Time and circumstance have not blunted his abilities, and Understated is lyrically empathetic, musically emphatic.

Anglocentrically and have eternally teenage garage production values. In other words, a GBV record that sounds like everything GBV fans love about GBV.

‘Careful What You Wish For’s quality--along with that of everything else here, not least the closing ‘Silent Night’, featuring a full church choir epically utilised to yank up every hair on the back of the listener’s neck--re-confirms Glasvegas’ position as the most exciting British band right now.

As impressive as her gossamer-light voice layered over the strings and breakbeats on ‘Bad Boy’ is, Speech can do upbeat as well as down.

Power's handful of great tunes make it worth the wait, but its more affected moments make it difficult to love.

By the time ‘Axis of Evil’ rolls around to close things out, you feel as though you’ve been given the fullest scope yet of what the band are capable of.

There are no dull moments, but if there’s even a brief drop in intensity, it should only be used to reflect on the energy you probably just felt.

Unsurprisingly, the most thrilling moments are the most genre-schizo.

The likes of highlight ‘Ruby’ and ‘Step Into The Cold’ are gloriously faithful nods to their influences, executed with enough dedication to the head-music revivalist cause to make them far more than mere pastiche.

Hauschka’s bracing concept album.

Beautifully produced and filled with honest, unrefined conversations about love, life and sacrifices, ‘6pc Hot’ sees 6lack shoot straight from the heart. Even though it’s just a taster, it puts the Atlanta crooner in prime position to take over as the leader of R&B’s new school.

Malawi’s Esau Mwamwaya, however, is proof that even the West’s slickest and sickliest can be used well by inventive minds.

As irresistible at its peak - the luscious 'Little Eyes' and a lovely interpretation of Big Star's 'Take Care' - as it is baffling at its prog-jazz edges, 'Summer Sun' is the crowbar that pries open the door into a world of left-field beauty.

If he still sounds semi-conscious half the time, so be it. Three albums into his misleading career and Damon Gough, it seems, can still write strange, life-affirming pop music in his sleep.

This is an album that you'll like rather than actually love.

Its only disappointment is the absence of Roots rapper Black Thought to joust with him.

‘Hunted’ showcases Calvi’s talent for curation, with a selection of contributors here who know when to let the songs breathe and when to provide something unexpected.

With so much honesty packed into the 11 tracks, the album is an invitation and a challenge to go after what you want – without apologising for it.

Sadly there’s only one track here where singer Tigs’ urgent purr and the subtle combination of electronica and bouncy indie pop matches either of those two tracks: the mesmeric ‘Slick’. The rest is solid, but with New Young Pony Club back on the scene, tracks like ‘Two Hands’ feel unremarkable.

Closer ‘Sea Of Trees’ is as impressive, its restrained riff suddenly smothered by an almighty dirge. It’s a fitting climax to a record that unsettles from start to finish.

‘Open Up Your Head’ is an accomplished debut that takes Sea Girls’ brand of indie-rock on countless new adventures, and leaves plenty of doors ajar for further exploration for a genre in dire need of a kick up the backside.

Enough talk about reinventions, this is more of an evolution. On A Different Kind Of Fix, Bombay Bicycle Club have, quite simply, found themselves.

Having spent 11 years away from the studio, The Hives zapped straight back into the only mode they know: pure pandemonium. It’s about time new generations received this healthy dose of old school Hives, packed with the same intensity, goofiness – and of course, the matching black and white suits.

Across Forgiveness there's countless reminders of why you loved BSS.

On ‘Louder, Please’, Gray’s music has finally caught up with her lifestyle. The crackly sounds of the underground finally have their unfiltered moments, while her long-standing pop sensibilities still retain their place through respectable chorus hooks and addictive melodies (her classical vocal training is also clear for all to see).

These country-blues laments are seriously sleepy-eyed. [10 Sep 2005, p.66]

Eccentric spirit, production mastery and emotional heft put this alongside Four Tet’s very best work.

Nailed to the dancefloor by Flea-like bassist Pat Nature, and dragged up to date by hip-hop beats and random electronica, musically Liars are taut as a tightrope.