This is an urgent, enormously enjoyable LP.

Going by the quality of Tourist In This Town, there’ll be an awful lot more people loving Allison Crutchfield pretty soon.

While it seems silly to complain about the lack of a singer on an instrumental album, she did lend many of the songs an emotional weight which, while not lacking here, doesn’t quite have the same impact.

With Garden Of Ashes he secures his position as not just a musician’s musician, but one who looks set to grow a wider following.

SweetSexySavage, despite its gung-ho title, turns out to be a fine album, albeit a couple of songs too long.

For now, Elbow have created another record that comfortably matches up to anything they’ve released to date.

There are so many ideas, grooves and interesting deviations on Pas Pire Pop that it is impossible not to be drawn in by it. Rather than being overwhelming, it’s a record that stuns with its hypnotic and jubilant rhythms.

Despite a few too many lacklustre and inconsequential tracks, there are some incredible highs here and songs that will sound phenomenal when played live.

Sacred Paws strike a match by igniting the themes and musicality of their record, and the result is hugely satisfying. There is something ballsy and defiant in the simplicity of the duo’s approach and directness.

It’s possibly not the massively successful step forward that it probably thinks it is, but there’s enough promise shining through to make Menace Beach well worth keeping an eye on.

Yesterday’s Gone is one of the finest debuts you’ll hear for quite some time.

Comfortably impressive, it’s difficult to see how Near To The Wild Heart Of Life will leave the turntable once it gets spinning. Despite being less striking than its predecessor, it’s another great Japandroids album.

Feed The Rats is everything you could hope for from Pigsx7. It’s heavy, stoned, accessible and transformative.

As its title implies, Return To Ommadawn is nothing new of course, but it is a happy reunion that will please Oldfield’s fans greatly. It may not necessarily introduce him to a new audience, but it leads those in the know to a familiar place they know well.

The two records are essentially similar in their mood and effect, and the snag with this album is that it follows the formula set by its predecessor uncomfortably closely.

It’s tough to spot much progress on Foxhole when compared to Wooden Head. In fact, it’s more devolution than evolution but the simple sparseness works well in moderation for some well penned songs.

They may not turn out to be a Lee & Nancy for the 21st century, but Gentlewoman, Ruby Man is a massively enjoyable listen and is hopefully only the prelude to more work between the pair.

Elinor Dougall has obviously taken her time to get this album sounding just as she wants – Strange Warnings and Poison Ivy first appeared on 2013’s Future Vanishes EP – and, on the majority of these cuts, that time has been unquestionably well spent. It doesn’t all work. ... Stellular finishes strong, however.

Future Politics is another impressive step in the evolution of Austra: while the band’s second album was a move towards shiny, commercial pop, the follow up sees a more sparse, fragile collection of songs.

Overall, Migration represents another step forward in Bonobo’s musical development, keeping what was already strong in his music but adding more colour and depth.

It’s possible that Oczy Mlody will disappoint those looking for an easy hit, or the sound of old-school Lips, but for those willing to persist and explore, it’s a work of nuance and intelligence.

The xx have taken in all the experiences and lessons they have learned since their breakthrough and come up with their most adventurous and quietly uplifting release to date. It’s so good, it may even banish those January blues.

It’s maybe not something to play every day, but an ideal companion piece for when you’re feeling more contemplative than usual.

Whilst this emotional look back [fourth track Sandlot] might suggest they’ve got one foot in the grave, there’s plenty of fight left yet. In the past, this would have taken the form of furious punk, but this time around the Dropkicks have expanded their sound out into something far grander than anything they’ve attempted before.

This is an album that incorporates a cornucopia of musical styles and weaves them together perfectly to create a cohesive and quite elegant whole.

Alabama 3 are at their best when they let go, embrace the fact that they’ve successfully sustained their eclectic sound and bizarre personas for over 20 years, and lose themselves to their own warped version of the blues.

For all its heavy themes, Forward Constant Motion is an exciting, energetic, surprisingly accessible listen.

Fifteen or so albums in, Bamboo Diner In The Rain is not much more, but crucially nothing less, than another reliably solid album from one of our most consistent acts. A resounding success, then.