Legend's lounge-track sentimentality often spills into schmaltzed-out Streisand-on-Broadway territory.

This might be news to the Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turner, but for every artist there’s a point where aspiration exceeds ability. The Last Shadow Puppets, his new studio dalliance with pal Miles Kane, have way overshot it on The Age Of The Understatement.

The problem is that he hasn’t yet developed a signature sound that immediately identifies a track as his own, nor is he capable of writing the sort of provocative rhymes that stand out.

In a genre based on repetition, standout moments are critical, and We Move provides too few of them to be impactful. But when they show up, the results are stunning.

It works as an homage but also as a reminder that specific eras, places, styles and sounds can live on as a state of mind.

The result is pragmatic but also quite creative and surprisingly catchy.

It's full of breathtakingly beautiful harmonies and spiralling narrative lyrics that balance complex emotional subject matter with pitch-perfect delivery and hummable melodies

Demented, sloppy, brilliant, and above all a great way to spend three-quarters of an hour.

While The Fool has clear focus and crafts a particular sound, the music fails to resonate emotionally.

Converge create art-school hardcore while still delivering on metal’s basest needs.

There are missteps--Talib Kweli going through the motions on Get Your Way (Sex Is A Weapon), Ghostface's unfortunate pairing with Wiz Khalifa--but like the movie, the soundtrack is good, bombastic fun.

This could be any novice eight-track job recorded in a basement or garage, but at least For The Season comes off like the work of a real band for a change.

Fans might find it a fascinating revelation, and Madonna will likely swipe a few ideas, while everyone else is left wondering what happened to the tunes.

Reign Of Terror still sounds like Sleigh Bells, but a more polite and conservative version.

None of this stuff sounds the same, proving grime to be a borderless hinterland populated by some of the most gifted, uninhibited, maniacal musicians.

There's no denying Bronson is a supreme talent, but Mr. Wonderful feels more like a low-stakes failed experiment than a grand proclamation.

While her straightforward songwriting certainly comes across as honest, it can feel a little hokey.

A courageous statement that should resonate far and wide.

The alien textures of St. Vincent's guitar heroics and the crunchy electronic rhythms lurching behind the trombones and sax stabs keep things just on the right side of gleefully weird.

The sophistication suits the songs, which have a tragic seriousness without becoming a gloomy slog.

It's a solid album with strong production and songwriting, but it won't blow any minds.

It's the kind of album that resists being parsed out into singles. Aside from radio-ready lead track Love As A Weapon, the rest work together as a cohesive whole even while bouncing around lyrically.

String sections, brushed drums and, on High Hawk Season, backing vocals that recall the Jordanaires give the album a dynamic, varied sound and make it the Mountain Goats' most surprising creation.

Diversifying is a good plan, seeing as this kind of thrashy, mid-fi guitar pop can all melt together. Thankfully, the sugary keyboards and furious, to-the-point guitar solos (and guitarmonies!) cause most of the songs to shred in their own special way.

Unfortunately, few songs truly stand out. Peven Everett’s effusive turn on Strobelite is the biggest pop moment, while De La Soul fronting the pounding Momentz gives the album some early momentum.

15 seamless songs that consistently keep interest high and ideas varied.

Toy manage to be psychedelic and craft memorable pop.

While their spacious, mostly instrumental music makes good use of dynamics (and reaches ear-bleeding volumes during live shows), they mark their label switch from Matador to Sub Pop with a lightness (as in absence of darkness, not bereft of weight) that's refreshing.