If it's feel good, throwaway pop music you're after, you'd be well advised to leave your inhibitions at the door and join them.

The combination of Lewis and Rodriguez-Lopez seems promising, albeit one that could use a few tweaks and a tad less self-indulgence on the conceptual front.

The only evidence we have is a middling album marking a new chapter in a diva's life that doesn't sound any cheerier than the chapters that went before.

It's a challenging but ultimately very rewarding listening experience.

Humbug is another intriguing step in the evolution of Britain's most exciting guitar band.

If you're a fan of her previous work, or even just like some good old-fashioned, earnestly well-crafted songs, then this is an honourable addition to the genre.

He can doubtless get a party started every bit as effectively as either of those two [Paul van Dyk & Diplo] but, on this record at least, in dance terms he finds himself rather falling between two stools as he enlarges the walls of his big tent.

It's hard to know where you stand with it. There are moments where the listener is engulfed in it all, but others when it feels cold and detached.

For someone who has a lot to say and is such a unique figure in music, it's a disappointment that Light isn't as captivating as it should be.

Those needing something to occupy themselves with during Annie's prolonged absence from the fold will find plenty to keep them happy (and, at the same time, a little bit sad) on My Guilty Pleasure.

Regardless of how good the voice is, if the music does not follow suit then there's only so far you can get.

The Black River Killer EP isn't the best place for Blitzen Trapper newbies to start--that would be Furr or Wild Mountain Nation. But, as a stopgap for existing fans, it's well worth a download or--if one's feeling old-fashioned--a trip to the music emporium.

Television is an essential purchase for fans of West African artists, but should also be investigated by anyone who loves heartfelt, impeccably performed music.

Origin: Orphan is even more extraordinary; a howling, mechanistic piece of post-rock in the vein of Godspeed You Black Emperor!

At only nine tracks long, Everything Is New never outstays its welcome, and is the perfect riposte for anyone who had previously dismissed Penate as a scenester who'd got lucky.

Speech Therapy is a startlingly good debut album from a woman who could well be the biggest thing in UK hip-hop for many a long year.

The whole thing whizzes by in just over half an hour, making it perfect for repeat listens. Reatard may not be for everyone's taste, and some tracks do find him coasting along, but it's an album bursting with confidence and energy.

My Old Familiar Friend seems to be an album with modest aspirations which, for the most part, it achieves.

This is a remarkable album in every sense.

Hospice succeeds by conveying deeply personal traumas as universally appreciable truths, until one man's lonely, painful catharsis transmogrifies into something panoramic and shared by all.

It is this contrast between the mundanity of the everyday life, personal vanities and dissatisfactions of a bunch of self-styled "young adults" and the terrific roar and hyperbole of their dirty, dark riff-laden music that provides the neat twist in Pissed Jeans' tail and gives this album its extra frisson.

While the two outer instrumentals are undeniably moving, this record is definitely Mark Lanegan's. There is no voice quite like his--and none that leaves the same impact.

What might start as a project which has specialist appeal only therefore becomes something well worth hearing, a lesson in how to make the most from an instrument with seemingly limited range, without overdoing the beard scratching.

The Bachelor sounds like another attempt by Wolf to perfect something that he got pretty much right on his first album.

Miraculously, the whole thing hangs together perfectly, each song complementing the last and what should be a mess of disparate influences, becomes a cohesive whole.

As ever from this source, the songs are neatly crafted, with a touch of folk music added to their melodies, not to mention the instantly memorable and quotable lyrics.

Running For The Drum has a lot to offer, and is sure to stand out as one of 2009's more rewarding oddities.

While it hasn't got them to their destination, this album is a definite step in the right direction.