Join The Dots is a very good album, derivative maybe, but much more than the sum of its parts.

A better way to appreciate the record isn’t in one beefy sitting, but rather in bitesize portions. Devour it slowly and you’ll be able to savour its flavour.

Snow Globe, for all its charm, isn’t the record to re-instate their importance. Instead, it feels destined to languish in the oeuvre of vaguely interesting ‘alternative’ Christmas albums.

Her ability to micromanage is clearly great. It’s not the most unique take on folk, but it is rife with charm; her intimate, sympathetic sounds soothe the most restless minds.

It means Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds end the year as they began it: demonstrating they are a band in very fine health.

Sunbather is an emotionally overwhelming but truly absorbing listen. But best of all, it’s cleansing.

Overall, from the Hail To The Thief-like guitar line and giddy chorus of Ferocisimo to the undeniable Eras, Wed 21 is an album that might not change any lives but is full of surprises nonetheless.

One hopes that the Austin band takes lessons from both the successes and failures of Fellow Travelers: taking risks here and there often pays off, but don’t mess with a vocal formula that works.

While there’s no doubt that Fire Within is a positive progression for Birdy, it is not without its faults. On occasions she does slip back into the formulaic territory that encompassed many of the covers on her debut.

At the end of this quite exhausting album, it is hard to ascertain whether anything has been resolved. However, if this is what Krug needs to move on, then Julia With Blue Jeans On is a testament to the healing power of creativity.

It adds another fine collection of songs to her already impressive catalogue, songs whose inwardly-focused subject matter renders the music more restrained than the punky pop of career highlight Cyrk.

Spaces demonstrates a prodigious, world-class talent that shines through regardless of format or circumstance.

Smug, smarmy, metropolitan critics might declare the album generic and derivative, but the kid undeniably has tunes--more tunes than such people have ever written even in their wildest rock star fantasies.

This album is full of fun, and peppered with potential classics.

I’m A Dreamer is never going to set the world alight with innovative new sounds, but these songs are perfect little gems that possess a timeless quality.

Pretty, simple songs which nevertheless were absolutely littered with hooks.

Anyone enthralled by the previous album may feel there is something missing here. Instead, what we have is the true expression of the artist finding salvation in musical release and forging new paths using established forms.

Like the best Black Keys songs, the band’s tracks hold up independent of their pristine production as examples of how to combine undeniable talent, a love for the past, and a personal story to create a sound that’s simultaneously throwback and unique.

[A] chaotic, unwieldy mess.

While their venture into psychedelia was a failed experiment, everything about Free Your Mind, from its title to its monotonous songs, is undeniably lazy.

It is a testament to Eminem’s enduring talent that the album never feels laboured or even slightly dated. Instead, it is a perfect reflection of the world of Marshall Mathers in 2013.

Salute is an undeniably solid album, and has a lot more going for it than similar efforts from many of Little Mix’s pop peers this year.

Due to the short duration of many of these tracks, it all feels a bit lightweight and insubstantial.

Throughout ARTPOP signifier upon signifier is piled on top of sometimes brilliant melodies, creating enough room for breathless readings of Gaga’s ‘art’ certainly, but failing on the more basic level as engaging pop music.

Their strengths lie within rocky, repetitive grooves and guitar wizardry, with Johnson’s own appearance aptly resembling that of a wizard. Tellingly, the band only once surpass a running time of six minutes on Back To Land. In this case, less is more.

There is much potential here--Arthur clearly has far more to offer music than the Marcus Collins‘ of this world--yet it feels frustratingly undeveloped.

Peace On Venus is arguably the band’s finest (half-)hour since Dilate.

Ozanne has stayed true to his roots and is peddling a gloriously emotional torrent of untamed electronica, soul-pop and darkwave. It’s both uplifting and tormented, both grandiose and intimate.