So it's hard to know how to peg Vaccine, ultimately--it's both a brave move and a safe one, both a shock and something you could have seen coming. What's not in doubt, though, is that it's a very good album.

They’ll never be one of the greats, but Band of Horses have proved that they’ve near mastered the art of making quality, old-fashioned rock ‘n roll.

It's an album that shows a band comfortable and willing to begin moving on, 70 minutes of something new enough that you can see a pretty bright future for the band that seemed impossible to many just three years ago.

Edginess and quirkiness aside, the band's latest is an immaculately constructed beast that never straggles behind or overstays its welcome.

It’s an album surprisingly even in its delivery, if a little underwhelming in content, somewhat reserved and unquestionably safe.

Soulful and bluesy in a way that still acknowledges the existence of the various strains of cutting-edge electronic music emanating from the UK, Mirrorwriting is one of 2011's most assured and confident debuts.

The quintet still perform pop-punk better than many of their contemporaries, and it should be noted that this LP sounds significantly more effective when played out loud, rather than through head or earphones... But it’s difficult to ignore the feeling that they are capable of better.

The duology of Love Letter and Write Me Back has been his most soulful and inspired work since Chocolate Factory.

It’s a bit front-loaded, and not every track will floor you, but it’s definitely the most summative album of Robert Plant’s career.

No, The King of Limbs is not a world-beating album, and it was never meant to be; it's an album about Radiohead trying to iron out their own creases and fix their own flaws, and judged on those terms, it's another success.

While it's possible Pain Is Beauty would have benefited from some more time spent songwriting and fleshing out the overall direction of the album's sound, there's still more than enough impressive songs to make this a worthy addition to the Chelsea Wolfe catalog.

The Final Frontier is the kind of record that takes several listens to truly appreciate, but it's definitely worth it.

Planet Earth is one of the more varied albums Prince has done, yet all the same it's probably his most straight-forward release in a long, long while.

The ideal summer soundtrack. It is charismatic, warm, and sexy, with just the right touch of mystique.

The bands debut album Tourist History is clearly far from original, yet it ultimately wins listeners over with its immediate, enthusiastic, likeable and catchy mixture of ingredients, which results in a sound that is certain to have toes tapping from the pubs to the clubs.

Ultimately though, these are minor gripes for what is an otherwise solid debut from a band which looks poised to make waves in the independent music scene for years to come.

They might always struggle to recapture the spark that drove their first two albums, but The National Health might just be what the doctor ordered.

The changes Murder by Death have brought with Red Of Tooth and Claw are a sufficiently demanding and acceptable result.

As it stands, Earth is a subtle and enjoyable little singer/songwriter album that highlights Ed O’Brien’s songwriting prowess.

it sounds like Motion City Soundtrack are warming up for an absolute classic. This isn't it--but it'll serve just fine in the meantime.

Unlike previous releases, there is not a dire need to shuffle back a few tracks to listen repetitively, but more of a, 'when I'm in the mood' feeling. No Age are certainly living in the moment, and Everything In Between has a similar retention factor.

They’re all good, all memorable.

It is meant to be fun, catchy, sexy, and danceable, and while it isn't groundbreaking by any means, it succeeds in reaching all of its goals.

Invented reins in Jimmy Eat World after Chase This Light. It still possesses the same inviting, feel-good sentiment, but it's expressed more personably, and in this regard it makes for a very rewarding listen.

Nowhere Generation is merely a good album that offers us a worthwhile batch of late-career songs.

While this record's predecessor was the definition of a mixed bag, Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night is markedly reliable - a product that you're likely to either take or leave in its entirety.

They're not really revolutionary because there's nothing that ambitious in them. Rather they're content being a light Dinosaur Jr., making pleasant, noisy indie rock with tambourines and static that's more an aural treat than a mental stimulant.

Even when certain songs weren’t quite working, I still found myself able to nod along and get lost in their rhythms. Even when another guest verse cropped up and it threatened to kill the album’s momentum, I found myself rewarded by another dynamite verse from Denzel thanks to the album’s breakneck pace.