It's a career best for T.Raumschmiere and another proud moment in the history of hard-rocking electronica.

A fine record.

By the time Heavens Sent’s mellow guitar line fades out it feels as if Glacier has reached a spiritual breakthrough – the journey to this point, while fragmented and non-linear, is one of the most accomplished debuts of recent times.

Shifting moods and voices effortlessly, Harding is an often technically astonishing performer, and Party is a work of quiet power. An inviting, captivating darkness.

It may only be eight tracks long, but each song contains so much invention and ideas that repeated listens bring their own rewards. As the seemingly interminable wait for a new Radiohead album goes on, The Smile are making music that, at times, is equally extraordinary.

Ambitious yet restrained, elegant yet exciting, Veckatimest is an endlessly-rewarding album which seems destined to vie with Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion for the title of the year's best.

Nine Types Of Light is another strong early contender for album of the year.

Taking field recordings from various locations, Tiersen has created an album that works on a number of levels, and listening to ALL completely devoid of context is a rewarding listen.

It’s a truly absorbing listen, almost effortless. For a band that have been through so much turmoil, they convey so much beauty.

Shriek is a powerful reminder of how refreshing and affecting bands can be if they have the confidence, self-awareness and ambition to look beyond their usual horizons.

Kollaps Tradixionales is an outstanding album that competes with anything the band has done previously under its various monikers. It's early in the year to be predicting albums of 2010, but this will surely be up there.

There is a sense that perhaps Swisher is Blondes pushing their oblique take on dance culture by way of rhythmic experimentation as far as it can go, but there’s no doubt that where they have taken it is to an entirely new and sublime level.

Akin to falling asleep next to an electric fire whilst snow begins to fall, Camila Fuchs have created an extrasensory gift of a record, one that is affectionate, woozy and a comforting delight in these most taxing of times.

It’s heartfelt and sincere without pandering to any audience.

The music is consistently either thrilling, evocative or moving.

Japanese Breakfast’s most satisfying album to date.

Go is a phenomenal record with almost every bar bursting with beauty. It is soulful, fun, naive and sad in its own fantastical world; if only life really were this good.

This is a superb album, and a slightly better one than Mercy, which says a lot, but whether it joins the pantheon of Cale’s most legendary records remains to be seen. One would certainly hope so.

It never feels too claustrophobic. You can feel the care and attention lavished on each track – it’s a full three minutes on Alone until we actually hear Smith’s voice, but that doesn’t seem to matter as it feels like a pleasure to dive into this sound again – the chiming guitars, the shimmering synths. it’s like welcoming an old friend back home.

To paraphrase Public Image Ltd, this is not a love album, in a form that most would recognise. It is, however, a powerful rumination on its presence, absence, and the power, both good and bad that love holds over us. Oxbow understands the power of love.

Lament is a deep and complex album. It is not so much a piece of music, as a work of art.

Yet another album of utter genius in a stylistic vein that nobody in their right minds would have predicted from Ulver.

As befits songs of mortality, yearning and loss, the tempo never really rises above a mild trot, with just the catchy chorus and crunchy guitar on Motion Sickness hinting at it being a breakthrough hit. Yet the downbeat atmosphere and fragile arrangements only serve to accentuate Bridgers’ strong, distinctive voice.

In what has already proved to be a strong year for breakthrough artists the duo have gone and raised the bar once again, and in doing so, created one of the most essential albums of the year.

The friends have created something memorable here – not just to bring attention to serious causes, but to captivate and delight all those who stop to listen.

The full listening experience is perplexing, intriguing, sometimes perhaps infuriating, but rarely less than intoxicating.

This is a deep and heartfelt album, being Kae Tempest’s strongest and most powerful statement yet. Instinctive and raw, yet tender to the touch, it demands to be heard.