The end result is a clean, seriously impressive hour and seventeen minutes of restless, good old-fashioned hip-hop. Zombies' are here to stay, whether you like it or not.

There are moments when their roots peek through, such as on 'Sad Sad Situation,' but this record feels more like a well thought through progression and career finisher than an attempt to indulge in nostalgia.

The best place to file Zoetrope would probably be on the shelf marked 'albums worth a punt if you have a few bob spare'.

Your mileage with This Mess is a Place may indeed vary, but more than anything, if you’ve had a lousy, or dull, day, it’s sure to jump start your tired mind into grinning goofily with its sugary, determinedly peppy rush.

The Switch isn’t anonymous or soulless, but it does have an unhuman aesthetic.

Midnight Sun is a very interesting record, and shows the duo expanding their horizons without forgetting about the importance of their melodic roots.

Season Sun is a wonderfully charming mix of interesting sounds and textures, featuring plenty of psychedelic and folk inspired harmonies that will grow and seep into your senses and leave you pining for a spontaneous summer road trip.

There's plenty of fun to be had here, even if it can't help not quite measuring up to past hype.

Cranekiss is a carefully crafted and wonderfully written record and beyond that it marks a new, exciting step in Tamaryn's career.

For an album so drenched in sadness, there is a disco for the downhearted lurking beneath its surface.

Listened to in isolation, Sodium can be an exhausting experience, and there are a couple of tracks, that don’t quite stick the landing. ... These issues aside, Sodium is still a record with a lot of promise, not only for the future growth of the band, but also the live experience. With any luck, this incarnation of Dasher will stick around to deliver on that.

Cohesively, Prhyme 2 serves as a pivotal point in the connection between old school and emerging rappers.

A Better Tomorrow doesn't quite hit the heights of The W, but it's a considerable improvement on 2007's 8 Diagrams, making it a stellar body of work for a group celebrating their twentieth anniversary.

Although it becomes a bit too intricate (and therefore slightly boring) at times, the album is a fine example of the infinite possibilities created by the so-called post-indie/hipster-psych scene without taking itself too serious.

While it may not be the most unique or innovative record, Waxing Romantic is certainly sincere.

The combination of Rozi Plain’s curious, hopefully wistful ... songwriting and the meandering, caressing lull of the playing makes room for new, soothing life within the singer’s work.

It’s difficult to escape the fact that there is little to commend Ode to Joy for beyond its exceptionally competent loveliness. That is, however, no reason to completely disregard it.

After a three year album hiatus, Rih has rendered her most profoundly authentic and effortless act of rebellion yet – she’s making the music she wants to make without a singular fuck. Anti-pop, anti-album, anti-industry, anti-expectation, anti-perfection.

There is a sturdiness to the xx. The band’s innate talents for melody and texture, even when expressed in the wrong proportions, persist.

Apart from a few slip-ups earlier on, this is, for the most part, a wonderful listen.

Pared-down arrangements place O'Brien's exceptional songwriting at the forefront of each track. His voice and words, a paradoxical mix of worldly weariness and childlike delivery, are still present, and as enduring and endearing as ever.

Even where his pieces feel unscripted and accidental, they all manage to paint a doomy melancholy which has a filmic charm.

Of course, at nearly two hours long, it’s probably not something you’ll listen to all in one go (especially if you’re not a Bob’s Burgers fan), but it’s quite easy to dip in and out of it at your leisure. If you like songs about butts and farts too, then you’re well catered for here.

BBF's effort may not be anything ground breaking, but if you're looking for a solid mix to vibe out to, this could be just the ticket.

This is an album that will not send Shintaro Sakamoto into super stardom, but will further cement his place as an experimental and eternally intriguing cult artist.

The reverby haze that now surrounds Title Fight mostly works to their favor, but perhaps they could benefit from bringing some sharper elements out of the mix, or some new dishes to the shoegaze table.

There is enough quality here to suggest that The Entrepreneurs can produce something truly special. They haven’t quite pulled it off yet, but Noise & Romance is noisy and affecting enough to suggest the promise of future triumphs.

Concrete Vision is perfectly fine.

A common pattern on this record? A feeling of positivity and amusement that shines through in almost every song, while still preserving a solemn mood.

The rest is beautiful, sure, and there's moments that are truly intoxicating where you just want to stop what you're doing and let it wash over you, but it's also an album that, once it reaches its end, sort of fades away. There's nothing here that really sticks with you for any longer than the album's duration.

The Body gracefully don't try to solve the zeitgeist of human suffering one way or the other, but they surely have retained their expert status at describing its pitfalls.

It's hard to determine the highs, lows and fluctuations of the record. That's not to say that the record all sounds the same, but without the visuals that such music seems to promise it can be difficult to remain engaged.

LNZNDRF might feel a little esoteric to fans of the Devendorfs' back catalogue, but it's a heavyweight enough effort to hopefully ensure that it won't be a one-off.

This diversity in delivery is the savior of the first half of the record which pales slightly to the second.

Fans of Oneida, or Liturgy, or both, should be familiar with the boundary-pushing aspects of those bands, and will relish a chance to dip into this recording.

Lex is well-mannered, fun experimentalism with a winning spirit. If it doesn't break any tonal boundaries, it firmly establishes its composers' place at least in sight of the bleeding edge. And it opens the door to all manner of discoveries.

Whilst making a discernible attempt to liven up their song-craft, 2:54 has definitely returned as a stronger, more endearing band. Sometimes the experiments don't work.

The highlights come when the songs are underscored by punchy percussion, giving the tracks a slightly sultry groove.

Lower Dens have the right ideas for their music, but they’re not always the right ideas at the right time. This album, flawed as it may be, is still worthwhile for when the latter happens, like with the heated guitar work and wailing vocals of ‘Two-Faced Love’.

Karen O and Danger Mouse have a story to tell on Lux Prima; though not a traditional concept album, it does create a luscious portrayal of a small blinding light in the seemingly infinite dark.

Ultimately, Ought have created an EP that does not draw attention away from their debut album, but instead builds on it, driving their intensity forward and reaching further outwards for raw emotion and energy.

A considered but playful overdue debut, Towards will no doubt sustain and serve them well as head onwards and upwards.

For better or worse, Gliss Riffer is the most characteristically 'Dan Deacon' record that Dan Deacon has yet released.

Cohen’s voice doesn’t do all the heavy lifting. The instrumentation is lush, and Owens’ production pristine, with each and every layer given time to shine. It can all be a bit glossy, but how else should one approach such joy? It suits the feelings found here well, and makes Welcome Home and endlessly pleasant abode to inhabit.

As fun as it is, a great deal of The Curved Line feels too laid-back to be spectacular. Only occasionally does it seem like it might be ready to explode.

This is a good record but unfortunately there's something missing.

Whether the transition marks his last shot at regaining his once dominating presence in the crowded trap-saturated landscape or just Jeezy shifting his purpose and place into a more mature direction, Church in The Streets is a respectable shot at both.

Ultimately, despite its broodier and moodier efforts, Cage Tropical never really hits the heights of Interstellar. However, Rose continues to prove that she doesn’t need to dive into anything so sophisticated as Greek mythology or abstract philosophy to communicate her emotions.

The majority stays well within its comfort zone, cuddling up to the listener, rather than poking them in the eye.

It’s perfectly plausible that the record will age just as well as VanGaalen’s best stuff--we just gotta give it more time to let its shapeshifting flowers bloom into something as beautiful as his animations.

GoldLink's debut album has something for every mood. Usually it takes an artist two or three albums before they reach maturity, however, with And After That, We Didn't Talk, GoldLink is well ahead of schedule.

Though it’s not surprising that Iggy included a couple of left hooks, it hurts a little bit that the album doesn’t have more of the sing-speak poetry and post-rock dreaminess. He does it so well, but only about 22 minutes are dedicated to this sound. ‘James Bond’, in contrast, is a distraction from a compelling new direction.

In some of its explorations of dance music’s sub-genres it is less successful, and can come off as a bit too cheesy for its own good, but it’s all produced, performed and sequenced with such careful consideration and bountiful charm, that its few shortcomings in pure songwriting terms can be overlooked.

One cannot help but feel as though, if White Lung had let themselves get a little messier on Paradise, it might have yielded an even more compelling result.

These improvised pieces are intricate and certainly stand up to repeated listens, and the album makes a good companion piece to Bishop's previous, rather fine, acoustic recordings.

Inji is an erratic debut album, an invitation to go forward into weirder territories with Dust in the future. As invitations go, however, it's intriguing enough to take up.

Ultimate Painting is a charming start point for a band who show enough charm to suggest they can turn out any number of superior follow-ups. On one or two tracks, they might one day prove essential.

David Crosby simply continues down a path he established for himself a long time ago, and even if he has encountered a few bumps along the way, this is a record of a man who has done everything he wanted to do with his life, and Croz emerges as the final piece of the puzzle.

To the gustatory synesthete, listening to Kaytranada's music is probably the equivalent of sucking on a pack of Starburst where all the flavours are orange: refreshing at first, if not a bit sickly in the end.

While it isn't a far cry from Real Friend's first album, it still delivers an emotional punch with a hopeful glimpse of what's to come.

The House has moments where it seems like Maine might have said everything he’s capable of saying with Porches. However, there are enough positives, particularly around the end, to feel like he’s not bled his creativity dry.

Barnes has had a habit of throwing dozens of these complex noises and genres my way within the context of a single song. The newest, Aureate Gloom, has collected these idiosyncrasies in the best way since Fauna's atom bomb performances.

Blanket Waves asks for your attention, and suggests you try soundtracking your own life with its echoes of joy and terror. It's not a cop-out to say that this is music which needs to be infused with human experience.

Country Music is undoubtedly a taxing album. It was a challenge to record, and as a result it is a challenge to listen to.

Shortly after the release of Swimming Through Sunlight, Brown complained that he was already bored with its songs and admitted the band hadn't considered how it would feel to be bashing out the same garage band combinations a year later (the answer: tedious, if their new material-heavy live sets were anything to go by). With Heydays, they needn't stress about falling into that trap again.

All in all, Voyager is both a pleasant surprise and an addiction.

By making complex sounds and riffs seem simple and natural, it evokes a "you got this" feeling within that reassures you everything's going to be alright.

Grasque sometimes manages to make average pizza from excellent ingredients. When COYB are tenacious enough to boil a track down to a workable size, the result is a triumph. Often it can resemble unleavened music, stripped of the necessary rise and fall.

Map of the Soul: Persona is a bold, if tempered, call to Western media.

It's quite an enjoyable listen. It's all possibly about as boxed and pared down as Richard D James has sounded.

The beautifully crafted lyrics of Things Are Really Great Here, Sort of are slowly offset by the melancholy implied in the title, at times through the stirring yet mournful violin-caressing and whistling Bird.

Love Yourself: Tear shows off each individual member’s qualities fairly and acts as a well-structured introduction to a wider global audience that is all too eager to pick out negatives.

Her debut is in fact very well crafted despite wearing a lot of influences on its shining sleeves. It succeeds though in combining those influences into a very enjoyable album that mixes retro and contemporary genres.

Over the course of these five tracks, the assembled musicians bring their own roots music to the mix, and end up with something that is slightly different to anything they have done before.

Being is a bit fragmented, and purposefully so.

Gallipoli--a complete departure from band’s musically stale, emotionally sleepy No No No--reminds long-time listeners of the initial hype that surrounded Condon and Beirut long ago.

It all adds up to a pretty remarkable reinvention and album of leftfield synth-pop that is dark and mysterious enough to beguile in any language.

Smith curated these tracks to showcase her insecurities to fans that will relate to the transparency of her work. Lost & Found is a strong foundation for the up-and-coming Smith and her R&B fused experiences. The gushing warmth of her emotion resonates into a digestible, easy listening album.

The use of live and programmed beats, a dozen or so models of synthesizers and controllers, and zither gives the music proper depth and moments of beauty, as does Jahnsen's voice. But even for all of the lush and layered arrangements, what Pure-O lacks above all are the kind of nuances needed to help it stand apart from its obvious influences past and present.

Jagbags runs into some of the same problems that previous Jicks records have faced; his nonsensical lyrical style, which veers between the sublime and the ridiculous at breakneck pace, is certainly an acquired taste, and his penchant for stylistic variation, as always, throws up the odd miss to go with the hits.

By listening to it, you are induced to disconnect from your surroundings, and to appreciate and find peace within the chaos of the everyday life and modern struggles. It’s not an isolation capsule, but you’ll definitely feel as though you’re floating to safety.

The growth Lucy Rose has experienced since her debut album is self-evident, she tackles universal feelings with unmistakable poetry, and while at times the album can feel drowned out, the overall feeling is one of understanding.

In an album where everything seems to be allowed, at first it may feel uneasy to understand but dissecting the elements is the key to understanding Physical.

The Gothenburg four-piece now release their enigmatic four track EP Lover Chanting, adding to a catalogue of playful and body-moving tracks from the past decade.

. The more challenging half of the record may still to be released, but judging by the vibrant band on display on Volume 1, we need not worry.

It often has the spontaneous feel of a live show, and Mark Greenberg's unfussy production serves to amplify that rawness.

Beneath their gilded surface, everything here has been explored numerous times by the man himself before, far more memorably.

All in all, this is a solid solo debut form Coco Hames. The lyrics are superb and the compositions are clean.

On Bermuda Waterfall, Savage has taken a real step forward, proving beyond reasonable doubt that he's a fine songwriter; he just needs a little more instrumental refinement, and perhaps a slightly more nuanced understanding of his strongest vocal suit, before he's truly mixing it with the big boys of throwback pop.

Rocket hits enough of the right spots; there are a few really great songs, there are some tremendous arrangements, and it showcases Alex’s versatility and creativity, demonstrating once again that he is full of ideas and unafraid to try them out.

Intimate, raw and captivating; there is lasting wisdom found in In The Hollows.

The result is an influx of psychedelic mania that ends up enhancing his counterpart’s festering lyrical voyages. Random references and non-sensical metaphors aside, Malibu Ken is proof that abstract hip-hop is very much alive.

This is more a record for hardcore fans than casual ones, though there are some distinct highlights.

Less an album than an uninhibited exploration of the primal power of metal.

All in all, Highest Point In Cliff Town is a fun ride as a first album. But sometimes you have to sacrifice a little fun to really dig deep.

Its consolidation of antiquated and contemporary music is generally inventive, occasionally poignant and always entertaining.

The songs get you moving just enough. The melodies and lyrics gently grab you by the ears.

It never reaches for more, and to bludgeon it for achieving its minor ambitions is bizarre practice. It may not leap, but it never stumbles. Calm down, sit back and vibe.