In general Sirens is listenable and catchy, only it plays to an unexciting scene that is largely turning (like the victims of a Gorgon themselves) stagnant.

Eight songs, many of which feel too long; recorded in eight cities that don’t really leave their unique mark on the sonic side of the experience; each with a guest who is, at best, an apparition dancing in the shadows of the spot-lit stars; yielding eight largely forgettable arrangements that won’t make a dent on any fan’s all-time top 10.

The songs are largely beautiful, the vocal performance is mostly impeccable and the recording generally captivating, but so was its predecessor.... not quite as good live album.

It’d be interesting to hear what this band comes up with if they stepped away from a doomy signature sound, but right now this is an assured album and a satisfying follow-up.

Swift’s vocals are triumphant, soaring, wild throughout--she is a fantastic singer, and 1989 does showcase her ability to attack a track of any style and claim it as her own, even if the ultimate results feel like a compromise had to be found to make the final cut.

This is hardly music to quicken the pulse and there’s no escaping the sense of sameyness over the album’s 40 minutes.

The mask of the brooding troubadour doesn’t quite fit: the LP is marred by below-par, uninspired vocals and rudimentary lyrics.

While the sheer breadth of Wait ‘Til Night can’t fail to impress, the album lacks certain cohesiveness. That said, there’s an honest creativity here that ripples through proceedings.

There are some surprising hooks amongst predominantly ugly arrangements, and its ambition is admirable, but Plowing… proves woefully lacking in coherency, and fails as its makers’ next evolution.

It’s by no means a bad record, but won’t be the trap pioneer’s most memorable either.

The ’80s sci-fi pastiche meets early-’00s girl power wears thin over 11 tracks, but there are still moments for the dancefloor.

On the whole Encyclopedia is a bit of a misanthropic drag.

Clocking in at almost 72 minutes, Sukierae is a bloated, if lulling, listen.

Accomplished again, then, and greatly engrossing throughout. It’s just lacking that crucial aspect of singular appeal to stand aside from a fiercely competitive pack.

With more attention paid to plucked triads and syncopation than packing any sort of resolute punch, This Is All Yours just can’t see the wood for the trees.

From opener ‘Cheap Talk’ onwards, this is never anything but the purest DFA1979, served flaming hot. Which was just fine back when--but it’s definitely a disappointment to not hear the band even hinting at an expansion of their stripped-raw sound, just deep-groove bass and heavily hit drums.

This is principally a marriage of simple, forlorn fretwork and O’s deliciously otherworldly vocals: impossibly, she manages to sound simultaneously seductive and indifferent; emotive yet also strangely detached.

The sugar is here, but teeth will get itchier.

They’re worth the minor missteps along the way.

Lyrics like “I’ll stay young to be saved” (‘Be A Kid’) come across as self-indulgent and frontman Sam McTrusty’s reedy vocals get lost in menacing tracks like ‘I Am An Animal’.

Drenched in trademark rosy glow, it’s all tender and consolatory.

The pair still aren’t in that DFA1979 category of combatively brilliant, just yet.

EX will neither enliven classicists nor win new fans. We need challenged by this artist, who normally thrives on doing exactly that.

While at times lacking in lyrical insight, Fink’s ability to maintain an atmosphere, to build up gentle, soothing bubbles of sound, is largely unmatched.

The undeniable influence of Krautrock in the drone, dirge and motorik beats interspersed with passages of ambiance make for a deliciously diffused, shimmering, summery psyche salad.

Peter Katis’s production can at times strangle the band’s live thrash.

So the bleakly beautiful is still there, but the flashes are sporadic.

There’s nothing inherently bad, but the whole venture feels akin to buying a Lamborghini and then driving it in a way that will maximise fuel efficiency.