Earth finds Neil Young in his element expressing the collective concerns of the modern age, a fitting coda for an artist whose name has become a byword for transition and re-invention.

There’s evidence that he’s pursued some kind of consistency to the album’s mood, but it’s sonically so scattered that you can’t help but feel he’s fighting a losing battle; ultimately, he’ll end up back where he started--with devotees satisfied, but little in the way of fresh converts.

The whole record is coated in a dense echo-fug, and is completely and utterly one-dimensional. But that, to be quite frank, is the strength of Initiation.

Ultimately, Delta Machine is a record full of terrific moments, reminding you of why you fell in love with Depeche Mode in the first place.

You Can Do Better is still the JoFo you might know and love, and for anyone coming to it fresh it actually provides a fantastic gate-way album, with fairly obvious retro sensibilities but an energy, enthusiasm and self-confidence that keeps it feeling relevant and modern.

The record is at its best when we’re having fun with Ice, which seemed to be her initial ethos. But much of the record is unfortunately underbaked.

This is a relatively direct album, and it gives you all you need to know about it within the first ten minutes, but its reliance on a consistent sonic palette only increases its power. Of course, Rønnenfelt is the star of the show – his name is on the marquee this time – but the songs are a very, very close second.

Chaosmosis has its moments, but it sure is patchy.

Whilst with Sakura they haven’t quite achieved that elusive balance between the raw emotion and intimacy that made Big Deal so enticing in the first place and the intensity and power of a full band, all the signs suggest they will soon.

It's everything you've ever loved about Guided By Voices, all smashed together in one record.

It doesn’t quite all come together here as a whole album, veering between low-key dreamy ambience and more up-tempo indie pop.

The album certainly finds the fiery BRMC of old rekindled, with the band wisely applying the lessons they’ve learned over the years to fortify their bold but familiar sound that, while not approaching a reinvention by any means, at least represents a definite rebirth.

All We Need ultimately serves as another reminder that--with some seasoning--there is a great Raury record coming down the pipeline. This just isn’t it.

From their start, Oh Wonder were putting out high quality tracks that were stylistically interesting and excellently produced. In some ways, it would be foolish of them to deviate from the formula that served them so well in the past. As a record, this is unsurprising by wholly satisfying nonetheless.

The Aces are reaching for the stars on this release, and the glimmers of what they could be further down the road burn bright. Unfortunately the album is brought back to Earth when their usually precise hooks and focused direction are left behind in favour of lackadaisical experimentation – the candid lyrics manage to cut through, but it's easy to imagine this album being seen as transitionary in hindsight.

The stories he attempts to weave into each track mistake frankness for plainness, venting with both the vagueness and the strange specificity of an Instagram story stating, “Only the real ones will know.”

jUSt is by no means a catastrophe, it's just too empty an artefact to recommend to fans of a band who once infuriated, teased, scalded, intoxicated and destroyed their listeners with effortless aplomb.

The band's signature swagger and theatricality is present throughout, but there are moments of vulnerability and lamentation that add depth in all the right places.

The record is a fluid blend of Goldie taking reflective looks back on where he’s come from and the myriad influences that have shaped him over the years, alongside a sonic perfectionist’s competitive desire to push the music world forward with his new work.

It takes the form of a vanity project rather than a perceptive communication between artist and listener.

Bigfoot is bittersweet; cheerful and charming in small doses, and--as that’s all you get--it’s time well spent.

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.

Once more, Nightmares On Wax provide the backing music to the party; once more, your enjoyment is only limited by your own imagination.

A songwriter with a distinctive world view definitely but rarely the musical nous to really make the most of it--as such North American Poetry amounts to some sweet melodies delivered with slacker poise but is largely forgettable.

9 Dead Alive has strength, beauty and often a spirit of engagement with the tenebrous. At times, dialogues areunresolved, yet despite (because of?) this, there is vital music-making from two uncompromising artists.

Dungen Live is first and foremost a team effort, a totem for the kind of intuitive and intoxicating musical family communion that is hard to come by.

Idols fails to expand on the promise of its grand opening statement, instead resulting in a heavily flawed fourth outing, overly reliant on the use of tired rock caricatures and repetitive song structures.

Hayward’s kinetic drumming and Moore’s topographic guitar sprawl recurringly align and separate, speed up and slow down together, in what start to feel like nearly identifiable patterns. Such shapes may be just figures in the clouds, but they catch the imagination as they drift by.