Their calmest album to date.

This is possibly not an album for those wanting immediate hooks and satisfaction, but it's a remarkable achievement and more proof - if any were needed - that Albarn is one of the most innovative and talented songwriters of his generation.

It's much less forthright and immediate than Inverted or Chutes, but it succeeds in spinning a web that draws you in; once caught you just want to lie back and absorb its gentle bounce.

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.

A rich and rewarding album from an artist who - thankfully - keeps on evolving in subtle and exciting ways.

Notwithstanding the occasional background music tendencies, The Bird And The Bee is a solid debut which will undoubtedly attract most connoisseurs of intelligent pop.

The trouble is that in the two years since Love Angel Music Baby she doesn't seem to have moved on or evolved at all.

Fans who have been frustrated with recent output will be able to find a lot to like here.

Breaking Kaytabe is without a doubt one of the most impressive releases you'll hear all year, regardless of genre.

The album doesn't reach the heights of the seminal Black Album but is an exciting opener to a hectic schedule for Def Jam.

Love could only have been made by someone who knew this music inside out, who has nurtured, cherished and polished it since the day it was composed, who saw its potential in an era when pushing rock'n'roll past it boundaries was a new art form.

The whole of Entomology should open new ears and eyes to Josef K's thrilling, scraping, clattering greatness.

Trail of Dead appear to have dropped the noise, and bought out the tunes.

The Cat is back, albeit more of a moonshadow of his former self and lacking some purr and bite.

Overall, Rice has produced a release which equals and perhaps even surpasses his debut, a album that takes you through emotional highs and lows you are unlikely to hear anywhere else this winter.

Whereas their first album hit the mark perfectly, The Pick of Destiny swings wildly and misses.

An album of searching grace and innocence, this is the voice of ancient souls portrayed through the medium of a true indie heroine.

If a classic pop album is something that defines the moment, is rammed with ideas and necessarily crammed with singles, then Lady Sov's cracked it first time out.

This is such a great, great record for so many reasons.

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.

All too often Rudebox plays like an undeveloped collection of half-baked ideas.

While this makes for pleasant enough listening, we know that Damon Gough can do a lot better than pleasant.

Once again this is a thought provoking and stimulating listen from Squarepusher, continually developing his style and surprising in his lightness of touch and inclusion of Latin and funk influences.

A cracking album that holds its own for almost the entire duration.

They've come a million miles from their earlier recordings.

There are gospel singers, there are elements of Zepplin'y mysticism, and there are swampy Cajun tinged bits, but nothing hides the fact that it's too little too late.

A blindingly bright future beckons.

Fun, fresh and (mainly) utterly listenable, The Information is the most diverse and, at times, thrilling album you'll hear all year.