On pretty much every track, the instrumentation is formulaic and predictable.

It sometimes feels as though the sun has risen and those attempting to keep the party alive are fighting a losing battle. And a carnival with fighting of any kind is surely missing the point.

Surrender, accordingly, is the sound of a band in the throes of an identity crisis.

Energy is something of a misfire for Disclosure, it is an album that opts to play things safe and the consequence is an unremarkable album that feels at once overthought and simultaneously underdeveloped.

This particular realm of music expands, and you need to expand with it, or remain interesting enough to survive as you are; Courteeners have unfortunately done neither.

Moody. Loveless. One-paced. Monotonous. Dull.

Ultimately, Everyone For Ten Minutes doesn’t do enough to differentiate itself from the band’s previous outings. Despite some lovely, refreshing variations sprinkled throughout – like the atmospheric slow burn of opener “Sideways” – this is largely the sound of Antonoff planted firmly in his comfort zone.

Although the songs are largely solid, there’s a recurring sense of deja vu. ... Being Funny in a Foreign Language sees The 1975 lose touch with the reality they are usually so skilled at reflecting. Ever one to over-intellectualise, Healy is wrapped up in so many repeating layers of fame and meaning and memes and buzzwords that any real meaning is out of reach.

The tone of the album is almost suffocating. Just as Cuco’s vocals submerge under the cloying, bolero sensibilities of “Far Away From Home” – as do we, with this all-encompassing misery.

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

The result is a collection of futile, brooding songs that tries to encapsulate bigger-than-life emotions but ends up being too afraid to truly delve into them. He could just need a little love from someone, anyone, to get that refined taste back.

Certified Lover Boy is polished, well-executed and yet is completely devoid of ambition or memorable moments.

Despite all of its 33 minutes being recorded in a home built studio that also doubles as a brewery, there’s little to suggest anything particularly wacky rubbed off on the sound.

Smith’ sugary falsetto comes across a tad one dimensional and inexpressive on his solo debut In The Lonely Hour.

Despite the interminably silly nature of Black Moon Spell, there are moments when these retro-rockers get it right.

TRUSTFALL is largely an introspective record – mostly quiet and tepid, breaking out in select moments.

Period sounds like a record trying its best to be happy – the striking highs of something like “Praying” are nowhere to be found on this allegedly unrestrained album.

In short, it’s a bit of a misfire.

It results in a pleasant, but mostly quite forgettable listen.

The 'what if' factor looms large on CHAOS NOW*, but not to the detriment of enjoying the thrilling outsider pop music that Dawson provides both in his overarching messaging and unsteady sound.

We were promised an album of violent thrills, but we just have The Prodigy on auto-pilot here.

If a track is below three minutes, it’ll be a modest barnburner that fizzles too fast, and if it’s above that, then you’re in for Black Francis impersonating a middle school vocal recital. .... When the distortion is flowing like beer on V-E Day, The Night the Zombies Came proves to be a modest party record, beneath the fat.

It’s very hard to understand where the identity of the band will finally settle when it alters its mask so numerously and swiftly across these ten disparate tracks.

Ultimately, there is a place for this kind of music, but it feels horribly dated.

The execution itself often falls frustratingly flat, lacking originality and a clear-cut focus. With its limited scope of musical conceptions, Born Pink, therefore, sounds strangely restricted, as if detained in a confined space wherein it longs to escape.

In short, there’s a sad irony to the title of this album; as a body of work, it derives courage through its commitment to playing it safe.

The album in it’s conventional format may be too limiting for Nisennenmondai here and therefore, this is not their greatest advert.

Mac’s latest release is unremarkable in almost every way, it is powerfully inoffensive in its delivery, instrumentation and intent which makes it hard to engage with and harder still to enjoy.