Ho & bling free rap of the highest thought provoking order.

Surprisingly laidback new dispatch from uptight country rockers.

Imagine an amalgam of The White Album, The Kick Inside and Professor Longhair, all conceived as an off-Broadway extravaganza directed by Julie Taymor.

Hercules And Love Affair may be a party, it may be a disco, but it sure ain't no foolin' around.

The various elements are spun like syrup round a spoon; creating a deliciously moreish concoction, the sort you’ll want to dip into time and again.

Further mystical adventures from grunge-era Kate Bush.

The 'New Springsteen' comes of age.

A sophisticated gentleman does a poo.

Mournful folkie not quite as desolate as usual.

Trees Outside The Academy is a masterclass of prog drugginess, brimming with sweet melodies and lullaby choruses.

Lucinda Williams provides instruction for those who feel fucked around and fobbed off at 40-something.

A gorgeous, swoonsome album that electrifies and stimulates in all the right places.

Pocket Symphony... contains more than its fair share of inspired moments.

From the grim and gritty depths of east Glasgow, Glasvegas tout a sure-to-be-huge mix of ragged emotion and vintage vibrations straight out of the Phil Spector playbook.

They’re a zesty bunch are Architecture In Helsinki, and never more so than on Places Like This.

While their peers pander to the mainstream, the masked musicians continue to honour their scene by staying true to their roots while broadening their sound.

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

Food-obsessed lyrics tinged with medieval mischief.

Hotly tipped Canadian electro duo Crystal Castles deliver the goods on their debut album.

Nutty Boys regain former glories in full.

There’s quite a supporting cast on Jenny Lewis’s second LP. Elvis Costello makes an appearance, Zooey Deschanel, Jonathan Rice and M Ward all pop by.

Dirty dance-diva bundles new EP with reissued album.

Ragged glories from punk's oddball.

Will Oldham gets back to the country.

The lyrics here are a lacerating mix of blue collar bile and blue language, little Lady Muck simultaneously waging class and crass warfare.

Production superstars The Neptunes get back to penning their own tunes – with highly impressive results.

Welcome to the (haunted) house of fun.

Quality electro from Canadian groove mechanics.