Constantly winning and resurging, not a moment of Apologies to the Queen Mary is lost to the chaos.

Tarnished as it is, Faking The Books is still a treasure. Ignore the ham-fisted political treatises and enjoy it for what it is: a streamlined marvel of IDM song architecture.

You always know when a Walkmen song comes on your shuffle, and Lisbon does nothing to dispel that. In fact, it adds another solid entry to an increasingly solid catalogue.

Taken as a whole, The Besnard Lakes display a unique style, a winning combination of intriguing songwriting and diverse arrangements.

With his soundbombing past set aside for the moment, DJ/Rupture proves he's just as capable of providing a different kind of head trip, one that sufficiently aids the comedown from whatever your nocturnal activity.

Brighter Than Creation's Dark is a tour de force that easily earns its praise and rings out as classically as any classic rock album.

The Canadian math whiz and artist formerly known as Manitoba proves he's just as calculated as he is cerebral, crafting music that feels equally clubby, fluid and submerged to back up the ideal album title.

While there isn't much variation in instrumentation or sound, the impeccable, thought-provoking lyrics more than make up for it.

The album is loud, visceral, and messily human, and should be regarded as an essential chapter in Cave's considerable discography.

You Could Have It So Much Better might as well be titled You Could Have It Just As Good A Year Later, since Franz Ferdinand seem to belong to the school of "if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it."

The Mountain Goats find a way to bounce back from the psychiatrist-worthy lyrics with strong, vibrant but subtly crafted compositions.

A delirious fever-dream of an album that continues to impress with each consecutive listen.

The Dr. of Mathematics has one-upped it with Andorra, keeping all of the earlier album's core sonic qualities while adding layers of heartfelt atmospherics to craft what is not only one of the most mesmerizing and unique albums of the year, but also one of the best.

Maybe the growth is only obvious to those who've been following, but that doesn't take away from the obvious upgrade of accessibility found here.

The prevailing lack of substance declares itself by the time "Still Take You Home" kicks in, and it becomes evident that Alex Turner’s somewhat chirpy vocals are the album’s lone cohesive influence.

Feels like being caught up in a creative whirlwind; every song at some point grants you the position of the fly on the wall - being privy to a group of people just chilling out, making music and living the good life.

Woman King is a brief and yet satisfying taste for what Iron & Wine is all about.

Less accessible than its eponymous predecessor, it creates a darker, less cartoonish world where hip-hop, brit-rock, electronica and Dennis Hopper monologues all seem perfectly at home.

Favourite Worst Nightmare finds the band getting louder, more aggressive, and, as a consequence, losing some of their youthful charm.

At times the running-on-fumes punk benefits The Monitor's overall sound. But the problem is that the songs that surround the defined centerpieces sound undeveloped or just plain fall flat, particularly early on when we hear about a supposed hero covered in excrement and piss as a dramatic plot-point.

It sounds more like half an album than an EP. It also sounds more like half-an-album than half-assed.

Do You Like Rock Music? is a large, unabashed attempt at greatness, and where other bands might diffuse into a chaotic mess in the process (ahem, Broken Social Scene), British Sea Power remain, skillfully intact.

The Great Destroyer is a masterpiece of emotional tumult.

What is key to this album's effectiveness is how Vampire Weekend's rhythmic momentum enervates the filler, turning another band's less flamboyant 'Campus' into a cymbal-crash-on-every-hit mini-epic, or the nearly irritating 'Blake's Got a New Face' into drunken singalong.

The good news, evident from the very first listen, is a welcome diversity of songwriting and arrangements, on an otherwise basic pop rock record.... The bad news is that diversity alone cannot salvage the album from being their least spontaneous effort yet.

Easy to hate and easy to love.

The instrumentation is superb, the record feels unforced, and the music is heartfelt.

There is little doubt that Silent Alarm is stellar, worthy of the praise it has received.