Clearly, Houghton's found fertile ground in connecting with her inner rage monster, but there's a different side to the album too: anthemic glam rock reminiscent of Bowie's work with guitarist Mick Ronson.

Although ‘Lungu Boy’ sees Asake still rewriting the rulebook on Afro-pop, you have to push through a lot of samey repeats of his past work before you get to the good stuff.

Overall Mercer’s songwriting creds are well in tact.

Here are 13 songs of dire cod-reggae, OK stoner rock and quite-good-'80s AOR, which makes them the thinking man's Tenacious D, for what that's worth.

It's a terrible pity: when she stops politicising like a councillor on a complementary therapy summer camp, there's music here that's full of the febrile commitment and unashamed passion that marked her out as a valid icon in 1975.

The band have responded with their most stylistically hatstand-but-indisputably-best songs yet.

Love Me follows up 2012 debut album ‘Salton Sea’, but edges away from sleek, techno throb towards something more tender and torch song.

Brilliantly, if subtly, displays a newfound maturity for Abrams.

Freed of the need to sound how people expect them to, the seven piece get the chance to show that they can turn in proper, craft-standard pop when they need to.

The result is a great album that simultaneously wears its bruised heart on its sleeve (the lovelorn should be warned: it’s a real tearjerker at times), and sugars its melancholy with opulent musical arrangements.

If Beck gets better as he gets madder, this is definitely his best since 'Midnite Vultures' - maybe even since 'Odelay'.

Yet get past the grating AF-isms and there’s some good tunes.

Post-mainstream breakthrough, Oxnard is a deft dissection of the fallout, just as free-ranging and hopeful as you’d imagine.

While debut album 'Faded Seaside Glamour' suffered from a mild dose of ADD, sprawling and meandering into atmospheric noodling between its smatter of acid-in-your-candyfloss pop hits, with 'You See Colours' Gilbert has sharpened his pop stiletto blade.

More subtle now, but Alice and Kacey are keeping us guessing.

They're at their strongest when at their hardest.

There’s something very ‘mopey American teenager’ about Lightning Bolt.

The slow, dusky familiarity and lack of dynamics make for more of a groundhog day than transcendence into any fifth dimension.

Sure, the two slower tracks might make for a break in the relentless pace, but who needs the rest? If you just so happen to be one of the best in the up-tempo pop-smattered emo-punk game, why bother slowing down? For this lot, more is most certainly more.

Admirable, if not necessarily lovable.

Temple’s unassuming sound can often hide how experimental he is. Not so on the lysergic electronics of ‘Sue’, which swirl like watercolour dreams.

Only the overlong ‘Ice Age’ disappoints on a solid, often stunning record.

Overall, Shulamith is a record that takes on serious issues but always feels engagingly personal, with ideas set to the kind of alt.pop melodies you couldn’t forget even if you wanted to.

The best Guided By Voices album yet. [28 Aug 2004, p.57]

The unlikely, ghoulish inspiration of a dead Dutch pop star has forced Pixies' frontman Frank Black into making his finest album since the demise of his influential '90s alt.rockers.

A huge step forward for them and, hopefully, for their public perception too.

Mvula’s keenly awaited debut record is ornate, gentle and clearly composed by someone with vast musical training. So it’s a shame that so much of it sounds lightweight and shallow.

Dlamini’s taking no chances here and, now that the smoke’s lifted, it’s clear she’s a pop contender with the nous and drive to go as far as she wants.