Full Circle is a promising start for a trio of artists who already possess a clear vision of the type of music they want to create. The chances are they will only improve with time to grow their songcraft and ideas further.

Had Crystal Fighters not taken their foot of the pedal towards the end, Cave Rave could have been their breakthrough album. Instead, it’s just a very good one.

It is perhaps slightly too long and lacks anything as thrilling as Drop The Other, but it nevertheless represents Emika as a fascinating artist with immeasurable promise.

Unfortunately, as the album progresses into its latter half, attention wanes.

Merchandise are a band at a crossroads, and After The End reflects that--they’ve proved here that they’re very good at creating accessible indie-pop, but seem more comfortable with their more brooding side.

Varshons is an admirable stopgap that proves that there is life in the old dog yet.

Protest Songs is not likely to prove as much as a career renaissance as their last album Encore did, but it’s an interesting and moderately successful little detour from a band who are probably well overdue their ‘national treasure’ title.

There’s the occasional curveball, such as the Latin shuffle of Olvidado (Otro Momento), but for most part the music hovers on an astral plane between speakeasy jazz and the later nexus of Dylan, Nilsson and Newman. The result is strangely timeless.

Clocking in at around 32 minutes, this is an album that tells the story of a 20 year journey in a staggeringly short amount of time, particularly for Dylan Carlson. It’s rare to request further exposition from this artist, but maybe it’s just the desire to bask in these wonderful tones and layers which mean that, as Reaching The Gulf reaches its conclusion, more is definitely required.

While the impressive Himalayan featured six tracks over four minutes long, By Default sees this length exceeded just once, concentrating more on short, sharp power punches.

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

This album changes nothing in terms of her previous work; if anything it’s more minimal and darker, but as long as she continues to feel the pain expressed here, her hurt is our gain.

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.

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.

While it may not be 1995 any more, few listening will care when the nostalgia is this expertly crafted.

While there is clearly some cathartic work going on here the rhythms in particular can be too clinical and processed, creating a tension against the expansive orchestral arrangements that in sound too rigid and processed. Yet this is nonetheless a strong and often stirring album, and the voice sounds fantastic.

As an album @Reverend_Makers provides infectiously good spirits, a good bit of Sheffield steel and a nice dash of humour here and there too, delivered with a dose of urban grit.

Whether or not it’s enough to push Stables into a more prominent place, however, remains to be seen, but surely a wider acknowledgement of her prowess can’t be far away.

In the final reckoning, a solid album is raised a bar by its direct communication, illustrated by the closing 'Hard Time For Dreamers.'

It represents a substantial advance in sound and scope from Amidon’s earlier approaches to folk material.

While at times ¿Cómo Te Llama? might feel as though it's fallen through a timewarp from the late 60s/early 70s, it's not afraid to jump around within this, from raw garage rock to deeper, darker blues.

The darkness is more fully embraced on Easy Window, which smoulders elegantly and possesses a distinct undertow full of sorrow and a sense of detachment. When it’s done this well, it’s hard not to get swept up in it, but there are moments when it doesn’t quite come off.

Although Voyage is mostly geared towards giving audiences the vintage time capsule they desire, we are still being invited to imagine other possibilities.

When you're listening to Some Racing, Some Stopping you're caught up in a safe, warm, fluffy little world. It's only when you get back to harsh reality you realise that Headlights haven't really written much in the way of hooks.

It doesn't match its predecessor but it's a banquet of sound well worth feasting on.

When the album comes to a close--with pulsing bass and swirling vocal layers slowly fading out--it feels like the end of some strange Odyssean journey, one that you may want to embark on again before long.

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.

It's a different animal than its predecessor, but Watch Me Dance is a fine second outing from a promising young producer.