Disappointing swansong from the King of Pop.

Middle-aged indie jinks for NYC mainstays.

Long lost treasures from the boss.

R&B concept album about binmen turned superheroes. Yup.

Third mediocre outing in twelve months for Swedish starlet.

High prince of bad taste delivers unexpected meisterwork.

Emo heroes reveal their inner Brian May.

Pop chanteuse lets the sunshine back in.

The beautiful skeleton of a shoe-gazing album.

80s clubland legend Grace Jones returns with Hurricane, a patchy but fascinating comeback record.

Ex-Verve singer teams up with the cream of modern R&B for some far-out funk soul brotherhood.

Starry-eyed debut hits more often than misses.

The Thrills meets The Polyphonic Spree--in a good way!

Teenage dreamer turns in nightmare of a second record.

Chill out maestros prove they have some different tricks in their locker.

Mathangi Arulpragasam delivers intriguingly fluxed up genre bending third album.

A mesmerising, love-lorn, tear-soaked magical mystery-Jet tour.

Stop me if you think you've heard this one before.

Kylie sticks to formula, makes half decent record.

Raw, sparse, low-key, vocodered hip hop.

Marshall Mathers tackles his most complicated subject...himself.

They do make em' like this anymore.

Country diva channels marriage break-on first LP in nearly a decade.

The New York duo make experimental electro pop that works.

Astonishing new album from ex-Immediate wunderkind.

Modfather gets his weird on.

Averegeness abounds from budding UK starlet.

Hallelujah! Grunge legends stand the test of time.

South Carolina rockers make big music.

Berlin based electro crooner ratchets up the goo factor.

Genius robo-funk opus from worthy-of-the-hype OutKast protege.

Umpteenth Jack White side-project finally comes good.

Good, but I can't get behind the voice.

Mark E. Smith successfully negotiates that difficult 28th album.

The Canadian supergroup return with super new LP.

The 'New Springsteen' comes of age.

Mockney songbird grows up--but is she any wiser?

Former 10,000 Maniacs frontwoman channels Alice In Wonderland with tingle-inducing results.

The musical equivalent of a puppy humping your leg. This is not a recommendation.

Sigur Ros frontman goes it alone to exhilarating effect.

Solid outing from country veteran.

Jazz maestro takes a turn towards the electro.

Lurch into odd-ball avant-pop almost pays off for UK eccentrics.

Classy Copenhagen act unveil penchant for pop.

Aging punks flog a rapidly expiring horse.

80s-centric brooklyn trio deliver complex second album.

Electro-pop wizards deliver cracking third album.

Dance-punk act up the ante and make play for music's top table.

Underwhelming Third outing for nu-gaze duo.

Session musicians removes salt from the sea!

Brummie Rockers offer electro-led punch in the nose.

New York prepsters stick to their Paul Simon-goes-indie formula on successful second album.

Ringo solo album... Come back! It’s not that bad!

Try-hard, but ultimately mediocre R’n’B comeback from disgraced singer.

The Doggfather part 10. Ho Hum. What else is on?

Pretty much every song on Straight No Chaser is a future pop anthem of powerhouse proportions.

Thrillingly experimental hip-hop.

Howling good fun from Lupine superstar.

A sophisticated gentleman does a poo.

Dirty dance-diva bundles new EP with reissued album.

Millennial ‘It’ Boy gets the horn on eighth album.

Easy listening princess goes indie-goth.

Love as a battlefield.

Great songs played well, but...

Here’s Johnny! Marr forces Jarman brothers out of their Crib.

Bernard Sumner delivers decent Enough Post-New order solo platter.

Predictable return to stadium soft-rock from former Poodle-permers.

Mid-career retrospective captures SP’s inner conflicts.

Scots veterans turn up the orchestra knob and rock.

Strokes frontman ditches leather jacket, reinvents self as DIY Gary Numan.

Canadian sisters examine love's deceitful ways.

Four years in the making second album from Oz hard rockers.

The People’s Princess pleases with Her catchy generic pop

White hot rockers give two fingers to difficult second album.

Pop go the classics with Sufjan Stevens.

Another dose of brilliant pop parody from the NZ twosome.

Devon’s finest makes a Motown-laced return.

Third time's still a charm with Philadelphian prog-folk contingent.

A spirited return from Beth Ditto and company--but where are the new ideas?

What happens when you cross Mazzy Star with Sleater Kinney? These boy/girl newcomers have the answer.

French Smoothies return to lunar landscapes.

Soft metal album that challenges Whitesnake, Bon Jovi and Van Halen. Funny...I think.

Revered outsider artist makes move on the mainstream.

Nutty Boys regain former glories in full.

Strangely moving robo-pop from hyped duo.

Emo kids kick up a riot on surprisingly edgy third outing.

There’s still something oddly admirable about Alice In Chains’ stubborn refusal to change.

Sublime companion to kiddies’ book adaption from Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman.

Surprisingly enjoyable party rock.

I don’t care who you are, come up with an album title like that and you get a free pass.

Return To Form from last electro band standing.

Earthbound offering from hyped to the heavens duo.

Avant-rockers make shameless play for the aging Generation X market.

Grime champ steps up to the mark with career-best record.

Manics mine Richey’s last words for a return to the heart of darkness.

Dance duo up their game on multi-packed, multi-contributor return.

It’s the closing triptych of quasi-classical numbers--the aforementioned ‘Exogenesis’ sequence--that transports Muse to a place beyond parody.

Close but no rosette for the new British diva on the block.