While it stands apart, this is an evolution that will please both Wild Beasts' early adopters and the many converts that will surely follow from what is, without doubt, one of the stand out releases of the year.

What really makes The Invisible Invasion excellent, better even than that oft-feted debut, is what they achieve when they go a little bit crazy.

It's a cleverly and thoughtfully composed album, bereft of filler and loaded with style and substance.

With simple, delicate moments of memorable poignancy such as Banjo or Amen, he has now made a late masterpiece.

Ultimately, there is no getting away from the fact that WMABMT is a remarkable album. In fact, it is hard to think of anything else quite like it.

Fallon's understanding of the redemptive power of music elevates American Slang from being a good record to a great one.

I Forget Where We Were is an album to grow into rather than one of instant satisfaction, one that blossoms upon every subsequent listen, one to clutch close to your heart and cherish forever.

It’s a story (almost cinematic), a journey, and far and away the greatest album they’ve done so far.

In broadening their horizons they've not sacrificed quality, every note and sound is perfectly executed. Foals have made impressive strides forward, and you'd be mad not to follow them.

They’ve produced one of the very best albums of the year, despite the long gestation period.

It’s not the easiest of pop albums to listen to but its raw power makes it a dazzling triumph.

It feels like the most human of his late works, with acoustic instrumentation carefully balanced alongside drum programming and vintage keyboards.

Every one of these songs is blessed with that special something that the band impress on their songs.

Bob Ludwig's remastering punches up the drums and adds clarity and volume to the mix without overblowing it or excessively altering the overall sound, and the result is that these two albums sound incredibly modern, relevant, and invigourated... The Gish standouts include a demo of Daydream with Corgan on vocals in place of D'arcy Wretzky and an extended version of Drown with blistering alternate guitar solos.

The Ship proves he has more ideas than ever, and shows there’s still plenty left to be achieved in music.

Whilst R.I.P. certainly has some of the cold detachment that often characterises electronic music, it is also a remarkably thoughtful and creative work that has clearly benefited from a more personal and human compositional approach.

Spaces demonstrates a prodigious, world-class talent that shines through regardless of format or circumstance.

Blanck Mass’ style approaches speedcore in places, but Power ultimately creates music more nuanced and vivid than that genre label ever facilitated, and as such this album is highly recommended for all fans of experimental electronic music, as well as the noise and industrial side of things.

Bob Ludwig's remastering punches up the drums and adds clarity and volume to the mix without overblowing it or excessively altering the overall sound, and the result is that these two albums sound incredibly modern, relevant, and invigourated.... Siamese Dream includes exceptional demos for U.S.A. and U.S.S.R., as well as Moleasskiss from the much sought after Mashed Potatoes bootlegs.

All We Grow is not an album for instant gratification, nor is it an album to relegate to background music. Rather, this is a record to study and indulge yourself in--it deserves every bit of your attention.

Lindstrøm manages to achieve a palatable yet ambitious record without ever resorting to indulgence, not forgetting in his view of large forms to look closer and focus on the minutiae.

What it may lack in cohesion, it more than makes up for in adventure and it is certainly one hell of a captivating ride.

Even when his quality control slips slightly, the music remains utterly beautiful, like glittering light on a river, or gossamer threads floating through the air on a summer’s day.

Musically, she’s moved on from the folky Americana that made her name, and moved towards a more doomy, synth-based sound. Yet it suits her down to the ground.

Hadreas is a staggeringly talented songwriter, with Put Your Back N 2 It showcasing an array of songs as deceptively simple as they are jaw-droppingly powerful.

It's an uplifting end to one of the best albums of 2011, one that marks Ghostpoet as a name to keep a very close eye on.

It might not be new any more, but it’s still formidably potent.

Tiersen’s gamble with electronics pays off handsomely, the listener rewarded with a lingering insight into his world. A beautiful hour spent in the company of a fine musical mind.

It seems Pala is Friendly Fires' successful attempt to translate their positivity-injected carnival live performances into a record. In the process, it just so happens they've delivered what deserves to be the soundtrack to the summer.

The Physical World is a tremendous, rollicking, riotous blast of an album.

In the end, what really matters is that the superior Nothing Was The Same brings back the excitement of So Far Gone.

For all the sonic invention which they usually display, it’s the raw emotion and sadness on Two Ribbons which make this Let’s Eat Grandma’s finest album yet.

This dreamy, warm and otherworldly concoction is the perfect antidote to the grey and chilly beginnings of the impending new year.

Whole New Mess has a lot to carry on its shoulders – and carry it, it does. This is a superb album, and a more than worthy companion to its sister.

A singular, striking piece of work from an artist on top form, this record is not to be missed.

It’s a beautiful record to immerse yourself in and just lose track of time for a while – once its myriad charms have become apparent, you won’t want to listen to anything else.

In such a hugely enjoyable and compelling set, the weaker moments are few and far between.

Throughout the record, Steve Mackey's production shimmers both warmly and vibrantly, sounding at once like a throwback from the 1980s and futuristic.

A stunning debut album, one that proves the hype was more than justified.

Each track melds into its predecessor and its successor, creating a mesmeric experience that truly captivates the attention and inspires awe at the sheer musicality of Thurston Moore.

The Monkees have made an album which stands readily among the best of their career and of the year so far.

They’ve turned everything up beyond 11 this time, opting to throw more skull crushing riffs into the mix. The songs might be shorter, but they lack none of the innate need to pummel that infuses most of their work. 


There are so many ideas, grooves and interesting deviations on Pas Pire Pop that it is impossible not to be drawn in by it. Rather than being overwhelming, it’s a record that stuns with its hypnotic and jubilant rhythms.

The sounds on Microcastle form a lush landscape.

They've created a finely honed album that hints at a multitude of influences but because they are ploughing their own furrow they're in debt to none of them.

It is, quite simply, a staggeringly good record for an artist at this late stage of what has been a remarkable career, entirely made up of original compositions and worthy in its own way to stand alongside the masterpieces of its creator’s mid-’60s and mid-’70s halcyon periods.

This is a special album, make no doubt about it, casting its spell as it makes both a moving memorial and an example of raw talent. If techno with a soul is what you're after, then look no further than this.

Complex yet accessible, and best experienced when fully immersed in it. It’s possibly Braids’ best record since their debut Native Speaker – a record that reveals more delights the more times you listen to it.

30 Years Of War aside, this is an album that finds the Manics in fine form.

Given the expressions of vulnerability and exploration of heartache here, this album has had timely release. It makes for a glorious companion to Björk’s Vulnicura but also stands as a confident, masterly debut album in its own right.

Skeletal Lamping flicks across channels like a man with an itchy trigger finger who trigger finger is actually itchy, but it excels in making a brilliant kind of sense.

This Is Happening suffers no shortage of really great songs. Each track is a well-executed study in the finer points of the long form, each thumping and building, wavering and shifting in the haze of its own self-contained ecosystem.

Yves Tumor has drawn inspiration from all those moody vocals, watery guitars and blown-out mixes to create their best album yet. ... The increased connection of the internet is taking an already rich musical landscape towards its very own singularity, and when we get there it may sound a lot like Yves Tumor’s raw, surreal, multilayered tunes.

This compilation, the fourth and possibly final in their Switched On series, collects some of the various EPs, compilation tracks and tour 7″s they made between 2000 and 2005, along with some deep cuts that stretch back to the Mars Audiac Quintet era and proves the critics wrong.

This is a vital album for anyone interested in how musical traditions are disseminated, absorbed and reinvented.

Gold and Green finds its mark far more consistently than Kila, despite being a far more expansive and rambling album.

What is perhaps most impressive about Beautiful Africa is its sheer number of thrilling twists and turns.

Everything is ordered, nothing is left to chance, and with a clear path of progression. For the chilly yet soothing soundworld it conjures, it is endlessly replayable. Medicine never tasted this good.

It's to Diplo and Switch's enormous credit that the style is fully authentic, the party in full swing the whole way through.

They find Harris stepping away from the choral ambiance and glacial minimalism of the Nivhek era and retreating back to the nocturnal ebbs and crackling timbres of earlier albums such as Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill and The Man Who Died In His Boat.

An emotionally raw and thrilling pop record (because it is a pop record, despite its rock sensibilities). After a series of downs that would finish most bands, Get Tragic sounds like a new start for its creators.

The introspective narrative may not be uncharted territory, but Dido chose these waters. She is unrivalled in navigating them with her disarming and melodic harmonies. If we’re going to hell after this, let’s enjoy this atmospheric goddess while we can. Beautiful.

The wry humour on display even extends to the setlist, with 'I Tried To Leave You' being the first song of the encore. It's little touches like that which make Live In London both the perfect souvenir for those who were there on the night and also a handy introduction to one of the true living legends of the music industry.

Of its kind, Bakesale is a classic, and well worth reappraising.

It’s certainly Holter’s most accomplished and imaginative album--indeed, there hasn’t been an album this packed with ideas since tUnE-yArDs' w h o k i l l a couple of years ago.

Darker than its predecessors, the harrowing Meds is as close Placebo have come to that perfect album.

More than anything else, there's a sense of contentment and pleasure that purveys the Things Of The Past that could have been lifted from the Summer of Love itself.

Simply put, When The Cellar Children See The Light Of Day is one of the best albums of the year.

While it may be a tremendously personal album for Barwick, you can get lost in Nepenthe for not only its sheer beauty, but for its ability to evoke visual cues and tell stories with its music.

The message might be shorter this time around, but it is just as pointed and effective.

Another six-minute effort closes the album, Ducter, and like all the album’s best tracks it manages to navigate all the band’s best checkpoints of note, showcasing those spellbinding vocals and extraordinary percussion as they tread a truly staggering path. Schlagenheim will open up a whole new bottle of weird, if you let it in. It’s Troutmask Replica for a new generation, or perhaps it’s Can attempting to recreate the madness that Captain Beefheart’s enigmatic classic contained.

It’s compelling stuff; we need more musicians who are prepared to go nuts in this delightfully joyous way.

The Ascension is a far superior and more ambitious album [than 2010 album The Age Of Adz].

As Days Get Dark is a remarkable return, a new Arab Strap that updates, deepens and re-energises their sound.

Of course this is a great record. Of course this is essential listening. At this point in his career he’s still getting better, and that’s a scary proposition.

Robyn has assured her contemporaries that pop life does not end as a tweenie, that pop music can be for adults, and that adults can be Do It Yourself indie artists, so long as one thing is in place: talent.

Silence Yourself may not invent a genre. Silence Yourself may not give you something you didn’t have already. But it is so stark, so bold and delivered with such utter belief that you wonder why anyone would possibly care.

By the time the melancholic Schoenberg soprano has drifted into the ether at the end of The Abandoned Colony Collapsed My World, you’ll be ready for a repeat listen – although you’ll hear so many different elements the second time round, you’ll wonder whether the album isn’t secretly mutating whilst your back’s turned.

Stripped back tracks, smart beats, punchy bass, and Williamson’s dextrous barked delivery are all in place, and it seems that the band are in their dis/comfort zone.

Vynehall’s potential has always been apparent, but Rare, Forever is a truly beguiling record – equal parts poignant and hedonistic – which allows his vast array of talents to shine.

An artist at the top of his game, with the newfound artistic freedom that Konnichiwa granted him but the energy of still having something to prove. It also confirms the 2010s grime revival as being more than a passing trend, and on this basis it’s stronger than ever.

The Big Roar has been some time in coming, but it has been well worth the wait. This could finally be The Joy Formidable's year.

nge. Lesser bands may have gone off the rails, but Courtney and company have responded by making the best album of their career to date.

This is a sumptuous and rewarding way of spending 60 minutes. YTILAER shows how he keeps raising the bar creatively, consolidating his place in the upper echelons of alternative rock in the process.

She has delivered her most soothing and assuaging set of songs to date, music to help re-establish personal harmony and emotional equilibrium.

In the grand tradition of rockers who have music to cure their own isolation and misery, Barnes and Of Montreal have entered a great one in the canon with Lousy With Sylvianbriar.

For Miike Snow make weirdly wonderful music, not without its strange lyrical dark side, but with an overall vibe that raises you to your feet and makes you gaze at the blue sky. In a phrase, life-enriching.

How good is A Weekend In The City? At times, it's brilliant: bold, forthright and honest.

Minor grumbles aside, Bromst is a thrilling, hyperactive album that runs from calm and composed to frantic and frazzled, usually within the space of an intro.

Senjutsu is Iron Maiden’s strongest offering in some time, looking forward whilst occasionally peering back over its shoulder. In tone it’s the band’s darkest album, but the sheer coherence and confidence of the playing, writing and production makes it feel filled with light and positivity. There’s conflict all over the album, but this is the sound of a band firing on all cylinders.

These outstanding songs, imaginatively and intuitively balanced by clever production, cohere to form a serious work reflecting on landscape, memory, regret and the pull of our roots. It more than earns its somewhat portentous title.

An underplayed, subtle triumph, but a victory nonetheless.

This enchanting and deeply felt piece of work marks Gwenno out once again as a unique artist with much to say.

The Blue Hour has finesse, sensitivity and lightness of touch: all the hallmarks of a great modern classical album. In Federico Albanese, we’ve got a new name to watch out for.

The voice of Shirley Collins is blossoming again, delivering its compelling stories with the urgency of a singer who simply had to make this record. Collins is a musical key worker, her songs compelling at every turn.

The Tarnished Gold sees them return sounding fresh and revitalised, delivering an album that more than matches their earlier output.

It is a celebratory record, a special piece of work with deeply thought sentiments that leave a mark on its audience from the first listen to the most recent. The rich orchestrations celebrate the world around us, discovering it to be far more colourful and expressive than we could have dared expect.

It’s a smart, attentive-demanding progression--within the song and throughout the album as a whole--that deftly captures various stages of love’s cycle. With added synths.