends effectively into a complete piece instead of a compilation of singles.

Dance Mother is not, and is clearly not made to be, easy listening - it's an admirably ambitious rather than lovable record, and it doesn't reveal its secrets in a single listen.

There is some real chemistry here, but for the third album, it may be advisable to pay more attention to quality control in order to make the truly epic album that is doubtlessly lying somewhere within The Dead Weather.

As it stands, Dub Egg is merely promising.

The entire album takes a couple of listens to fully digest – the immediacy of Minimum Rock N Roll entirely depends on your level of excitement about this peculiar type of post-punk.

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.

If it's feel good, throwaway pop music you're after, you'd be well advised to leave your inhibitions at the door and join them.

Simon’s voice, as anybody who saw him on his farewell tour will attest to, is still remarkably strong, and he’s rearranged these songs so that they suit his timbre.

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.

How We Operate remains a very episodic album, containing a handful of great moments but no truly great songs.

More remarkable than the variety and risk-taking pursued by the band are the melodies themselves.

Canning's voice is not the strongest--indeed, it often stays buried deep down within the mix--but if you're a fan of Broken Social Scene, you'll know that it's atmosphere that's all important. Which is something that Something For All Of Us has in spades.

The result is a collection of remarkably accomplished songs. With age, their early lyrical maturity can only blossom.

This is clearly and audibly the work of a musician, composer and performer keen to embrace evolution and the possibilities which that opens up - not only within individual tracks or across a release, but also in terms of his overall body of work.

Given the impact of All Our Ends, that may be intentional - but it means the album is best experienced as a whole rather than in snippets. Then it can fully reveal its power.

New Blood has its moments, but it's hardly an essential purchase.

Some of the tracks do seem a bit half-formed admittedly, with the second half of the album sailing a bit too close to filler for comfort.

The overall vibe of Dear... is a strangely baroque take on loss and self pity.

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

An album that’s easy to enjoy yet difficult to fall in love with.

While many of those who fell in love with The Virgins the first time around may be put off by the absence of addictive indie-disco hits, Strike Gently is a quite remarkable, and effortlessly crafted, reinvention.

As it stands, Golden Suits is a lovely record, but one that could benefit from loosening up a little.

Sky Swimming is an album of many twists and turns, but the effectiveness of these flourishes varies wildly.