Dance Fever is a startling return, full of all the elements which made us sit up and take notice of Welch in the first place.

At just 35 minutes in total and with just one track exceeding the three minute mark, the record is a grotty mess of a quickie which nevertheless gets the job done.

Fresh, inventive and likely to be one of the more promising releases of 2012.

Add in the highly personal genesis of its composition, easily audible in both lyrics and melodies, and the listener's satisfaction is complete.

Old Friends New Friends sees the artist settle his legacy thus far and clear the way before he gets stuck into another project.

Those who want instant gratification and singalong anthems will be disappointed – this is more of an album to immerse yourself in, and lose yourself to, and also confirms that Nilüfer Yanya is one of this country’s most exciting talents.

Over the last few years, she’s become one of America’s finest songwriters, and this album shows her continuing that trajectory.

The beats sometimes bang in typical trap fashion, like on Topia Twins or Meltdown, but are not afraid to go surreal and alien.

With Garden Of Ashes he secures his position as not just a musician’s musician, but one who looks set to grow a wider following.

Home is a significant statement from a hugely impressive producer at the peak of his powers.

Edgy and highly innovative for the most part, Pivot do have some so-so moments too. But overall this is good stuff; they are trying to push the boundaries of music and, as a result, they sound like nobody else.

A little patience pays dividends which, for the first time with an Andrew Bird release, are as emotional as they are cerebral.

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 last just 25 minutes, but One Million Love Songs doesn’t feel half-sketched or incomplete. On the contrary, once it’s finished, you’ll just want to go straight back to the beginning to wallow in this strange, otherworldly gem of a record.

While some fans will always have their favourite Deftones album (White Pony being the most popular), it’s becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish what their best album is, especially when they’re in form as hot as this.

Wiley may be a little further along the grime road than when he started with It's Not Me It's You, but he continues to keep the genre travelling at an impressively quick speed.

The basic template is still there – a slightly moody post-punk atmosphere, with plenty of room for Coxon’s saxophone – but the songs feel more fully formed this time around.

Impermanence might have started out as a personal project, and it is an economical record consisting of six minimalist tracks, but self and city both run through it, giving a great sense of scale and scope.

Koushik has produced that rare thing, an album with which to relax while admiring its musical content.

It’s Prince’s ghost that reigns supreme over the record, and while she nails both absorbing his spirit and infusing her own, there are times when you wish she would push the envelope a little harder, as she has on previous records.

There’s plenty of ambient music that dwells in moodiness and tonal shade, but sunlight and heat like this only comes around roughly once a year.

Ian Brown just keeps on getting better. As it stands, his way seems like the only way to go.

It sounds odd for a genre like this, but Tunnel Blanket might be best approached with a shut-down brain, ignoring the tired qualms of originality, and just let the atmosphere envelop.

This is a record you can dance to, even if it’s also a record you can cry to. The sum is an inspiring record both for the creator and the listener.

Some people may see Songs In The Dark as a curio, simply recorded for in order to keep the legacy of the McGarrigle canon alive and well. Yet it’s the black humour and obvious love for the material that lifts this into another sphere.

Compared variously to The Flaming Lips and Grandaddy, Midlake's take on '70s soft rock is actually better than both.

Different Every Time succeeds, though, in illustrating just how versatile and original this creative spirit has been, and how he will no doubt cast a long shadow of influence in the future.

Microshift finds Hookworms drawing a line under their history and taking their first step on a new adventure. They’ve not put a foot wrong yet.