Yet it's too comfortable, old ideas diluted to homeopathic proportions, results half-hearted and strangely spiritless, songs feeling overly long.

Shields is full of both genuine surprises and moments of transcendent beauty.

The band's formula is nowhere near broke, and while this tenth album might not necessarily expand on that greatly, it doesn't mean that anything about the band's music is in need of fixing.

Despite the groovy intentions and the unmissable smell of too many cooks in the kitchen, their album often proves to be pretty damn tasty, indeed.

Tempest is a flawed but mostly fascinating album.

The record drags when it should soar.

Be it the sawing blasts of guitar that rushes you through the poignant Lose My Way, the spiralling vortex of Dead & Gone, upon which you helplessly bob along in or the careering momentum of Kopter, it's never anything other than intoxicating and brilliantly realised.

Maybe it's familiarity, maybe it's contempt, maybe it's something to do with both, but there's nothing on True which marks itself out distinctly enough for it to warrant more than a passing glance.

Jens sticks to what he knows, combining his spry guitar playing and razor sharp pop sensibility.

The faithful will lap up every eccentric note, of course, but there's much here for the uninitiated to delight in as well.

The lasting impression remains one of an unruly middle child, difficult to love, but unmistakably bearing choice hallmarks of its older siblings.

The largest problem with Coexist is something shared with the debut. A lot of it just washes over you without leaving a trace. It's always high quality, assembled with a craftsman's eye for gorgeously unfussy detail, but it can leave you unengaged. It's soporific, far from unpleasantly, but in a way that means you can come out the other side unmoved.

More often than not, most of the songs feel like they're only 75% there; so close to really coalescing into something special.

What is provided here [is] superb playing and a peerless collective spirit, along with a clear and nuanced production that is never intrusive.

My Head Is An Animal deserves the attention it is getting, because it is a well-crafted, spirited debut album with soaring choruses and delicious harmonies.

Unfortunately, just like The Vaccines debut, there is very little to really make you stand up and take notice.

It is, all in, a fantastic first effort.

For large parts of this record, perhaps for the first time since the group's inception, Animal Collective sounds like a band doing little more than going through the motions.

Sun is an album that conveys the full spectrum of emotions, but at the same time it manages to never sound convoluted or patched together.

Endlessly listenable and beautifully performed, Algiers is another fine entry into this dependably excellent band's catalogue.

Mature Themes is simple self-indulgence and that's rarely worth listening to.

There are a number of misfires, and no amount of positivity can hide them.

A largely attractive album, then, but one that by its finish may well have you yearning for an injection of the funk we know Gonzales can provide.

The resulting wash of sound makes for an escapist experience par excellence.

This is an extremely fine piece of work, another auspicious addition to the already impressive Border Community canon.

If Deacon wasn't a force to be reckoned with before, then by gum, he is now.

They've once again made a brilliantly over the top record.

Whilst it is certainly unlikely that Key To The Kuffs will do much to alter prevailing opinion towards his work, the record will serve as a worthy addition to Dumile's increasingly fascinating discography.