If Deacon wasn't a force to be reckoned with before, then by gum, he is now.

As an album it is of questionable value, but its ambitions are much bigger than the album form.

Overall Gibb has invited us on an entertaining jaunt through the musical traditions of rural Canada.

The middle of the album is weaker, with Cupola Smelt Mill’s coda being far more interesting than the rest of the track and Slack Sley & Temple’s arrangement so bare that it starts to feel like a mind-numbing endurance test.

It’s a stately and urgent reclamation of intent from all involved. If you expected a band with such a long and storied history to ever be elegiac or pedestrian that would be a grave misstep. Under Marshall Allen’s all seeing eye, they’ve untethered themselves from the oppressive gravity of their past and launched themselves head first off back into the furthest reaches of outer space from whence they first came.

Loftin and his colleagues have succeeded in creating a mood of joy and togetherness.

What really grabs the attention about Animal though is its energy. ... LUMP are just as effective though when they bring the tempo down a bit.

Joan Of All isn’t an immediate album, and it’s probably not one to reach for a sugary pick-me-up either. Yet if you dedicate enough time to it, what emerges is a work of rare depth, craftsmanship and beauty.

Sometimes, it doesn’t quite hit the mark – the finger-picked acoustics of Preaching To The Choir becomes a bit of a dirge, while Clean feels like it’s about to explode into something epic, but never quite does. Yet the closing The Wind makes for a lovely end to the album (with Butler on surprisingly gruff vocals) and, at only nine tracks long, it never particularly outstays its welcome. It’s also a handy reminder that one of rock’s finest collaborators has a pretty strong voice of his own, too.

All Living Things shows how Jiha is able to navigate the border between the experimental and the accessible with confidence and deftness, its woozy textures and spectral aesthetics making for an engaging listening experience.

Henson has subtly evolved rather than reinvented his sound, and it’s resulted in one of his finest albums to date.

What is most startling... is the amount of emotional depth that Turner's injected into his songs here.

It may be true that Oh No doesn’t quite match the mystery or depth of her debut--it’s all very transparent and above the surface in comparison--but it offers enough proof that the overt, more soulful qualities demonstrated on this album should serve her well for some time yet.

Now Only occasionally treads a fine line between soul bearing catharsis and a vividness so acute it feels disconcertingly intrusive.

The faithful will lap up every eccentric note, of course, but there's much here for the uninitiated to delight in as well.

A 1000 Times is an opening track as startling as it is oddly timeless, and if, when it debuted in July, it promised great things of this pairing, the resulting album certainly delivers.

This is an intelligent and deeply human album and it would be no exaggeration to say that it’s already a modern classic.

The guitar sounds throughout Salad Days are pristine, the lyrics sublime and the vocals... the Lennon-isms are often befuddling but they can only be applauded.

With Radical Romantics we see a distinct shift away from the idea of linear songs, and rapidly towards a 360 soundscape – all encompassing, visceral and beautifully overwhelming.

The occasional overlong segment of a song (The Battle Of Hampton Roads) and self-pitying tone and vocal that skate a little close to "emo" (No Future Part Three...) are really the only complaints that can be levelled. This very American, sometimes Irish-American sounding album, funny, occasionally scabrous, occasionally angry but most often simply passionate, is one of the smartest and most intelligent punk releases in a while, and one of the most enjoyable too.

It’s an album rich in ideas and confidence, and will only cement The Last Dinner Party’s status as one of Britain’s most exciting new bands.

In The Lookout, Veirs has done what she does best. Instantly recognisable and comforting, she opens her personal world up as safe haven in these strange and noisy times, whilst still keeping you at arm’s length, listening for secrets.

Coping Mechanism is full of feisty attitude, blaring guitars and rhythmically intense drumming, and sees Willow positioning herself as the edgier Olivia Rodrigo with mixed results.

Wide Awake is certainly not their best, but it is their most wide ranging and as such, it could just be one that splits the hardcore fanbase right down the middle.

It may be an album that’s been borne out of darkness, but as another Canadian wordsmith once sang, there’s a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in. There are plenty of cracks here – the joyous bounce of Sometimes, or the calm optimism of the title track – to show that Wainwright herself may have been reborn from the personal trauma of the last few years.

Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is a slender, fat-free affair, all Gallic swerve and subtle swagger. This may well be the album to broaden their fan-base wider then the fashionable glitterati.

There’s a massive amount of power and feeling in the music but perhaps even more of an impact is in the feeling of expressionism and freedom that it represents. In forcing herself to look at who she is as an artist and explore new ways of creating Zola Jesus has firmly taken back her power and forged a new way forward out of the darkness.

The music on Field Of Reeds is certainly not easily accessible but, at its heart, this is a supremely evocative album.