There's a distance to their music, as if they're floating away on the horizon, just out of reach. It's worth savouring them that way.

The term ‘easy listening’ is a little taboo these days, often replaced with the more benign label ‘ambient’, but these ditties represent the former in every meaningful sense.

There is nothing of great surprise here, which while reassuring to fans does also lead to the criticism that McVie and Buckingham are just that bit too predictable through the course of an album. There is however no lack of emotional input to songs like Feel About You.

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.

The combination of Lewis and Rodriguez-Lopez seems promising, albeit one that could use a few tweaks and a tad less self-indulgence on the conceptual front.

This fanzine-ish dedication to the music they love spills over into the record, making it ooze with warmth and wit--and it’s catchy as hell.

On balance, Ultraviolence is ok, tending towards pretty good. However, there is a nagging wonderment over exactly where Del Rey goes from here.

It sags in places, but this isn’t such a crime when the album also contains highlights like Electricity, Horses, Modafinil Blues and Bunny’s Dream, which are highly recommended for any electronic music fan.

Some of the tracks, especially towards the end, don’t have quite the immediacy of the earlier songs. .... That’s a minor quibble though – at its best, The Good Kind is proof positive that The Big Moon have actually had two excellent songwriters in their ranks for some time.

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 numbers which populate Costello Music are a darn sight better than Carl Barat and Pete Doherty's solo exploits.

It's taken a while to get here, but Ultraviolet finally introduces a fresh talent who may not have too much to say just yet, but what's going on in the background goes some way to making up for such deficiencies.

In summary, Drones is utterly bonkers and silly. And yet, it’s for the most part enjoyable.

A heady amalgam of Ibiza chill-out anthems and Carnival bangers, with poignant choruses and repeated minor chords, ACR Loco is a stomping reminder to celebrate the eccentric pleasures of life in multicultural cities and the liberating night life they offer.

It seems to capture their essence better than its predecessors. Whilst the effect is rather eclectic, covering several of their bases, and with its existence being a little surprising after recent years’ events that pointed to their departure as a collective, it’s a welcome return.

This Thing We Call Love aims for groovy but ends up sounding like Kaytranada’s leftovers, while Great Americans is too kooky for its own good, but on the whole we have a vibrant, energetic album with generous helpings of soul, funk and technical skill.

At times, the music is so rousing and glorious that it’s easy to just not care about the fact that they’re heading down a well-worn path. Needham and Violet have conjured up a heavily melodic album that is as surprisingly well thought out as it is satisfyingly loud.

It’s an album that screams out for an editor, but when it hits the right notes, it demonstrates just why Taylor Swift is one of the biggest pop stars in the world.

Whilst the linguistic half of Sleaford Mods is developing in two very different directions, Andrew Fearn has turned in his most musically satisfying set of tracks to date.

Like their fellow musical experimentalists Black Country, New Road, Personal Trainer may not always hit the mark, but even their failures are more interesting than 95% of their contemporaries.

There is nothing on this record that is going to convert the previously disinterested. But although Ounsworth is still yet to return to the high watermark of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s first record, he has produced his most affecting work since then.

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

With their eclectic cocktail of rock, pop, blues, jazz, soul, funk and traditional African music, these grandparents can still knock out an irresistible groove to match the best, but perhaps they need to be reminded that they should do it alone a little more often.

Although unlikely to have any individual impact on CBC’s all-time song chart, it’s yet another consistently good all-round album out of Canada.

At just eight tracks and a 30 minute running time, it does feel a bit slight at times. Yet that’s a minor quibble: much of Pinball Wanderer shows just what Bell can produce when he’s given a rare spotlight.

Essentially, there’s enough good stuff here to suggest Pixx--cool, intelligent, subversive--remains a talent worth watching. And you can’t learn that anywhere.

Overall, it adds up to form an accomplished album that manages to be both outward-looking while also proud of its heritage.

Whilst nothing on The Light Of You is quite as sumptuous or ornate as the best moments on Deserter’s Songs, it does demonstrate that Mercury Rev are a band still able to engage the senses.