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

It shows that for the first time they really can do restraint, without compromising the overall impact of the instances where things are let rip.

Its strength is the number of differing styles it turns to largely satisfying effect, reasserting Mugwump’s status as a producer who knows how to entertain and charm in equal measure. This satisfying, toe-twitching debut-of-sorts will only enhance those claims.

Their debut LP Mutual Friends, despite getting bogged down in the middle stretch, is as an album undeniably catchy and, somewhat surprisingly, experimental.

This is an album that celebrates OMD's electric romanticism as purely as ever, with occasional concessions to house music developments made in a way that flatters their own work, part of an impressive desire to keep their original aesthetic . In that respect, it represents a qualified triumph.

She over-eggs the pudding occasionally, but that’s a small price to pay for adventure.

At times superfluous, at others explosively brilliant, it is more emotive than their previous releases and rather than shy away from this, the band jump in with both feet.

Her engaging lyrics remain her true strength. But in her quest to perfect this mission statement, the urgent spark present in her debut has dimmed just a little.

There is a lot of depth to be found in If You Asked For A Picture, and at times it is hidden behind the fairly pedestrian “indie” approach. Yet given time, it’s an album that gradually unfurls and draws you in, even if a little extra punch and bite would not have gone amiss.

There’s far more good to be found on Red Flag than there is bad--this feels like the genuine follow-up to Saints And Sinners that Studio 1 should have been.

The album flows well, with a funky instrumental interlude picking up the pace nicely around the middle and its relatively short run time making it a light and breezy experience.

Soft Will marks a further refinement of Smith Westerns’ sound, resulting in one of the year’s most straightforwardly enjoyable indie-rock records.

On Blood she largely succeeds in harnessing her instrument to reveal the thoughts within. Big isn’t always better, but it tends towards triumph here.

Two Hands is a good album, albeit one labouring under a slight sense of anticlimax given what has gone before.

It may not quite have the immediate irresistibility and wide-eyed innocence of its predecessor but it successfully builds on and expands the sounds previously established.

Migration Stories is a slight album, and a brisk listen – but it is a totally accomplished project.

Wide Awake is certainly not their best, but it is their most wide ranging and as such, it could just be one that splits the hardcore fanbase right down the middle.

Harsh electronic soundscapes are matched with more ambient pieces, and Anamesis Part 1 is a much gentler proposition creating the illusion of calming wind chimes, with Part 2 adding pastoral flourishes. Whereas Annotation pairs club beats with gentle electronic inflections, and Kundalini recalls the thrilling experimentalism of her last record in its use of exotic sounds.

One Good Thing is a fine album, and individually the tracks are pleasingly reflective, but the instant familiarity and maudlin cosiness is more soporific than it is arresting.

Nothing here quite matches the excitement of Feel It Break highlights The Beat And The Pulse and Lose It (although Home, Forgive Me, Painful Like and Annie (Oh Muse You) all come close). But this doesn’t stop Olympia being a sizeable step up from its predecessor and a fine album in its own right.

Born In The Echoes does not reveal anything startlingly new about The Chemical Brothers, but it is more than them simply ticking over, and clearly they have an eye on the future.

In comparison to earlier efforts though, the new album feels like a huge step forward and the lengthier fuzzed out jams are excellent, and surely good enough to be spotted on a few more radars.

Tune-Yards are always going to be an acquired taste for some people, and while this album mixes the accessible with the avant-garde, there will probably be people who are left cold by the restless energy and sometimes overtly meandering melodies. There are more than enough moments on Sketchy though to show that Garbus and Bremmer can strike musical gold when they want to.

If you get past the fact that CBV aren’t trying to be radical or cutting edge, or even particularly contemporary, you’ll find a pleasantly undemanding, chilled-out record that’s the perfect soundtrack for all those warm summer evenings we’re crossing our fingers for at the moment.

Never judge a book by its cover, they say, but with Cymbals Eat Guitars it's fine to do just that--the lush green grass and dense vegetation of their own artwork accurately reflected in their own music.

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.

For those that are willing to kiss goodbye to the guitars and join Parker on his latest detour, you’re likely to get swept away by the dreaminess of Currents. It’s just a shame that the undeniable majesty of opener Let It Happen sees the album peak at a high it can never hope to reach for the remainder of its existence.

A few mis-steps aside, this is yet another strong showing from a band in the midst of a creative whirlwind, one that fortunately shows little signs of blowing itself out.