When listening to this album you can’t help but feel the infectiousness of the group sitting around together just jamming out these songs.

Gunn is a highly skilled rapper, but he doesn't quite bring Supreme Blientele together to be the street epic it could’ve been.

Forever Neverland is an illustration of how modern pop should be--full of character, colourful and 14 tracks full of pop hit after hit.

As far as solo jaunts go, this is one she should be immensely proud of. It's Macomberesque as opposed to Borrellian.

Woman is by no means a bad listen, it just isn’t a very original one either.

The result is a chaos of sound that leaves little direction for the listener.

It must be frustrating for Steadman and his fellow Bicycle Clubbers to be unable to shake off the mainstream's lager-stained memories of their debut, but you get the sense that So Long, See You Tomorrow is an appreciative, if somewhat firm, farewell aimed in their direction.

Freedom is nothing more than an exercise in competent stadium rock.

[An] electronic gem.

The circular fate of a world that is doomed to repeat itself is told on the thrashy ‘Ouroboros’ which is riddled with scuzzy feedback, but Ted Stevens’ melody manages to crack through the darkness. It’s these under-written melodies that somewhat cut the bleakness which is on offer here. That’s not to say there aren’t any moments of hope. There are.

POBPAH's third LP lunges confidently into all the right places, emitting sunshine, glee, rainbows, sugar and sparkles as it goes like a sweaty unicorn running a marathon.

Carey is making music that concerns itself with nuance, and yet he has made the audio equivalent of cutting a victoria sponge cake with a chainsaw, doing his best to serve it up to a nervous gathering of increasingly swearing nuns.

The music is bigger, bolder and more direct, but crucially there is still that lingering murkiness on the edges.

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

It's an astounding debut in which he demonstrates the discipline to shape his wildly creative visions into something not only thrilling and compelling, but also focused.

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.

Heartstrings may be a rather trippy journey, but be assured, you are at all times with a capably lucid and extremely thoughtful driver.

It's a tremendous record, that simply, and effectively puts their contemporaries to shame.

It may be a bit malnourished in thematic ingenuity--it's not as honest as Old or Oxymoron, or as celebratory as Acid Rap--but the allure comes from ingenious, inventive production

The Detroit quartet's debut album for Woodsist is at times striking and catchy, but also finds itself digging up the same nostalgia-seeking melodies that showed some promise from Bonny Doon to begin with.

The problem with A Perfect Circle now is that Keenan and Howerdel basically follow whatever creative whims that grab them. After a particularly soporific instrumental track, the album enters its most experimental phase, with unsurprisingly scattershot and lacklustre results.

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

Not only does Orbit not overstay its welcome, it leaves you wanting more.

For the year's most contagious artist, Fetty Wap's debut formula reads as follows: 20 songs x 4 billboard singles - 90% filler ÷ 1 melody = 1738. And somehow, that doesn't add up.

The laziness of lyrical passages, directionless structures, odd lyric rip-offs ('Goon Line' and 'Void' are culprits), and poor mixing works together with the band to hold this record down much lower than its potential.

Despite remaining dutifully authentic to his own back-story and expressive temperament, the album, at times, sounds like it was written and recorded years ago, offering outdated production trends and repetitive content.

Nili Hadida may not attract legions of pop fans, but then, it hardly feels designed to. Hadida is clearly enjoying stretching out on her own at long last, and the album plays a bit like her testing her sea legs on a maiden voyage, finding her footing, and her independent voice, as she goes.

Despite its depth of ideas and imagery, AQUARIA starts to feel a little thematically one-dimensional until you get to 'Only', a straight ahead piano-driven, introspective slow jam.

This is an album that is adaptable for any mood or setting, so long as the listeners go with the flow and let the music take control.

What made M83 so great was its inclination to look forward as well as backward. Unfortunately, DSVII —like Junk— looks backward without bringing anything new to the table.

There are a few truly memorable riffs, notably on 'Hum for your Buzz' and 'Bitter Fruit', it's just that overall, this music feels that bit too slick to deliver the 'unease' and 'winking ennui' that the record label copy promised.

Sometimes challenging, other times comforting, Inventions encourage you to step inside the imagination portal and dream.

The standard of hook is pretty consistent for the whole album, and there's very little that could be described as filler. It's just that, considering that the whole seems like an exercise in similitude, it's not that easy to get excited about.

Longtime fans of the band will not find a rebirth in Critical Evaluation but you made find an upbeat improvement on recent efforts.

Compared to Heartbreaking Bravery, My Best Human Face feels looser, more effortless and this makes for a more engaging experience throughout.

Communion may be the end result of years of refinement, but you can't help but feel it was reached on someone else's terms.

In spite of its sequencing, every song on Cemetery Highrise Slum is individually good.

While it is never an easy listen, it often feels necessary to wipe Lee Spielman's spittle from your cheek, such is No Peace's front row ferocity.

Ward proves that there's still room for him to make his mark on the genre--producing an album that feels fresh and bright. Not a bad way to start the year.

Perhaps the relentless vitality and vibrancy of their sound might not be welcoming to all listeners, but for any willing to take the plunge into Althaea, there’s a whole alternate realm to be explored.

Cuco might not convert naysayers this year, but he clearly isn't overly concerned. He's delivered an easygoing, often charming set of songs, and that's a mission statement fulfilled.

There are not many people out there doing retro-sounding albums that aren't a mere repetition of something that's already been done several years before (and probably better), but Diane Coffee manages to be hopelessly nostalgic without sounding déjà vu.

What’s also new about this particular Dave Portner is that the overflow of ideas, lyrics, and themes doesn’t turn spastic and blurry like it has on records past. Eucalyptus, though adventurous, is down to earth and focused. It’s by far the most spiritual Avey Tare has ever sounded (except for the transcendent love on AnCo staple ‘Fireworks’).

The new sound stands up straight as the original iteration, but is backed by the depth of his previous work.

Black Moth are a young band who are improving fast and although they've got a lot of catching up to do with some of their contemporaries, the potential is there and Condemned To Hope is one of the better heavy British records of 2014.

Liquid Cool has a raw honesty to it that comes from stripping back the instrumentals.

While, undoubtedly, it took a lot of time, work and engagement to put it together, it still comes across as a throw-away release in their catalogue. It sounds like a band just switching on the recorder and jamming for a little while, then putting out some tracks.

They felt that they had run their course and wished to bow out on a high note. They have done exactly that.

The record's very nice, but swimming alongside adequacy rather than soaring for the top isn't a wonderful career move.

Earrings Off! also features three instrumental tracks, but none of these feel like they add anything to the experience of the album, or its central themes.

It is a shame, as when this album shines, with tracks like 'Kid Corner' and even 'Ruination', it seems like Archive could have really been onto something here, but have just missed the mark.

His intensity is consistent and his affinity for recognizing his fans favor is respectable. He doesn’t change things up much sonically, which is a welcomed critique.

At just 40 minutes in length it's concise to say the least, but the result is a hearty meal that will subtly introduce you to a new flavour every time you return.

Not so much breaking up with old ways of thinking as redefining and refining them, Bear In Heaven have gone back to what they do best.

There's an abundance of feelings created in the listener from this album when played in full.

Castanets manage to keep those raw influences in sight, whilst tweaking and twisting them into something different, and at times intriguingly strange.

This is what the whole record has managed to capture; that truth is indeed a beautiful thing, and it is explored with vulnerability and grace wholeheartedly.

This latest effort isn't comparable with the visceral exoticness that Jimmy Page began to find on Physical Graffiti, but a more focused and staunchly unified project, designed to push the conventions of improvisational rock music and provide Rhyton's competent credentials with actual substance.

Boys Forever is almost built to act as the soundtrack to the end of the dog days, when you just want a lovely track to wrap up the best moments with your friends.

Like Janet Jackson's Control and Madonna's Ray of Light before it, here is a record that should act as a shining light of how pop music should be done.

While Starboy may not be a giant creative risk stretching away and beyond what we've come to expect from The Weeknd (like many of his A list peers such as Beyoncé, Rihanna and Kanye West have done with their albums earlier this year), it's a continuation of Abel's edgy salacious narrative and a complete assassination of pop's thematic normalcy.

La Luz (which means "the light" in Spanish) have done an excellent job reprising the nostalgic vibes of West Coast beaches by mixing them with more urban influences, and therefore achieving a steady, cohesive album.

Younghusband's new record shows the band can turn out a great sounding bunch of songs and the odd moment of brilliance. If they spent longer letting their songs grow before unleashing them they might have produced something more distinctive.

Subtlety is in short supply on Lost Themes II, with soaring guitar solos, industrial synthesisers and violent percussion throughout.

SOHN doesn’t drown on Rennen, nor does he tread water, sticking within the confines of the music he’s already created. Rennen is SOHN diving into new creative depths, and triumphing.

After a year of baited breathing, we seem to have arrived at an in-between. There's still plenty of fun to be had in the waiting room, but let's hope he has more in store for the next appointment.

Yes, it's clear that this is a more matured, polished Mr. Scruff that often bristles with darkness, but it's a more mature Mr. Scruff at that sacrifices the puckish rogue charm we all fell in love with.

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.

NEHRUVIANDOOM is not the album to catapult Bishop Nehru into the mainstream but it's an invaluable step in his hip-hop education.

Quite possibly rushed so the house number could match the year, J. Cole's latest album is a damn good attempt, but it just isn't the real deal.

Though side A is a mess, it at least sounds like a mostly-original mess. On the latter half, they seem to say “fuck it” and just go for plagiarism, in whole or in part.

Each of the nine tracks holds its own.

Unfortunately after [the first two tracks] the album settles into a post-coital snooze that it doesn't really wake from.

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

You don't get the sense of elation one might receive for being paid to pose for an art class because to listen to Dawn Golden's debut of course, you pay them for the privilege.

There is an authenticity that bleeds through this album. It is proper DIY- rugged and unique enough to know this is coming from a human, yet polished and carefully crafted enough to feel the pride and excitement in sharing a work of art for the public to claim.

Phantastic Ferniture’s chemistry, then, is convincingly smooth. Their new self-titled LP dashes through fields of warm riffs and detailed melodies, scooping up a bouquet of wildflowers whose imperfections only add to its beauty.

It’s a solid debut that establishes Dizzy as a band to watch out for because, like their beats, they’re sure to linger.

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.

It’s not that Scorpion is bad music - it’s exactly what you’d expect, and too much of it. Its maximalism offers plenty for the converted (and the charts), after all, this far in, nothing is going to turn those set against him. For those of us with more complicated relationships with Drake’s music, there’s also nothing here to overwhelm the sense of stagnation dominant since Views.

A touch more volume on the instruments and a bit of extra distance between one man's mouth and his microphone, this might have been a blissful exercise in studied yet clamorous rock music.

The handful of traditional band tracks that make the cut are a mixed bag.... On the whole, though, I was pleasantly surprised by Beyond Clueless; it's first of all proved Summer Camp's musical talent beyond doubt, by taking them in a direction so far removed from what they've been doing so far, and secondly lends them a little substance and credibility.

Minus Tide is a record that lets you recall the best moments from vacations both real and imagined in a way that's better and brighter than the original experience.

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.

An album filled with songs that seem unable to grab attention.

Six Organs of Admittance has rightly earned a reputation for innovation, but with Hexadic, Chasny risks straying too far from the realm of palatable sound.

Kele has instead chosen a route that doesn't challenge the listener or, it seems, himself.

Whilst Hard Believer has its moments, this sense of playing it safe permeates throughout the record.

With Kintsugi, the cracks in the Death Cab veneer are undoubtedly visible, shiny or not. While many of the tracks fall flat, the vestiges of their prior form--confession and melody and, ultimately, charm--will likely still be evident enough to keep fans enamored. 


Sir occasionally works as an aggregate of flattering bric-a-brac and is irrepressibly sexy, but when its production’s skin-deep charm peels away there’s little to compel a return.

Data Panik etcetera delivers up-tempo, four minute slices of pop-perfection and in a variety of styles.

There's nothing particularly wrong with Mass Gothic. There's clearly a compelling artistic voice in there.

Compared to their debut album, Dunes marks a step up in the band's sound.

Son Lux's remix value is through the roof, settling nicely along the lines of Purity Ring's debut, The xx, or even some of Thom Yorke's solo tracks. That said, each of these examples are revered, but not lived up to.

Much like funsize Snickers bars, there's a gooey joy to be found in the brevity, but especially for us this side of the Atlantic, there are bands who have improved on the formula of twee-punk/whatever you want to call it.

On a surface level, I Thought The Future Would Be Cooler--the group's first album to be released by Downtown Records--has some exceptionally catchy moments.... Still, I Thought The Future Would Be Cooler leaves the listener wishing for a little less preaching and a little more grooving.

It shows that she can create a cohesive album by playing out the songs she wrote. But while the poetry and the music are there and played correctly, there is that last little bit of magic missing.

This is what it sounds like when an artist matures, discovers a confidence they perhaps never knew they had, and return, revitalised.