Shin Joong Hyun has long been a cornerstone figure in South Korea's rock 'n' roll history, and Light In The Attic have done a commendable job in helping cement his place in the wider scope of rock 'n' roll the world over.

It’s true that the steady pace of the album may turn some people off (there’s barely any percussion to be found on the entire record), but for folk fans especially, there’s a rich vein of history mined on Bonny Light Horseman that makes for rewarding listening. Some songs, after all, are just timeless.

What impresses most is the flowing musicality, the invention, the subtlety of many of the effects.

After this blisteringly good start, Cardinology settles down into a languid country-rock groove - beautiful at times, intensely listenable and professional, but probably not breaking any new ground.

No matter how many times you listen to Nightmare Ending, you will probably never figure out why it was given its title: sad or happy, deaths and endings are not treated on the album as nightmarish, but as natural to humanity as is emotion.

That he has bared his soul without revealing his identity is perhaps the hallmark of the modern singer-songwriter, but don't expect him to remain hidden for too long. With emotions this strong, the mask is bound to slip some time.

FIBS is an album that shows Anna Meredith is excelling at what she does best – creating forward-thinking, engaging music that isn’t replicated elsewhere.

It’s a record that, the longer you live with it, the more its little subtleties make themselves clear. It builds on the strengths of Collapsed In Sunbeams and ends up creating an even more rounded album.

This is an album that incorporates a cornucopia of musical styles and weaves them together perfectly to create a cohesive and quite elegant whole.

It’s an album that crystallises just what makes Arcade Fire so great, and when they hit the mark, as they do several times on this record, there’s nobody to touch them. It’s good to have them back on form.

It’s a worthy successor to Beyond Skin, and could even bag the Mercury Award which its predecessor somehow missed out on.

Twenty One is an excellent album replete with brilliant, clean, original production and instantly memorable songs.

This is a quiet album, simmering with authenticity and potential.

Killer Mike and El-P have been speaking out about the deep rot at the core of the USA for their whole careers, and with this album they add several more tunes to a rich canon of protest music that will galvanise an oppositional movement.

7 might have been a gamble for Beach House then, but they don’t appear to have lost anything. What remains to be seen is whether they stay on the same path of progress with their next record.

There’s not a bad track on British Road Movies, and those who have been pining for years to hear Jackson’s voice again will be more than satisfied. It may not be the return of the Long Blondes, but this could evolve into something even better.

Genuine Negro Jig is a stunner in every sense. Its music is as fresh and innovative as it is deeply rooted in its time and place.

It’s better than some actual Sonic Youth albums, and that alone makes it an essential listen. A thriller from the first second to the last.

While not every song is as successful--Mrs Lincoln… doesn’t make quite enough of a very old joke (compared to, say, …Beethoven’s How Do I Get to Carnegie Hall?), and A Little Bit Like Fun is a little bit slight--these are trifles; Hippopotamus is a big, joyous beast of an album.

A Bridge To Far shows them to be masters of their craft, comfortable in their own mini-world while incrementally improving their sound and consolidating their legacy.

Poison Season is another excellent Destroyer album, packed with songs that are graceful, beautiful and, yes, hummable.

Plastic Hearts is a change in direction that works really well. With names like Billy Idol and Joan Jett guesting, there’s even a sample of a Stevie Nicks song in case you were any doubt that this is a Miley Cyrus album that your dad would feel comfortable listening to.

Not only is it one of Costello’s best collaborative efforts, it’s also one of his best albums full stop. Recommended for Costello newcomers and long-time believers alike.

Breaking Up may sound tinny, it may grate occasionally, and vocalist Russell The Disaster's voice may well get on your nerves after a while - yet you'll be hard pressed to find another record this year with as much soul and honesty as this one.

This might not be it [a landmark record], but by god does it sound like it wants to be at points towards the end. Night Life is very, very good.

A suave album full of competently executed ideas imbued throughout with a distinctive mood.

Dulli is a man still capable of the best in sweat-soaked R&B flavoured rock ‘n’ roll, but he now has a range of subtler, more graceful maneuvers too.

Whilst Boats appear more polished, the energetic ramshackle anthem of Great Skulls seems keen to remind everyone that it’s not precision, but feeling that is important.