It’s an aimless, winding record that occasionally stumbles upon greatness, but with the amount of mediocrity, you can’t help feel that the high points are mere accidents.

Methyl Ethel have an innate knack for a tune, yet the darker ideas can feel unremittingly earnest.

It’s not their most nuanced piece of work to date, but it does boil down many of the key components of the band’s sound to something that feels universally accessible; you get the feeling that this is a rarities compilation that’s actually been put together intelligently, and there’s no overstating just how rare that is.

It takes from every era of the duo and amalgamates it in such a way that you it never feels forced or out of place. While we may miss those cutting riffs, they do more than enough to satisfy our thirst.

Everything is presented with a glossy sheen which may prove too much for some, especially fans of arguably their best album, 1998’s underrated and unloved Adore, and as with every other Pumpkins album, it’s hard to see where Corgan and Chamberlin end, and the other players begin. Yet if you weren’t expecting much from this latest attempt at keeping the band alive, you'll be impressed at how revitalised they sound.

Summer of ’13 is an album that takes itself with a pinch of salt, experimenting with good humor and having a lot of fun in the process.

The best songs here are absolutely, sonically at least, the safest. ‘Is It Insane’ is Ella Fitzgerald cosplay, plain and simple, but my god does Keys play the part well. With some jazz-lounge piano, lightly tapped drums and some actual vinyl crackle, the depth and versatility of her voice is on vivid display.

My Sad Captains have got the words, the sound, and the craft, now if only they’d try a little harder to get everyone’s attention.

It’s personal--perhaps too much so--in that it can be inaccessible and/or devoid of meaning outside of the immediacy of her heart. But then it doesn’t feel like a self-indulgent collection; there’s a sincerity to her endeavours that endear you to the album despite it’s abundance of misgivings.

With Transfixiation, they’ve provided a compelling rebuke to their detractors; once again, there’s no shortage of consideration behind the chaos.

In all though, Kiss Land succeeds on not only being an album in the assumed sense of the word, with big singles, tasty hooks and singalong phrases, but as a concept record too, one that takes you hostage.

Quarters is a reference to Berlin and a statement of intent then, and like the city Seams is likely to be on plenty of cool-hunters’ lists from now on.

For a record that on first listen sounds so sparse, Await Barbarians is a trove of sentiment and intricacy.

There are a decent amount of genuinely stirring moments on this album to prevent it from falling completely flat. It’s interesting and occasionally shines but, front-ended with its strongest tracks, Two Trains ultimately runs out of steam.

Castles moves from darkness to hope, and ends not with a conclusion, but possibilities.

Through all its globe-trotting nuances and outlandish statements of grandeur, it’s a striking pop record.

Painted Palms’ firm grasp on hooky songwriting and Pet Sounds-levels of vicarious whimsy makes for a rather interesting edifice of introspection for a debut LP, despite its cluttered arrangement.

The hodgepodge feel is a shame, because at its best RELAXER is euphoric and poignant, at its worst it is frustrating and lumpy.

To give some credit, the duo do play around with genre here, dabbling with electro, metal and hip hop across its tracks, but fail to make it cohesive.

Content wise, Glow is everything you could want from a dance artist’s debut album. It’s produced well, it’s cheeky in parts, dark and suggestive in others and varied enough in regards to genre.

I Don’t Think I Can Do This Any More won't win over any of Moose Blood’s detractors, but despite those tracks featuring early in the album erring on the wrong side of over-familiarity, the band have clearly made a solid effort in developing their sound and maturing as an outfit. And though by no means a perfect album, it’s far less two-dimensional than cursory listens would have one believe.

Full Bleed reveals a complete lack of understanding of the dynamics of black metal. It doesn’t sound like a black metal record and never gets close to sounding like it.

If this it to be M.I.A.’s final release, it’s a fittingly confrontational, vibrant and invigorating piece of work.

Because the Internet, like Camp before it, fails to bring the sparkle that Glover has displayed in his comedy writing to his music; where his debut was crude, cartoonish and silly, this effort is faux-reflective, misguided and ultimately collapses under the weight of a concept that’s almost impossible to make sense of.

For now though, things are still at the experimental stage.

Standouts like “The Sun Also Rises,” “Car into the Sea” and the title track are also just as groovy as anything from that era, but never does the album sound stuck in it. The Modern Age is a very welcome return.

Do What You Want To, It’s What You Should Do--isn’t really revelatory in any sense, though it’s an irrefutably gorgeous document.

They’ve consolidated on the progression made between their first two albums and in turn produced their finest effort to date.