Lovelorn, honest, poignant and emotional in the best way imaginable.

Ray sounds rather like a lot of other people, but nothing really makes her stand out.

Wainwright and Ronson come together with a well-mannered tightness and proficiency that, at best, astounds.

The production of this album in so short a time is nothing short of miraculous, and listening to it is an experience to savour.

A collaboration enrichingly beneficial to both sides - and to the listener.

Tales From Barrel House is by no means without flaw, it's too untameable for that--but when it shines at its brightest, it is every bit as alive as the people and lands it attempts to portray.

When it finds itself so hopelessly in thrall to lost love, the record can cross a line into mawkish self-pity, the classic pitfall of many a confessional breakup album, and its appeal can then wear thin.

Ward is one of this genre's best: playful, diverse, and endearing, he has the crucial thing needed to make it work: charm.

This is the best and most complete set of songs Spiritualized have made since Ladies And Gentlemen.

Fans of airy independent music are sure to welcome this disc with open arms, but a few minor quibbles mean that the rest of us might want to hold back for more until the red carpet is rolled out.

At 15 tracks, it's possibly a bit too long - but this is a man who's lived one hell of a life and has a lot of tales to tell. Indeed, it's a fair shout that this could well be the most entertaining autobiography you'll listen to all year.

It's not a bad first album; it's just not a great one, either.

Maps & Atlases have produced an album with some real bite. It's a collection of tracks that needs proper digestion in order to pick through the intricate layering and amalgam of styles that mix the band's longstanding math influences with a clear inclination towards African rhythms.

Roberts and Morrison have crafted an elegant and vivid love letter to the music and culture of Lewis, and certainly brings to life the storytellings and traditions of this remote outpost.

For such an experimental band maybe they could have pushed these remixes further instead of into a no-man's land of accessible. For Battles, this is unchallenging territory.

At 22 tracks, its formulaic and mechanistic approach begins to wear thin at times--there's just too much going on to properly digest it all--but as a compendium of chart-ready fodder, Nicki has honed in on precisely what works for her with remarkable ease.

Their most lukewarm effort. What was, in their early days, delicious in its languor is now turgid and inert, struggling for hooks with only the most tepid sense of melody.

Overall, New Build's debut is one of subtlety and finesse.

The Cornshed Sisters display moments of Joni Mitchell's exquisite songcraft, the choral elegance of The Roches and witty buffoonery of John Grant amalgamating Tell Tales into its own refreshing niche in the ever-expanding folk cartel.

The trio's sixth album Mr Impossible finds Black Dice at their most accessible and most aggravating.

This is an album packed with promise but which tails off somewhat at the close.

The overall vibe of Dear... is a strangely baroque take on loss and self pity.

It's a joyful, undeniably positive album but more significantly Electric Cables has the potential to grow into one of those cult records that may not make a sizeable impact on the musical landscape but becomes cherished by a devoted group of listeners.

With their eclectic cocktail of rock, pop, blues, jazz, soul, funk and traditional African music, these grandparents can still knock out an irresistible groove to match the best, but perhaps they need to be reminded that they should do it alone a little more often.

It's an accomplished debut album that lays the foundations for a very bright future.

The legions who bought and enjoyed El Camino are sure to enjoy this unofficial second helping and those who yearn for more of the freakier blues of Rebennack's 1960s heyday are certain to agree this brilliant gumbo is just what the doctor ordered.

Playful and spontaneous.

When it does flare up at its brightest though, [despite sounding a little burnt out at times] Weapons is exhilarating, a real call to arms from a band that deserves every bit of their continued prevalence.