Just as he did on Home, he presides over the germination of initially simple ideas that wind in to loops, generating forward movement against a wide screen backdrop.

Blue Roses is a startling debut, a record that oozes warmth and charm whilst revealing itself slowly and patiently.

They’re honest about their intentions, and the result is something that feels genuinely effortless.

Binary is an album which is shot through with the sort of confidence that only an artist nearly 30 years into her career can bring.

Although each track sounds different, there's an admirable flow across the whole album.

The whole album is a treat, and a fun way to pass a half hour or so. Hopefully the movie it’s attached to is just as fun, just as playful, and just as silly. Wonderful stuff – purchase with confidence.

With Lex Hives they not only add further credence to their reputation, they also spit in the respective faces of their many lesser contemporaries.

Unprecedented Sh!t is the sound of an artist with plenty of fire in her belly and with much still to say.

His compositions are conceptual and carefully planned, but the resulting performances also have the strong sense of freedom and spontaneity that comes with the musicians’ experience in jazz.

The more instrumentally talented Eno has struck gold with these pretty arrangements, providing a worthy reminder of why his career hasn’t fallen victim to the passing of time.

This is Suede right near their very best. They remain incurable, helpless romantics, barely able to control their wildest musical thoughts, and Brett Anderson sounds like he depends on them more than ever.

While there may not be anything to rival their breakout hit The Night We Met for ubiquity, much of the band’s fourth album sounds like the sort of warm hug that many people are desperately searching out for right now.

Bigger, bolder but still retaining an engaging charm, it is a highly impressive melodic triumph.

Not all of the tracks are wholly successful, and on occasion the vocal clarity is hidden from view. Yet that barely matters, for the fierce spirit remains. Spirituals is both old and new at the same time – drawing on the human spirit, but using cutting edge electronics to do it. Playing to Santigold’s strengths through inventive beats and melodies, it is a fine return.

To write it off too early would be criminal, as Embryonic represents The Flaming Lips at their most awkward, most engaging, and most creative.

On first listen it feels understated, the low-slung rhythms an easy listen with many melodic and textural high points. Yet as you spend more time with them the frank admissions of the band take on a reassuring quality, sharing our own highs and lows with everyday life and offering a calmly assertive way of dealing with them.

At just 36 minutes, Every Loser never outstays its welcome – instead, it’s a short, sharp blast of energy that sounds impossibly refreshing.

Jurado is still ultimately concerned with tales of transience and woe, but he and Swift temper Saint Bartlett with such rich benevolence--from the generous, autumnal arrangements to its thoughtful, crafted lyrics--it is impossible not to be heartened by the whole affair.

There is pain, frustration, beauty and love whistling away in every crevice of this album.

Although Yawning Abyss is a tad more conventional than Mr Dynamite, it’d be fair to assume Creep Show will remain an acquired taste for some. But for those who have no qualms about stepping into their sometimes oppressive, sometimes sleazy-sounding world, you may not want to step back.

Both foreground and background listening are equally rewarded.

On Love’s Crushing Diamond, Lee offers seven immaculately composed tracks, all of which feature his refreshingly optimistic ruminations on love and life in today’s world.

The follow-up does just what Human Ceremony did, but more so. And better.

Chilly is on to something here, with a collection of small-scale musical postcards ready to charm anyone lucky enough to receive them.

Heaven is a tantalising glimpse at just how brilliantly amazing Rebecca can be when she wants to be.

Simon’s voice, as anybody who saw him on his farewell tour will attest to, is still remarkably strong, and he’s rearranged these songs so that they suit his timbre.

The first great album of a new decade is one that promises to inspire a new generation of clubbers and hedonists with the joy of some of the most perfect pop you could ever hope to hear.

The album has been patiently developed and refined over the last few years and it shows.