The Front Bottoms here have underperformed with what is a tiresome collection of repetitive songs that don’t require much effort to listen to.

It’s never dull and is sometimes quite extraordinary, taking multiple turns as it goes in order to keep listeners on their toes. Supreme Cuts is a scarce example of an artist moniker that well manages to sum up its own album.

DSVII pulls off what it sets out to accomplish with aplomb: it is a pleasant album full of lush instrumentation and suites of sound that are gently evocative. If at times the record feels a little too safe, this feeling is punctured before long by an irresistibly cute melody or a chord sequence that resolves in just the right way, and the listener is drawn back into the pastel world that M83 create here.

There are several false starts during The Kills’ fifth effort and the execution does not always quite match the intention, but for the most part it’s a successful return for the duo.

What's remarkable is how well it all works--no glitches, no hiccups, just 10 tracks of mind-broadening quirk.

Often interesting and occasionally moving, and at a compact 40 minutes, Maze Of Woods certainly doesn’t outstay its welcome and steers well clear of self-indulgence.

Clearly Sheff is at something of a crossroads in his life and his world view is changing; perhaps he doesn’t quite know how best to make everything fit together just right. Given time, there are moments of this album that will shine, it’s just a shame there’s so few of them. 


Oh Fortune is a luscious wall of sound, one that should see the criminally underrated Canadian featured more regularly alongside the heavyweights.

Here’s Willy Moon is an exciting debut from someone who’s trying to break the pop mould, several genres at a time.

[A] chaotic, unwieldy mess.

Very occasionally there is an element of mediocrity and you do feel that they could easily raise themselves to the next level, but for now this is another delicious helping of Apple Pie. Tuck in.

While Mumford And Sons may not excel as urbane, multi-dimensional songsmiths, they succeed by virtue of their sheer, unabashed wholeheartedness.

It contains nothing noteworthy, nothing to grab the listener's attention, and will have few going back for repeated listens.

A collection of gentle, sun-kissed pop guaranteed to be easy on the ears.

Communion’s minimal song titles are indicative of a no-nonsense approach to song writing--but like most good pop songs they unpeel different layers of production with repeated listening.

At its best, Motordrome serves as a reminder of why she deserved that success, and why she still deserves attention today.

While it's not a classic album, Ukulele Songs is a lively and enjoyable LP that easily warms the cockles.

In stepping outside of her recent comfort zones Kylie sounds so relaxed and liberated that it's difficult to escape the sense of untapped potential.

It provides evidence the Persson is capable of some breathtaking moments. And indeed there are a few such moments on Animal Heart, if not as many as might have been hoped for.

Hockey are not yet the finished article and are still finding their sound, but judging from Mind Chaos they're having a bloody laugh looking for it.

It’s a honey-coated gem of funk-infused pop, and when it shines, it’s a disco ball, a ’70s disco full of glorious hooks, where Gikling and Santos’ vocals balance one another in the most beautiful way.

Confessions Of A Romance Novelist showcases The Anchoress as an artist of bold intent and kaleidoscopic ability. It is hard to believe there will be many more interesting, or better, debut albums in 2016.

Seeing Other People initially appears slick and self-obsessed, very nearly to a fault. But scratch below the surface and there’s tongue-in-cheek humour.

Steve offers a simple, risk-free avenue to access a very deep, very meaningful cultural history that is seemingly inaccessible to newcomers at first glance. Put simply, you’d have be pretty miserable to think it wasn’t harmless fun, and if it turns one person on to the real thing, then it’s definitely worth it.

The one big drawback of Gold Dust is the danger it may provoke a 'so what' reaction, simply because for all of its polish, it doesn't really take the listener anywhere that interesting.

The songs and melodies may be brighter, but there is a nagging sense throughout that something special has been lost somewhere in the process.

Higher Truth may not quite reach the heights of his best work, but it ensures that Scream was no more than a blip in his solid back catalogue.

There are the seeds of two worthwhile projects here, but no chance of them ever uniting under the Major Lazer banner.