On a scale of Speech Debelle to Klaxons, they're more towards the Gomez end of the list. Definitely loveable. Largely inessential.

At times the album that little bit too airy. As skilful as Ashworth is in crafting delicately spun melody--the jangling harmonies of ‘Morning Comes’, or the gentle lull of ‘At Hollywood’--her full force and potential truly reveals itself when the shadows burst out and take over, dragging her shoegazey soundscapes to the edge of the void.

There is no mistaking that ‘Hickey’ is Royel Otis at their most self-assured. .... We can’t help but question if slightly more hunger to push the boundaries would add a greater sense of depth to an otherwise satisfying album.

When it comes down to it, it ain't gonna change your world any.

Sonic risks are taken, but they don’t always pay off.

Just when you're starting to worry some of the cancer vibes might rub off, he'll crack that underdog grin and knock out a number like 'Hey Man (Now You're Really Living)', backed by a bunch of cheerleaders. [18 Feb 2006, p.36]

They respond to the challenge [to engage politically] in explosive style to deliver something like their defining statement.

For the most part, though, you’ll need to look elsewhere for your protest music. This is escapist rap, as outlandish and oversized as a gaudy Spiderman comic--and, at times, just as much absurdist fun.

This “psychic reset” has reinvigorated Thomas, and even if the results are sometimes a bit messy, there’s no way you can call this record boring. Long live King Tuff II.

Though longing and mortality have long been recurring themes in Dacus’ music, the stakes feel even higher – and even more gripping – when there’s so much to lose.

What primarily sets ‘Romance Is Boring’ up as a significant step forward is that it’s incredibly structurally cohesive, and yet blows anything they’ve previously released out of the water in terms of textural intricacy, technical prowess and general experimentation; each track seems to take an element that’s been formerly alluded to and stretch it to a fuller form.

Its nine tracks were composed solely on keyboards as the duo – Wolf Parade guitarist Dan Boeckner and wife Alexei Perry – forced themselves into a new songwriting regime.

Go To School, feels less like a night on Broadway and more like being dragged along to an amateur performance at your local village hall. It’s charming and full of heart, but you’ll be grimacing all the way through it.

This album really shouldn’t work. That it does is down to Kavinsky’s painstaking production and his dark vision of the place where rock and electro meet.

Energetic and cleverly crafted.

While it’s a good listen, every song drags.

In short, it's as Icelandic as whale pie--elevator music, sure, but heaven's own elevators.

‘The Mutt’s Nuts’ expands the boundaries of what Chubby and the Gang are looking to achieve, but they’re not about to forget where they came from.

Turn it off halfway through and it’s brilliant.

In the album's quieter segments he proves that his deft touch remains.

The trio's first new album in eight years finds The Black Keys' filthy uncles, Grinderman's cellmates and The Stooges' delinquent offspring still deeply embedded in a scuzzy groove.

They expound spiritual philosophies (“I am a hieroglyph of love!”), grasp the rural jig-folk baton from Mumford & Sons and, post-Beirut, remind everyone it’s supposed to be fun.

This album of instrumental sketches is surprisingly bullish, its snotty distorted synths and chiptune funk melodies aligning El-P unexpectedly with the output of young UK producers Joker and Rustie.

'Ringleader Of The Tormentors' sees Morrissey not only in wonderful voice, but more flamboyant and alive than at any time in his solo career.

Marian Joan Elliott-Said, Poly Styrene to you, is one of punk's great cult icons. Her band X-Ray Spex was one of the most inventive and fun of the era. Her first record in aeons, Generation Indigo provides ample proof of both aforementioned claims.

Art Brut haven’t made the record that’ll reverse their gradual slide back towards cult. But they have at least made the one that’ll make the cult even more fervent.

While this record is unlikely to bring the band or the cultural touchstones they cover back to the top, it’s a soul-searching move that satisfies their own fandom while showing they’ll never compromise.

Recorded with a Luddite's zeal- no keyboards, samplers, sequencers - he's... managed to document the clanking claustrophobia of modern life.