All told it's a slightly patchy album, but one which is nonetheless saved by a couple of pop gems.

There’s a lot to love about The Art Of The Lie, but it also feels a bit like hard work at times: the pair of songs that close the album, Laura Lou and Zeitgeist are both heavy on the vocoder which you feel you’ve heard far too much of over the past hour.

Apparitions is merely a debut album from a young band who know their way around electronics and textures a hell of a lot better than most other young bands. And although at times it seems like they're copying right off of Merriwether Post Pavilion's paper, they muster just enough creative vision to avoid lawsuit-level infringement.

When so many performers are trying to push the boundaries, sometimes it's nice to have something so plain and straightforward.

The album may revive the band's career in North America, but for many of their loyal fans it will come as a major disappointment.

The album is no attempted revisiting of past glories but shows The View exploring a more varied sound with a mellower vibe.

A Billion Little Lights is a good album when heard in isolation, but it pales in comparison to those albums that inspired its creation.

Unfortunately Sonic Highways only delivers occasionally.

Nelly's latest offering is hopefully the beginning of the renaissance of an artist who most definitely was starting to look guilty of selling out.

It is odd that something so standard provides the denouement to this album, trying to span over a decade of fan loyalty. Will they buy it? Undoubtedly. Will they like it? Who knows.

The only issue with My First Album is that it sometimes feels a bit unfocused, and the tonal shifts the record takes can become a bit jarring.

While Art Of Doubt doesn’t quite touch their previous high points, there’s still more than enough to keep many a Metric fan happy.

Like 99% of all other Christmas albums, this will be mostly redundant come 27th December, but if you’re looking for a rather glum festive alternative to the usual Christmas fare, it’s worth checking out.

Most of the songs have plenty to give in these spheres, so for fans this can be viewed as a qualified success, if never quite approaching previous highs.

It's maybe a little older and a little wiser than Junior but it just isn't anywhere near as much fun.

The sheer brevity of the record means that it doesn’t really feel like a ‘proper’ record as such, but it’s still a lovely listen.

It may lack the standout hits of the band’s earlier material, but the record does at least have the direction and purpose that has previously been missing.

X&Y is far from experimental, but it nonetheless showcases a band demonstrating distinctive signs of evolution.

At best, it sounds like an honest re-fashioning of comfortable old sounds. At worst, it sounds like a forgotten Christine McVie solo album.

At a time when mainstream house music is becoming more connected with both its past and the underground scene, ‘alternative’ interpretations like this are quickly becoming stale, and Articulation too often sounds as if it’s merely going through the motions.

There is no doubt that Prism will do exactly what it’s been created to do (sell millions, provide the backdrop for a lucrative tour and make a lot of money for a lot of people) but it’s safe and cold where it should have been daring and involving.

Inevitably there are moments when you wished they’d rein it in a little and take a breather from the very many sonic tricks they’re painting with. And you often can’t help but lament the lack of human compassion: the affecting and crafted songwriting of Merriweather Post Pavillion is somewhat lost. But there are glimpses of that capacity on Burglars which has some lovely Beach Boys-esque backing vocals, and many of the tracks are far more intoxicating than their previous record ever offered.

Unfortunately, while on Dunes’ better songs Gardens & Villa have succeeded at claiming their own sound, the issue that they currently face is that their sound simply isn’t very memorable.

It's certainly nothing unfriendly, and none of it would sound out of place on the duo's traditional weekend slot at Lovebox.

Ultimately, it is a decent return from a band who continue to show promise.

Ultimately, this is a nice, pleasant debut album which will make the perfect accompaniment to a fair few summer barbecues this year, but which may not be listened to much once the grey skies and dark nights of October are upon us.

Confetti is a dependable album with recipe staples, but to keep future interest piqued, something new is now required in the mix.

The album hits more often than it misses. Longstanding fans will either love or loathe the more prominently electronic direction, but it’s clear that Embrace have succeeded in keeping up with the times while continuing to sound like the same band.