Most of these ballads are in the middle of the album, which drags it down somewhat, so it’s a blessed relief when Pharrell returns to produce the excellent Runaway.

Philips is very much the band’s driving force. Her musical persona is a collage of punk-rock heroines and sliver-screen starlets. She has the rebelliousness of Kathleen Hanna with the lusty charm of Poison Ivy.

There are some encouraging if fleeting flickers of light and warmth here that hint there could be more to come in terms of musical development, but for now the group are little more than faithful revivalists of a niche subculture with limited appeal beyond those already converted.

Electronic Music Improvisations Vol. 1 does what it says on the tin, but transcends curio status through Miller and Jones’ unique musicality and verve.

Overall, Happy To You is a solid if unspectacular second effort, one that disperses moments of brilliance with the occasional filler track.

The only evidence we have is a middling album marking a new chapter in a diva's life that doesn't sound any cheerier than the chapters that went before.

It won't be a surprise with such an approach that The Body of Christ... has its weaker moments, but it almost seems to miss the point to care. Fight Like Apes delight in their own cackhanded methods, and the odd sloppy sample or laughable lyric are merely grist to their deliberately anarchic mill.

The desire is there for more of that visionary spirit--though the suspicion lingers that with everything just simply too available, Moroder no longer has the focus and inspiration that fired his finest work.

Actually You Can probably isn’t the best album to introduce the uninitiated to the delights of Deerhoof. By now, you very much know what you’re getting with them, and Actually You Can is another example of why they have such a strong cult following.

There is clearly potential there and The Making Of is a solid first record, but it is just one that is unlikely to live long in the memory.

It’s hard to deny that The Third Eye Centre is probably a fan-only affair and, indeed, a bit of a curate’s egg. Much of the time though, it’s a pretty tasty egg.

It’s a fun listen the first time, and a reasonable one at the second listen, but how it does after that is anyone’s guess. Enjoy, but proceed with caution.

Peaches' overt and upfront sexuality was once refreshing, but it now feels a little relentless. Quite possibly, the novelty has worn off.

Other Worlds is a pleasant, but modest experience and, while an effort has been made to stamp every track with distinctive hints, the end result is an interesting but arguably undemanding work.

It’s a confused collection of songs, but there are enough gems here to suggest that they’ll come good soon enough.

Ultimately, Fiction have all the ingredients to work, but they don’t click together as much as they should on The Big Other.

Despite such misgivings [that the album runs out of steam and falls into pastiche territory] it's a decent enough record that deserves a follow-up.

These twelve tracks make for diverting and beguiling company for the fifty or so minutes spent with them.

An uncomplicated and perfectly pleasant record, swirling with some instantly intoxicating '60s inspired pop numbers, Lights Out finds itself running at the same, ultimately tedious pace for 12 songs.

While it may not be enough to garner any new fans, existing devotees will feel that the wait has been worth it.

There is a fine line between catchiness and tedium on Grassed Inn, and the formula doesn’t always work.

There are plenty of great moments, but at times, it is almost too experimental.

Even if you weren't expecting much from everyone's favourite four part harmony-peddling pension queue, this record would be something of a mixed bag.

An album that’s easy to enjoy yet difficult to fall in love with.

An unfettered sonic experiment from a commercially unconcerned duo, Clay Class, whilst often pushing itself successfully into unexplored melodic territory, feels unfinished, difficult and hesitant.

While Palma Violets have certainly got talent, their debut falls just short of the expectations that’s been ladled on it.

Daniel Lopatin’s eighth album as Oneohtrix Point Never finds him splitting the difference between the synth-based abstraction of his previous albums and a more visceral, abrasive style. While neither of these are bad templates to work from per se, the result is an album that doesn’t know what it wants to be.

The Black River Killer EP isn't the best place for Blitzen Trapper newbies to start--that would be Furr or Wild Mountain Nation. But, as a stopgap for existing fans, it's well worth a download or--if one's feeling old-fashioned--a trip to the music emporium.