Part of the problem is that faced with a performer as low-fi and minimal as Conor Oberst in the first place, many of the unfinished demos presented here, such as I Will Be Grateful This Day and Seashell Tale, sound much, much too thin.

On the title track, Steve asks, "Don't you got nothin' better to do than listen to a man from another time?" The album presents itself as a fitting answer to that question, and an appeal to anyone wanting to look into the distant delta past.

Despite all the mysticism, religion, tradition and history tied up in Advaitic Songs, this is a surprisingly accessible album, and one that finds OM at their best

Chopped & Screwed is a thoughtful experiment at best and a quasi-misfire at worst, but either way it demands to be analyzed--which alone makes it worthy.

Set It Off is the work of a talented rapper with an interesting taste in production. Offset just needs a bit more consistency to stick the landing.

At its core, throughout the course of Come Into My House, No Kids remain a group of talented musicians with excellent, compelling ideas.

Hooded Fang reference stalwart genres of old Americana without ever falling into parody--Gravez feels nostalgic but never dated.

There is nothing especially wrong with it, but it hits the middle ground all too easily, sounding like Home minus the guns-out anthems and the hands reaching for the sky.

Monoglot English speakers may have little idea what she’s singing about, but such is the passion and grace of her delivery, Brahim could be reciting the Milton Keynes telephone directory and few would object. The fact that she has an important message to share makes her performance, and this album, even more significant and impressive.

This is an extremely fine piece of work, another auspicious addition to the already impressive Border Community canon.

An electronic album that manages to sound intimate, late-summer warmth turning to autumnal melancholy, and a cartoon band that suddenly seems a little fragile.

It's a pleasure to listen to, over and again.

The Divine Comedy's most spontaneous record in ages.

While you may know what you're getting with a Chemical Brothers album, they remain damn good at what they do.... You get the impression that their next album may have to be a bit more adventurous if they're to survive.

There is still much to admire and enjoy, not least Al Qadiri’s pursuit of an individual, politicised, socially-conscious path that never lacks ambition or self-confidence.

Not as endearingly obviously pop or as chilled out as their debut, The Enemy Chorus takes some getting used to before it unfurls it pleasures.

It is at times a little too simplistic, and you have to be in the right mood to accept songs about cakes, capybara and economic meltdown. However, when the world starts to look too serious, spending your free time in the day-glo world of Shonen Knife can only lift the spirits.

It's likely that the first couple of times you hear it, it may just wash over you completely. Yet give it a few plays and Mayer's unique ability to reflect on the human condition cannot fail to charm.

The Cornshed Sisters display moments of Joni Mitchell's exquisite songcraft, the choral elegance of The Roches and witty buffoonery of John Grant amalgamating Tell Tales into its own refreshing niche in the ever-expanding folk cartel.

An album that ably melds together ‘80s coldness and ‘90s warmth, and then brings it right up to date.

The problem with To The Ghosts is, that as nice and pleasant as it all sounds, it does tend to float by without leaving much of an impression. Sometimes, it threatens to push the envelope a bit.

Tomorrow, In A Year provides a complex view of The Knife as unmatched in their daring, their music quite defying categorisation as one species or another.

The less is more production suits her, and for a first time we get a real and lasting glimpse of Stefani herself.

Iradelphic is certainly Clark's most accessible record and it is arguably his best.

While Amphetamine Ballads is as exciting as any debut record in recent times, it’s also a reminder that the British ability to conjure depth from a sparsely coloured palette is as strong as ever.

Ultimately, it’s disappointing that after Pop Tune, Shonen Knife seem to be on autopilot, creating songs that could have appeared on any one of their previous records.

Much of, if not all of What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? suffers from a complete lack of intelligence, candidness or originality: elements that help make guitar-based music interesting.

There's more emphasis on guitars, and they appear to have ingested a whole load of pharmaceuticals, but at heart they're a great pop band, and their ability to write a heart-rending tune certainly hasn't been hampered.