Fortunately, all these madcap tangents pay off amazingly, and we’re left with a sublime, varied LP that’s a perfect accompaniment to the impending sun-pecked skies.

With too much empty bluster and not enough decent songs, Sam's Town can only be regarded as a step back for The Killers.

Diehard fans of the genre will find that Bass Drum Of Death makes a welcome addition to their playlists, but for the rest of the music world, Rip This may only entertain for a few tracks.

Better than the first two? Course not. Better than the last three? Definitely.

He has talent, he's capable, and he's got a future - there are occasional flashes of creativity-stuffed aptitude - but this time around they're merely flashes.

Head Carrier is a far more coherent album than Indie Cindy though (hardly surprising, as the latter was effectively a group of EPs welded together) and while it may not be a record to inspire the generations as their previous work did, there’s enough evidence that some of that old spark is still flickering.

Working Girl isn’t an album that will stretch boundaries or break new ground--the best tracks are ones that can’t easily be compared to other artists, such as Taste It and Help Too.

On closer inspection and at a suitably stupid volume, however, Preparations rocks and lurches in grand fashion.

While this isn't the daring brave leap forward that was whispered about when Spiralling was released, it will no doubt prove another multi-million seller for the trio from Battle.

WYWH should be played seasonally to stoke the nostalgic embers of summers past, for it's as equally hazy and precious as the memories it depicts.

The Red Album brings forward everything they do best, with hooks aplenty, emotive and funny lyrics, all washed down with the odd frisson of self doubt. It's a potent mix, and keeps them a step ahead once again.

The spirit of hip hop lives on in N.A.S.A. Investigate this album if you have any taste.

While The Circus will undoubtedly sell bucketloads of copies, it does all become rather samey after a while.

What the Paisley born artist has come up with on Sunny Side Up is baffling.

While Peace does not quite finish on the bang that would have really rounded off a great record, there is no doubt that it reflects the band at their most natural.

A bit more edge would have been good to distinguish this from the wide range of comfy female songwriters out there right now.

Branch’s lyrical savvy and clear communication keep it well clear of the mundane, though you get the recurring impression that she is capable of taking a few more risks.

Complete Strangers is one of those collections where over the course of several listens each song enjoys time as being considered the highpoint of the album only for another track to supplant it soon after. Whisper it, but Vetiver may have just made one of the albums of the year.

Swoon, then, is a mixed listening experience, with the solemnity and over-seriousness of the general tone and the occasionally grating nature of that voice being more or less mitigated by some lovely melodies and first-rate guitar riffs.

Not only do the sparse arrangements allow Eastburn to enchant with her siren like singing, but also, they allow the listener to become ensnared in the song.

Wooden Arms, on the other hand, bears the sound of something far more collaborative and just that little bit more complete. Our refound love for musical vanguards should therefore also extend to Patrick Watson.

It is perhaps slightly too long and lacks anything as thrilling as Drop The Other, but it nevertheless represents Emika as a fascinating artist with immeasurable promise.

Fandango quickly plateaus into an exercise that is pleasant rather than provocative; an effort that, despite occasional highs, is relentlessly...acceptable.

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.

Pacific Daydreams certainly doesn’t achieve the grandiose aims from the aforementioned inspiring proverb. That said, thankfully it is still a solid record which should satisfy fans.

The later half is really rather spectacularly ace, in an unexpectedly grandiose way.

Listening to the album as a whole, it's satisfyingly compact, a neatly produced record with stand-out tracks and growers.

Joyful and experimental in equal measure, Fluorescence is an album that challenges you without you even realising.