There are hooks and tunes galore, and whether you’re looking for destructive enormity or a quaint Sunday morning soundtrack, you’ll find it in this album somewhere.

There’s depth here, but it’s the introspective kind; this is the sound of untold wonder.

At times, Spectre does feel very much like a serious album, but the tone occasionally seems inconsistent.

They may have hit national treasure status a while back, with all the advantages and pitfalls that that can bring, but as long as they carry on producing music with as much soul, heart and beauty that’s contained on The Take Off And Landing Of Everything, Elbow will be with us for some while to come.

It’s a great release by one of the UK’s most promising bands, and lays down a foundation for them to build on being melodious and aggressive.

It’s a shame that this is an album slightly prone to dwelling on its ambience. Still, this is a promising collaboration which Denison, Hacke and Kotue will hopefully choose to reprise and develop.

Love Letters is great. There’s potential here, and it feels like it had the ability to be a nigh-on perfect record, but for reasons obscured--probably the brick-subtle lo-fi-ness--it feels unfinished. It’s like a final draft.

Silent Treatment is an album that is certainly bursting with ambition, but that ambition seems at this point in time to be to the detriment of the songs.

While they may not be the finished article just yet, there is enough promise here to suggest an exciting future ahead.

A short, sweet ride, and one worth taking again and again.

All in, this is a welcome return.

G I R L may not be breaking many new boundaries, but it’s guaranteed to keep Williams in ludicrously large hats for some time to come.

Basically, this is the sound of a band happy to be coasting, which can be a chore to listen to.

Too often, the same formula appears with uninspiring choruses being too frequent; whilst these short, sharp bursts of fuzzy punk sound great in small doses, this collection will probably find itself confined to the shelf before long, as its longevity may be questionable with little poppy catchiness present.

Highly engaging and tactfully succinct, Axxa / Abraxas is one to share with your friends and lovers, a soundtrack to your groovy summer.

It is a marvellous creation from a premiere talent, and deserves both your time and hard-earned money.

The Men have clearly reached the level where they can turn their hand to anything and, once again, it has worked a treat.

Another excellent album from a band who know how to play to their strengths.

At just eight tracks, it may not be the longest of their albums, but it’s certainly one of their most accessible.

Champs deserve to be gracing grander environs on the back of this album, and while that may not happen, Down Like Gold does ensure that they’ll have thousands of eyes trained on them when they make their next move.

The Notwist is an apt example of a band that is making good music for no other reason than because making music is what they love to do, which Close To The Glass demonstrates in spades.​

At times, Estoile Naiant is a challenging and occasionally thrilling listen, as Key Embedded particularly demonstrates. But it’s almost too typically Warp in its sound and composition.

Nothing new, then, but Manhattan is the indie equivalent of a guilty pleasure.

Ultimately, Blue Film is a decent, enjoyable album that hints at Hemerlein’s undoubted talent whilst never pulling up too many trees.

It’s not a perfect album--few are--but it’s definitely one that’ll have you ensnared

As pretty much anyone will tell you, this sound hits more than it misses.

It’s rare that you get an album by an established artist that genuinely shocks and irrevocably repositions them. Blank Project is one of those albums. This is a hugely significant return.

The essence of what made Penguin Cafe Orchestra is here: the music is dreamlike and does indeed touch the heart of the listener.