Shining a searchlight on new terrains for themselves, Fly Pan Am have generously quenched our insatiable appetite for revealing non linear melodramas. Causing a staggering commotion, this sometimes inscrutable, yet eminently danceable, album is a passport to uncover alien customs and engage in orgiastic corporeal activities.

It picks the world apart in a way that evokes both horror at our present and an underlying optimism for our future, expressed in a way only music can. Here is confirmation that Suzanne Vega remains one of our musical treasures.

There are songs on N.K. Pop that stand squarely alongside some of Heaton’s best – he may have celebrated his 60th birthday earlier this year, but that famous fire of his shows no sign of being extinguished.

It's their best and most accessible work to date, while somehow not sacrificing any artistic credence.

This is a gloriously atmospheric second album from a band who will surely soon be as lauded and acclaimed as their better-known labelmates.

We Were Promised Jetpacks have pushed the bar for these bands even higher with the release of Unravelling.

Black Country, New Road are no gods, but this inventive and likeable album should earn them a million or so disciples.

The pop souls of both its creators couldn’t help but surface, and this is manifestly true of many of the tracks: the words may be dark, but the upbeat hummable melodies just keep on returning from the crypt.

Collins has created a work full of effortless songs that meld '60s pop, new wave cool and classic tunes that are uplifting and surprisingly catchy.

While debuts can often be bold and brash, Vondelpark’s alternative, understated approach is to be commended.

As a mini-EP of ‘new’ material, these musically diverse tracks are strong enough to make you yearn for the fifth album which will probably never come.

It’s astonishing how much ground gets covered on Good Luck, Seeker. Sure, not every track is likely to resonate with every listener, but that’s all part of the charm: it’s a remarkable achievement that sits near, if not at, the top of the band’s entire catalogue.

Sleepy Sun treat blues the way Fleet Foxes handle traditional folk, and that can mean only one thing - an absolutely absorbing listening experience.

Sukierae is a distinctive work, and it gradually reveals itself to be enthralling.

This excellent record stands as a testament to the fascinating links and interactions between musical cultures.

Each of these tracks - the duelling-banjo Train Song; the elegiac And He Would Say - is really perfectly formed, beautifully satisfying in structure alone.

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

Some bands are stronger on record, while others go up a level when performing live. The Unthanks are equally compelling in both settings.

Overall this is an unpretentious and varied album of rave stompers, hands-up disco and sedate moments of beguiling ambience that combine to form probably his best and most cohesive album since "Play."

All in all Suga is a very promising work, an enjoyable snapshot of a rapper becoming a bona fide star.

If you’re hankering for a bit of masochistic pop, Mirrors The Sky will soothe the craving. And then destroy you.

What this three-hour opus does is show Matmos to still be intrepid sonic explorers, pushing the boundaries of musical orthodoxy and consolidating their unique position within the avant-garde.

Cutting a path somewhere between the sonic worlds of New Order and !!! (Chk Chk Chk), Omnion runs determinedly in Butler’s own unique direction, mixing decadence and daring and making for something rather special.

Foreverland is a blissful, heartfelt and often very funny paean to love and companionship. Some will no doubt dismiss it as too twee and theatrical for today’s musical landscape, but that is to misunderstand The Divine Comedy.

Quite comfortably the duo’s best album to date, Unity is – literally – like all your favourite bands rolled up into one.

Shepherd’s work may be hyperactive at times, and is a dizzying listen when the chord progressions and rhythmic flights of fancy become congested, but it is an exhilarating ride that proves every bit as enticing as its cover.

Gracious Tide, Take Me Home is a frequently stunning and achingly earnest debut effort whose sugary gossamer moments find themselves perfectly underlined with a bitterly sad aesthetic, but it would definitely benefit from the rougher edges that the band bring to their live show.

It's a work of craft from a continually rewarding, continually American, singer-songwriter.