If some of the sound could be better defined, and the special effects shaken on with a slightly lighter hand, it would be more coherent and ultimately more impressive.

As opening statements go, Better Living is comprehensive and, as a hardcore punk album, it is extremely successful.

When Various Cruelties gets just the right balance, the sound is beautiful to listen to, and would be perfect for soundtrack for summer.

While the melodies are stodgy and predictable, the lyrics don't help a great deal.

Drokk should not be dismissed as a niche project--it's dark, rich and compelling in its own right.

Strangely enough, as short and freespirited as the tracks are, the album itself is a behemoth that takes some listening dedication to unwrap and to assign meaning to--and it's an effort that's well worth it.

Seasons Of My Soul... rarely moves above midtempo or out of 6/8 time, and in its warm duvet of production it makes for a soupy listen, even more so on the second or third spin. But that won't diminish the album's efficacy as music for dinner parties or - let's face it - tender baby-making.

There is a lot at play here, both sonically and lyrically, and the album rewards repeated listens. Most importantly, Little Broken Hearts is an album that just works.

Despite the prevalence of rootsy Americana throughout the album, there are a pleasing variety of styles on display.

Minor rants notwithstanding, Heartbreaking Bravery is a decent album.

Kweller's talent as a pop-rock songwriter is plainly evident, but despite the consistent cheeriness that's offered across Go Fly A Kite, it never manages to shake off the feeling of being merely an appetiser for a main course that never materialises.

Gravenhurst's most solid and unsettling work to date.

His fans will lap this up for being another solid Brendan Benson album.

Whilst R.I.P. certainly has some of the cold detachment that often characterises electronic music, it is also a remarkably thoughtful and creative work that has clearly benefited from a more personal and human compositional approach.

There's no pretentions, no concepts, just an exploration of music and Zammuto is starting to write the book of the future once again.

It's when listening in this way [on headphones] that the nuances of the music, with its dark underbelly, open up and reveal themselves in a weird yet absorbing way.

Electra Heart showcases glimpses of a clever, ballsy pop star.

Adventures... is an accomplished album, one which makes the most out of not over-complicating things.

If you're willing to put the effort in, then you will be rewarded with an achingly beautiful and immersive album.

There's more emphasis on guitars, and they appear to have ingested a whole load of pharmaceuticals, but at heart they're a great pop band, and their ability to write a heart-rending tune certainly hasn't been hampered.

As frenetic as it is instant, melodic and catchy.

An energetic ride with plenty of musical thrills and spills which will sound a treat live, on the road or in the club, but one which doesn't fully convince when the vocals are added to the mix.

A welcoming listen, it begs for repeated plays, each time opening itself up further.

At its best, June 2009 feels like a fuzzy, readymade memory. Yet, problematically, there's the paradox that whilst proceedings are worthy, they're too anaemic for wider public consumption - over half of the songs are under three minutes, most well under.

The simple fact about Death Grips is they will divide audiences. Some will take to their hardcore pandering. Others will scuttle back to their FM radio stations.

In her quest to make her own brand of gimmick free progressive pop, Santigold has made an album that, for all its faults, intermittently works. And when it does hit the mark it does so exceedingly well.

It's fun while it lasts, but it's easily forgotten once over.

An album that could have built on the promise of the last, and instead dilutes it in an almost certainly vain pitch for chart success.