Vapours isn’t just a welcome addition to the band’s collection but it’s a welcoming album filled with tremendously rich highs, blunt and honest lyrics, melodic music and captivating hooks.

The most eclectic and endearing Dirty Three album in quite some time.

Whilst a few more Bert Jansch classics like “Needle Of Death” and his own rendition of Davy Graham’s “Angie” might have defined Live At The 12 Bar as a more complete go-to on-stage snapshot, its intimacy and strength still marks it out as an essential fan-friendly re-addition to his labyrinthine catalogue, which is due for further exploration via Earth Recordings in the near-future.

Whilst it won’t necessarily win Yo La Tengo many new fans, the aromatic potpourri of Stuff Like That There should happily intoxicate existing ones.

False Priest generally packs the kind of shock and awe that made 2007's Hissing Fauna such a delight. Throw in some deft work at the boards by one of today's hottest producers and a couple of guest appearances by notable female vocalists, and you've got one of 2010's most colorful releases. It's not for everyone, but that's half the fun of it.

The album magnifies both Meloy’s core songwriting and the group’s gifts for bold ambitious arrangements. This brings out some dynamic juxtapositions between simplicity and elaboration that serve proceedings in a refreshing fashion.

Midlake has created an album that can subside on its own. It never reaches sublime territory and who knows, it may not even need it but for a few in tow, there’s nothing rudimentary basic about The Courage of Others.

Formerly, you’d envision a samba paced song like “An Insular Life” to grow into a meaty, strong-armed force but here, Meiburg and Co. allow for the strings to bring it to a lifting end, well after they’d taken the drum’s pattern to a heavenly new place.

Feels further confirms that not only does Animal Collective make music different from anything else that’s out there – these folks are also quite good at it.

It's almost fate that they've chosen to reveal themselves to me with what is their best work to date, and also one of the most remarkable albums of this year.

Places Like This is a fun album that’s difficult to describe and impossible to forget.

What could have been a boring, belligerent, and bellicose introspective slide into the music industry dustbin has in fact turned out to be one of Grandaddy’s most listenable and likeable releases.

Perhaps the only thing missing to complete the utterly charming and enveloping experience of I’m A Dreamer is being able to play it on a crackly gramophone with a shot of prohibition-era moonshine to sup on.

All in all this is a great album.

For Janes, Say Goodbye is a shining force and testimony of the great resolute determination is; if this is what her version of soul is, the new and inviting experiments are surely welcome.

For an artist who continues to mature and expand, Treble & Tremble may not be his magnum opus, but it is a delightful indie-pop album.

Though Suspended Animation boasts 30 tracks, it only runs some 40-odd minutes, and those are some of the most densely packed and bombastic minutes you’re likely to find on a record this year.

Goodbye Bread is a fitting development on an impeccable path. The depth accomplished through five albums is obviously grand and it's definitely as if Segall is purely improving with every passing year.

They’ve placed everything that’s superb about them and have delivered it ten-fold with Yonder is the Clock.

Laswell and company have crafted something deeply personal and profound, and it's destined to be a milestone in his career.

Answers is a document of how good instrumentals can be written without walls clearly delineating where the verse ends and the chorus begins.

The 15 tracks presented are a perfect addition to any iPod and would certainly serve well as background music to any hipster wannabe party you throw.

While Knuckle Down doesn’t wow with new musical directions, the album undeniably satisfies by being familiar and stunning.

It's a bit of an acquired taste, but at record's end, you'll be extremely satisfied.

Common Era is remarkable for a variety of reasons that transcend textual directness. It defies expectations in ways most musicians don't even conceive, let alone attempt.

Four albums in, the music continues to embellish and luckily, entertain for Junior Boys. Even though It's All True might not be the resounding return of earlier albums, the transitions the duo has embarked on have found them crafting sound into brand new revelations.

As with any Kristin Hersh long-player, Learn To Sing Like A Star will of course take a dozen or so spins to reveal its true merits to listeners.

An interesting collage of styles.