There are mixed results as some tracks on Something Else feel like the band are going through the motions, while others flow with more energy.

It’s nice enough. That’s the problem with Snake Oil, though: the highest bar the music reaches is being decent, and the loftiest ambition of these songs is to be simply tolerated, packed in amongst other unremarkable tunes on an Apple Music playlist called ‘Tuesday Vibes’ or something similar.

These People is a mixture of epic ballads harking back to the sound of the Verve and attempts to move forward with rather half-hearted electronic pop. Despite some beautiful moments, Ashcroft seems to have fallen into the gap between the two.

Mars has quite remarkably extracted themes from every one of those shows [The X-Factor], incorporating each into his debut, from glossy, over-sentimental ballads (Talking To The Moon) to an all-out, shameless dispatching of joy (Marry Song).

No longer the challenging, lo-fi music of yore, what has arrived in its place doesn't have the individuality or character to sustain longer lasting interest.

Unfortunately, Acoustic Dust suffers from the age old problem that acoustic albums generally face--lack of variation.

They’ve had their day doing one thing, they now need to do another, and while further albums are even less likely than this one, Happiness Not Included feels like something of a missed opportunity.

The heart-thumping energy of their first records is not in evidence, and Given To The Wild feels like a wasted opportunity.

[Cellist Alexandra Lawn's] expressive and engaging vocal contribution on You And I Know--along with its woozy, waltzy rhythms and shoegazey guitars--make this the only truly memorable song to be found on this otherwise disappointingly, frustratingly ephemeral collection.

Yet for all the individual moments of sleek electronic beauty, Goddess as a whole often sounds frustratingly unconvincing and almost fragmented in its production.

When an album’s quality level ranges from intolerable to merely tolerable, it’s not a positive sign. Middling.

The rest of the 13 track album sounds like a mix of Latvian Eurovision Song Contest entries and The X-Factor winners' songs; an unmistakable, cringey 'life affirming' theme runs throughout, with the obligatory twinkling electro loops.

For now, though, Dark Young Hearts can perhaps best be considered a troubling, worthy yet ultimately unloveable misfire.

Justin Vernon has succumbed to his most inane impulses – and released a selection of unseasoned, lightly scented pleasantries that neither hit or miss. They just are.

There are standout moments of beauty in the sound they make--usually when pausing to gaze upon the full sun--but these reveries are the exception rather than the rule, and just as the listener is absorbing them, along comes a guitar to wrench them away.

It is an accomplished pop album but one that struggles to make any sort of lasting impression.

Work is by no means a bad album; it's just a disappointing one. For all their early promise, the band have made a record that reflects its title and monochrome artwork all too literally.

Those that prefer a little excitement would probably be best giving the album a miss and checking out the début instead; in all honesty, you’re more likely to find more thrills at one of your ‘old late great great great great great’ grandmother’s knitting and sewing evenings.

There are occasional moments of brilliance to be found of Flash Flood, often within the carefully crafted melodies of Enter Shikari's choruses, but all too often their lyrical angles and their almost pathological need to force genres together make for an uneven album.

X is more filler than killer.

If the world wants to point at the band's best album it's easily Planet of Ice, but if we're in the business of recognizing a group's ethos, Omni stands as the prime example of what Minus The Bear want to achieve.

Tinashe draws on her R&B influences to greater effect with the sensual, Dilemma-sampling Ooh La La, and No Contest is another highlight, but overall Joyride does not deliver on its potential.

From Here To Now To You isn’t going to propel Johnson to dizzying new heights--commercially or critically--but it’ll keep fans listening.

It seems that the first principles that got Aeroplane their quality remixes--a real sense of atmosphere, and slow disco-house beats that might be regarded as 'cosmic' in some circles--are only fleetingly glimpsed. Deluca has proved that he can comfortably write in a number of different styles of music--but on the next record it might work better to stick to the ones he has truly mastered.

The problem with Birthmarks is twofold: a lack of originality and a lack of hooks.

Positions is a perfectly fine light pop/RnB album by the numbers, but Grande’s relentless work ethic over the last few years means that the shine on her songs is starting to dull a bit.

Too often though these stabs at versatility end up as clichéd impersonations.

This is a worthwhile purchase for any David Gray fans, but for everyone else the world just keeps on turning.