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.

There is some magic to Mann's music and it's often hard to define.

Battle Born is music played in the past tense.

Yet it's too comfortable, old ideas diluted to homeopathic proportions, results half-hearted and strangely spiritless, songs feeling overly long.

Shields is full of both genuine surprises and moments of transcendent beauty.

The band's formula is nowhere near broke, and while this tenth album might not necessarily expand on that greatly, it doesn't mean that anything about the band's music is in need of fixing.

Despite the groovy intentions and the unmissable smell of too many cooks in the kitchen, their album often proves to be pretty damn tasty, indeed.

Tempest is a flawed but mostly fascinating album.

The record drags when it should soar.

Be it the sawing blasts of guitar that rushes you through the poignant Lose My Way, the spiralling vortex of Dead & Gone, upon which you helplessly bob along in or the careering momentum of Kopter, it's never anything other than intoxicating and brilliantly realised.

Maybe it's familiarity, maybe it's contempt, maybe it's something to do with both, but there's nothing on True which marks itself out distinctly enough for it to warrant more than a passing glance.

Jens sticks to what he knows, combining his spry guitar playing and razor sharp pop sensibility.

The faithful will lap up every eccentric note, of course, but there's much here for the uninitiated to delight in as well.

The lasting impression remains one of an unruly middle child, difficult to love, but unmistakably bearing choice hallmarks of its older siblings.

The largest problem with Coexist is something shared with the debut. A lot of it just washes over you without leaving a trace. It's always high quality, assembled with a craftsman's eye for gorgeously unfussy detail, but it can leave you unengaged. It's soporific, far from unpleasantly, but in a way that means you can come out the other side unmoved.

More often than not, most of the songs feel like they're only 75% there; so close to really coalescing into something special.

What is provided here [is] superb playing and a peerless collective spirit, along with a clear and nuanced production that is never intrusive.

My Head Is An Animal deserves the attention it is getting, because it is a well-crafted, spirited debut album with soaring choruses and delicious harmonies.

Unfortunately, just like The Vaccines debut, there is very little to really make you stand up and take notice.