Lupe Fiasco's intelligent lyrics and strong beats keep him a comfortable arms-length away from hip-pop, without displaying any signs of the arrogance of a Kanye West, just an intelligent social awareness.

While The Golden Record is far from perfect, and occasionally falters and fails to make the impression it should, there is much to recommend here.

There’s nothing on Alone that could stand shoulder by shoulder to the band’s genuine classics, but perhaps there doesn’t need to be. At 65, Hynde has proved all she has to, and at this stage, it’s enough to hear that marvellous voice sneering its way through some new songs.

It’s a supremely impressive and affecting album that is certain to propel him to an even greater echelon.

The EPs are kept distinct on two separate discs. Whilst they vary in texture and mood, they also work remarkably well together, as if representing two sides of the same coin.

Scalping have produced 35 minutes of vehemence and vigour that has enough depth to repay repeat listens. If Slavestate was an industrial-dance crossover, this is more like a metal-techno crucifixion.

There’s a lot to enjoy in Ambiguous Desire, an undeniably a splendidly crafted and blissfully atmospheric album. You just sometimes wish that Parks had leaned a bit further into the grit and chaos of the US club scene that inspired her.

Overall, Invisible Life is Helado Negro’s best album yet.

Good Songs for Bad People maintains a high standard almost throughout, but it does tail off a little disappointingly at the end.

To say it works well is an understatement.

Despite some excellent high points, Tasmania appears jumbled as a whole and there are too many tracks that just don’t hit the bullseye for it to be upheld as the best Pond have recorded.

Negrito creates a musical gallery in which each song is a well-crafted piece of folk art, bringing together fragments of genres to create something from the great unknown, something deeply provocative and enchanting. The answer to whether we’ve lost our minds yet is simple; at the end of this album, yes we have.

There’s A Riot Going On takes longer to reveal its treasures, but ends up being an enduring and rewarding listen, their best since 2009’s Popular Songs.

Silver Tongue is her most consistent album to date.

Wainwright and Ronson come together with a well-mannered tightness and proficiency that, at best, astounds.

If you can cope with the intensity, there are rewards aplenty to be found here - Sons And Daughters are the perfect group to fill the hole that The Delgados left when they split up last year.

Emily, Jessica and Camilla have put a new spin on an old formula by reducing their sound to its simplest form--and for the most part it is a success.

While long-term fans will lap up the album, there’s still not really that killer commercial breakthrough which will see them following the likes of Foals into bigger arenas. However, as another reassuringly consistent entry in the Dutch Uncles canon, this will do nicely.

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.

Yet even if it does run out of steam a bit towards the end, there’s enough on Tension II to cement Kylie’s reputation as the Queen of Pop. Whether it would have worked better as an EP is debatable, but it complements its predecessor nicely without ever quite overshadowing it.

Stark yet still overtly dramatic, it's an astonishing showcase of confessional songwriting.

While not perfect, The Fool is a very promising début that grows in stature on every listen. If you're willing to put the time in, this could easily live up to the hype.

There is a clarity of musical and lyrical vision here that is rarely found in modern music.

Over the past eight years a strong case has been made for Tyler being the most interesting figure in modern rap music, and despite the low-stakes presentation Don’t Tap The Glass furthers this case with its inventive arrangements, fiery verses and club-ready production.

With prevalent lyrical themes of death and loss, Ceremony is not music for those seeking sunny summer escapism. Yet when compared to UK gothic revivalists such as Esben And The Witch, it’s an album of striking confidence, immense compositional flair and colossal, richly cinematic arrangements.

The Baby is an album that, the longer you live with it, the more you grow to love it. It’s a debut that slowly winds itself into your heart, and promises even better things to come.

It may not be up there with the best of The National, but Get Sunk is definitely a new avenue for Berninger to explore. That closing choral shout of “Get sunk! Get drunk!” on the final track Times Of Difficulty feels both playful and emotional, as the best of Berninger’s work can do.

When the stories are this well told, it doesn’t matter that Dropkick Murphys keep re-writing them.