As Passion Pit albums go, it may not sound drastically different to what has gone before, but, nevertheless, it feels like a fresh start.

Jekyll Island is probably not going to be their breakthrough album to a wider public, but their forthcoming debut European tour is bound to bring them some new fans.

There are genuine surprises on The Fine Art Of Hanging On for long-term fans.

Its strength is the number of differing styles it turns to largely satisfying effect, reasserting Mugwump’s status as a producer who knows how to entertain and charm in equal measure. This satisfying, toe-twitching debut-of-sorts will only enhance those claims.

Portico have certainly succeeded in reinventing themselves, and they sound like a completely different band to Portico Quartet. The flipside of this is less positive: with their synth textures and post-dubstep influences, they don’t sound all that different from much of the pop music being made at the moment.

It’s a surprising, hugely satisfying trip from a transformed band.

Yet even with his occasional indulgences, No Sad Songs is an impressive comeback.

In many ways it offers lessons in collaborative best practice, with individual sonic identities preserved, yet with a willingness to divert from usual methods on both sides proves it’s much more than just a stop-gap in between their respective next albums.

Bonxie doesn’t contain too many surprises, and it doesn’t really have many answers to the bigger questions, but it does have a number of brilliantly written songs.

If New Glow is anything to go by, the creative well seems to be starting to run dry.

Whether or not it’s enough to push Stables into a more prominent place, however, remains to be seen, but surely a wider acknowledgement of her prowess can’t be far away.

Ripe is yet another strong offering from the UK’s most collaborative and consistent regional music scenes.

An album that finds Wire once again proving that they’re still one of the most inventive and exciting bands around.

An album that’s more mature and focussed than Stealing Sheep’s debut, harnessing all of their interesting quirks within a showcase of excellent songwriting.

The reality is that Glitterbug just doesn’t excite or leave any lasting impression.

Lyrically it is rich pickings for those that savour the words so often masked by either sheer noise or mumbled vocals, as O’Brien proves how he has developed into a rather impressive poet.

Flawed as it may be at times, Froot emerges as Diamandis’ strongest album to date, mainly because it’s the first one that strongly stamps her own personality on proceedings.

Occasionally the wish remains Lord Huron would vary their delivery a bit more.

Makes A King takes it up a notch: the same ingredients and patterns are there, but The Very Best now sound much more like a fully operational band, rather than a fortuitous hodgepodge of singing and sampling.

Fast Food is a well-defined and powerful musical statement from an artist enjoying her time in the limelight.

The message might be shorter this time around, but it is just as pointed and effective.

A hugely impressive return from Drenge, who have once again produced a collection of songs that will leave you feeling dirty but, more importantly, completely satisfied.

What it may lack in cohesion, it more than makes up for in adventure and it is certainly one hell of a captivating ride.

Cerulean Salt was a tough album to top but, with this bleak yet beautiful follow-up, Crutchfield might have done just that.

Ultimately, there is no getting away from the fact that WMABMT is a remarkable album. In fact, it is hard to think of anything else quite like it.

Carousel One exists as an album on which “meticulous” is the watchword; on which Sexsmith’s mastery of his craft is more readily apparent than ever; and on which a decades-long career has taken a turn for the cheerful.

He’s shown that he can write great songs, albeit not quite as consistently as one would like. Despite that, What For? still contains over twenty minutes of some of the year’s most decadently enjoyable music. A treat.

Despite the album’s central concept and expansive nature, it is in fact a tight and cohesive work. There’s rarely any self-indulgence, making these songs in total Ufomammut’s most direct and accessible work to date.