Tenderly, expertly picked guitar supports the voice: Byrne doesn't so much sing as exhale and her unforced delivery serves to mesmerise.

The duo’s knack for high five-worthy boasts and massive one-liners remains undiluted. However, RTJ3 truly excels in some of its darkest moments.

Oxygene 3 is a minimalist--and exquisitely melancholy--wonder.

Virginia Wing’s gift is the ability to get these elements [musique concrète to squelchy deconstructed techno, refracted pop hooks and seismic drone] to sit so comfortably alongside each other, within one immersive sonic world.

Letherette manage the notoriously tricky second album by delivering a reworked and revitalised version of the style with which they have made their name.

Unable to elicit more than a shrug for most of its runtime, the record is just one more passable pop album in a year that really didn’t need another.

Either way, it’s a slightly boozy, bluesy, badly tuned, occasionally winsome collection of songs that treads a neat path between pseud’s corner and authentic alley.

Witty, odd and carefully drawn, Woolhouse nails whimsy without once hitting twee.

While nothing on Woman is quite as bombastic as when † was first unleashed on an unsuspecting public, there's plenty of intriguing stuff to chew on here with deep cuts such as Chorus and Heavy Metal, resulting in a terrific return from the French duo.

A difficult but thrilling listen.

While Romare is a master when it comes to constructing unique and unusual sounds in his music (the opening of his old single Roots for example), sometimes this can be more abrasive than enjoyable--New Love, we're looking at you. Overall though, this is a warm piece of percussive and melodic greatness.

The obliqueness is only a challenge if you allow it to be; the depth of Hersh’s music has always revealed itself over time rather than through simple earworms (although they're present on the mighty Killing Two Birds).

At nine tracks and 27 minutes long, Highway Songs isn't the longest of albums, an element that's perhaps suggestive of the brief period documented by these songs. The best is saved for last, though, as Pajo's true shot at self-redemption makes for a stunning close.

Monument Builders is an augmented reality to spend time with, explore and get lost in.

It’s a well-rounded selection of tracks on an album that can sit comfortably next to your best Fabric and Watergate compilations.

Nuanced, thoughtful discussions broadcast with power and volume: please give Sad13 all your yesses. But only if you want to.

Instant Halo is a reminder that the band's deepest roots are not in the snappy guitars of post-punk, nor the industrial-electro beats that inspired the likes of Trent Reznor, but a dub foundation that ensures the The Pop Group remain as danceable as they are confrontational.

Bayonne twists and folds thousands of layers and loops, utilising the echoes of old pianos and draining sinks to add some earth to his technical wizardry.

Citizen of Glass delivers an ambitious and accomplished collection of pretty, ornate artefacts.

Overall, and despite a brief lull, Babes Never Die is enjoyable from beginning to end. Peppered with catchy choruses and heroic riffs, and with sing-along moments galore, it's much fuller, better rounded and more complete than 2014's Honeyblood.

A dozen records deep in their career, we find Lambchop at their most adventurous, and it sounds wonderful.

This is less innovation, more a soothing collection of unpretentious porch songs, delivered in superb fashion.

Whilst the duo blend their styles deftly, there are moments where their individual personalities dominate.

The production of this record is flawless, but when so many talented writers are trying their hands at precisely this kind of pop music, substance is paramount, with style a distant second. Sadly, the opposite is true here.

Their control is immaculate, their romanticism timeless.

Angry, acquiescent and apathetic all at once, Running Out Of Love is an ideal album for our anxious times.

As a mood piece, It's Immaterial works. As a showcase of the talents of Stewart's broad field of collaborators, less so--there's a homogeny to the album's sound that is by turns impressive and suffocating.

The trio certainly thrash away confidently (and with no let-up), but it’s the tangents that offer the biggest thrills.