While there is nothing astounding or extraordinary about The Still Life, what it does is indicate that Alessi Laurent-Marke is a songwriter and musician who already shows a real promise of creating something very special later on in her career.

It certainly sounds very much like the record he wanted to make, and nothing like anything he's done previously.

Straddling both shoegaze and post-punk is what makes Moaning both enthralling and frustrating, a hint to the cavernous thrill they're capable of though also threatening to oversaturate and lose themselves in their own dirge. Here's to hoping it doesn't end up enveloping them completely.

It’s a soft reboot. It’s a new path to take. There’s the widest palette of any Okkervil River album, but it’s steady and doesn’t throw any needless curveballs.

Listeners may not like the whole album--but they’ll almost definitely love it in parts.

Though melodically not as rich as his previous offerings, Boo Boo is just as considered and stylistically coherent as you would expect from a Toro Y Moi record, which, given that it was born out of an identity crisis, is a continued testament to its creator.

Distance Inbetween may not be the renaissance one would have hoped for and is a much more straightforward record than expected but there’s enough here to suggest their next record will be worth listening to.

Hexadic works best when Chasny dials down the guitar squall and channels his energies towards more nuanced fare.

Like a kid in a candy shop, Goddard has indulged in a selection splashed with dazzling colour; but the results are pic’n’mixed.

It is true then, that Russian Circles are no longer pushing back the walls of post-rock acceptability, and also true that their albums don’t bite down as hard as they used to, but it is still definitely true that they wield the ability to compose the most beautiful, thought-provoking pieces of music.

While it is a shame that some of these ideas don’t feel more fully fleshed out, there are still plenty of moments that set characterise White Fence as some of the most interesting ’60s-tinged music being released.

It's not a perfect album by any means, but it is a worthy cover of a nigh-on perfect album, capturing the joie de vivre of the original and dousing it in some serious lunacy for good measure. And that's no mean feat.

In its finest moments, it demonstrates the potency of experimental club music--dynamic, disorderly and charged with emotion. Sadly, a chunk of tracks amount to more of an endurance test, one which some listeners will simply nope out of.

Ultimately though, there's more here that will shock than will appease.

His self-titled effort amounts to little more than the sound of him treading water; it’s every bit as fun and energetic as GB City, and the chaotic live shows aren’t likely to see a change of pace any time soon, but there’s practically nothing in the way of progression here, either.

If Midlake seemed to have lost their sense of fun on The Courage of Others, though, they’ve certainly rediscovered it on Antiphon. Even in its flatter moments, at least the band themselves sound like they’re enjoying it.

There is promise, with the gorgeous choral addition in both “It Ain’t Wrong Loving You” and “Good Together” adding some much needed depth, but the new tracks don’t really show us a side of HONNE we haven’t seen before.

It’s a fine line to walk between variety and novelty. Metal Galaxy dances along this line in admittedly very fun way, but that fun is at the expense of true depth and soul.

Ultimately, it’s a hypnotic and intermittently enjoyable experience, which whilst a little overextended and at times as shallow as the music it pastiches, marks a convincing enough return for Cut Copy.

Side Effects is enjoyable, with inspired moments and a consistently danceable feel. It is frequently referential to the band’s previous work, which might make this more of a knockout record for the heads, rather than an entry point for new converts. Sometimes, though, it lacks the drive that reveals itself in the sparkliest songs.

While not quite continuing with the bombast of its beginnings the The Savage Heart and Jim Jones Revue--a live band at best and perhaps one of the most visceral around--leave a lot to the imagination on this record which will certainly allow them to maintain the surprise and hype live.

Deap Lips, is less of a synthesis and more of a compromise. A diamond in the rough rather than a crown jewel. Undoubtedly more experimental than the Lips’ last collaborative effort, the music is still tinged with that same whiff of self-indulgence.

In a live arena the sinister power that Restarter wields will thrill, but as a static piece it's dense beyond reason.

What the other releases do so well is that they either hit the spot hard or deliberately miss for effect, but this time round the result seems to be somewhere in between.

Temple’s chameleonic tendencies make it unlikely that he’ll release an album in this vein again. With that in mind, it’s best to enjoy Be Small for what it is: charming, skilful, and pleasing to the ear.

It’s true that the concept is the most rewarding aspect of these songs, but the choice of character does chime greatly with the historical moment and makes the album more distinct than it otherwise might have been.

The artistry is unquestionable, but ultimately the indulgence of the album’s creation seems to have fogged Invention’s original vision.

Harlem River sees Morby’s melancholic discomforts through a refreshingly soft lens.