It’s a tough genre to make a lasting impression on primarily because guitars are somewhat limited as instruments, but the strong presence of electronica clearly makes a difference here where it is less evident in other shoegaze/dream pop acts.

Much of Nervous is a little heavy for what is, on the surface at least, a gentle, lilting folk inflected album. However, there are moments of utter joyfulness to be found.

This is undoubtedly Greenwood’s work, and he writes with ever-growing assurance and colour, broadening the orchestral palette. It’s just a shame this album as a whole could not be arranged in a more satisfying way.

At times, the music is so rousing and glorious that it’s easy to just not care about the fact that they’re heading down a well-worn path. Needham and Violet have conjured up a heavily melodic album that is as surprisingly well thought out as it is satisfyingly loud.

He certainly manages to squeeze a lot of words in to this mercilessly concise album. Sometimes the results are touching, sometimes they are perplexing.

There’s plenty to enjoy in Uptown Special, even if there are some tracks that end up sounding insubstantial and a bit unsatisfying. If you’re looking for a party album, there are songs on here that will sound fresh for the rest of the year and beyond.

This is an occasionally beautiful, often strange album that deserves a wider audience than Christinzio’s previous releases.

Somehow, from nothing, they’ve pulled off a surprising but oh so welcome return, and this record plays like a triumphant middle finger salute, coolly showing everyone how its done... and writing the first line on a thousand ‘album of the year’ lists before January’s even out.

With music sounding this raw, vibrant and strikingly different to the current generation yet achingly familiar to those that will remember the original post-punk era, Viet Cong have tapped into something exciting, something too big to be contained in a Canadian city most famous for winter sports, and something that could just be the tip of the iceberg for yet another intriguing Canadian act.

It occasionally threatens to become a bit overwhelming and topple in on itself. Most of the time though, Murdoch and company keep things steadily focused, and the result is another accomplished record from one of this country’s most consistent bands.

Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper is often blissful electronica for both the heart and the brain.

The band are renowned for (occasionally controversial) storytelling, with lyrics artfully crafted, stretching their old English vocabulary like the most wordy of literature students; this is still evident but it’s generally less adventurous.

Ultimately, it’s disappointing that after Pop Tune, Shonen Knife seem to be on autopilot, creating songs that could have appeared on any one of their previous records.

The Balcony may not have the presence of a Definitely Maybe or an Is This It, but it’s certainly a solid step in the right direction.

Lament is a deep and complex album. It is not so much a piece of music, as a work of art.

He’s crafted something braver, harder, and worth a spin. White paintings be damned.

It’s fair to say that sometimes, Power’s laudable ambition means that the album trips over itself. However, despite some flaws, it does make for a great showcase to remind everyone just what a brilliant songwriter Ben Garrett can be.

Petals Have Fallen is one of the most original hip-hop releases of the year thus far, having a solid awareness for what moves the body while retaining the introspective attributes that characterise the best of British urban music.

There’s not much on here that comes close in quality to either of Grant’s solo albums--like a fine wine, he’s become better and better as he’s aged. Yet there are some hints of his early promise on this compilation.

Shifting perspectives and clever juxtapositions are all over this album, Middleton and Shrigley have created an album that on the face of it appears to be simple, but there’s untold depth here, as well as some endlessly creative swearing.

The key to enjoying this album lies, ironically, in forgetting that the Pumpkins ever existed. Remove the past and the baggage, and take it for what it is; a pretty decent rock album.

Ultimately, Creation does not add anything drastically different to The Pierces’ back catalogue. At its best, the pair’s fifth LP familiarises us once again with their pitch-perfect harmonies and tightly constructed, polished melodies.

You might feel like you’ve heard it all before, and you probably have, but it’ll still rock.

Chubbed Up is a fairly relentless critique that, were it not for Williamson’s way with words, would be phenomenally depressing. Fortunately, these songs are mostly loaded with an equal share of pinsharp comedic observations and scathing invective.

While there is nothing here to relegate Art Department to the role of also-rans, there is nothing to get wholly excited about either, as the music consistently retreats towards the background.

Faust have produced 12 tracks that perfectly encapsulate what they can do so well: to create catchy, bizarre sounds. It’s Popmusik/subversive all over again.

Unfortunately, Acoustic Dust suffers from the age old problem that acoustic albums generally face--lack of variation.

Different Every Time succeeds, though, in illustrating just how versatile and original this creative spirit has been, and how he will no doubt cast a long shadow of influence in the future.