If you’re a fan, you’ll still be a fan and if you’re not, you still won’t be.

The music's catchy, sure, and this time round it's undeniably uplifting in both tone and substance, but there's precious little about Night Train that's surprising enough to elevate it out of the realm of song-of-the-moment radio pop.

Their sonic departure won't be radical enough to put off fans, but the ultimate feel is familiar enough not to persuade any detractors. They may have taken a step forward, but they're still on the same street.

Endlessly is like many successors to huge-selling albums: the attempts to break with the artist's trademark sound are tentative, and the result is a record that hedges its bets to only limited success.

Although the musical advance Beady Eye have made in BE does not extend to the clumsy lyrics, Liam shows he is not just a balls-out bawler and the band sound sharp.

The band's way with a catchy hook and a summery, laid back vibe may yet see them overtake Maroon 5, but that's where their lofty thoughts should settle for now.

Fast Man Raider Man is simply too long, and, as such, a dilution.

While Those Dancing Days may struggle to last in the easy come, easy go world of indie pop, let alone stand out amidst the current glut of Swedish imports cluttering our shelves, In Our Space Hero Suits proves they deserve their five minutes of fame.

It's a record for parties, for escaping the grind, and for enjoying your relaxing drug of choice.

Their impression is clear, but the soul, and even the primary reason why this sort of music was great in the first place, is coldly removed. It makes for a slightly uncanny listen, like a collection of all the filler tracks from '88 twee.

Die-hard fans can rest assured that the band have certainly not gone rave but, sadly, there’s really not a great deal to rave about either.

Island Universe is a reassuringly confident and energetic album, and suggests a band with enough promise to make even stronger bodies of work in the future.

The decision to feature Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons on Lay Your Head On Me is baffling but not disastrous, as a soulful guitar lick dances around earnest vocals about honesty and intimacy. Trigger featuring Khalid is woefully boring, his low-key delivery rubbing up against sludgy chords and a weird mixed metaphor in the hook. Rave De Favela is by far the best track of the record, with hard-edged 4×4 beats, novel sound design, infectious syncopation and lively performances from MC Lan, Anitta and BEAM.

It's clear from Flamingo that Flowers accounts for the lion's share of talent in The Killers, and if they ever go on definite hiatus, their fans can look forward to more consistently good material in the form of Flowers' solo albums.

Tape Club is a fine time capsule for their first decade together.

Phenomenal Handclap Band have created an extraordinary record, an accumulation of countless styles and eras of music that at times works impeccably. But too often it just a little too frenzied to adore.

All in all, Sequel To The Prequel is a consistent and accomplished return from Babyshambles.

It only fails in that its broad pallete means when Mondo is good, it can be very good. When it fails to hit the mark however, it's pretty average fare.

They asked, so we'll tell. Does it offend me? No. Does it bore me? Yes.

Though Natural Rebel has its moments, it all feels a bit staid and stale: not so much rock’n’roll rebellion as conventional cliché, both musical and lyrical.

A record which stares back at you with the appeal of an ex you'd rather not have bumped into.

The production drips with gloss, but unlike Acolyte, it’s a gloss that obscures rather than glimmers.

So far, so deliriously cheesy. Unfortunately, the remainder of The Beat Is... lacks any sparkle or panache, with the band falling foul of a very current musical disease; the Auto-Tune obsession.

With a little more focus and a natural approach, he could find himself a unique voice that sits outside of the styles he is trying to embrace.

Kassidy have proved they're as serious about recording as they are performing and if their debut album is any indication, they're in it for the long haul.

Ultimately, Chaos And The Calm is a solid, if unspectacular, first effort from Bay.

It feels like a satisfyingly natural progression, but brave all the same. Because his first album was a big deal.

Euphoric Heartbreak is a more accomplished, interesting piece of work; a brutal but exhilarating listen. Yet without the hype that surrounded its predecessor, and with a distinct change of tact, it might struggle to find its natural home.

All in all, passably decent party music, but lacking in the divine touch its title might imply.

With its insipid, limp first half this is most certainly not the record to do it. The listening experience is made all the more irritating and frustrating given the sudden improvement in the final third of the record, but no part of it will ever be described as life changing or world-shattering.

Throughout his sounds have poise and power, and although the album is too long it does not often flag, for he is careful to fluctuate the colours used.

The reality is that Glitterbug just doesn’t excite or leave any lasting impression.

In the passing of time they’ve aged a bit, and though they can still intermittently move us with their thoughts, it is difficult to see anywhere they could go from here musically. It is the right time to go.

There are some slight missteps, like West’s tedious hook on Everything, but Nasir proves Nas’ ongoing relevance as one of New York’s biggest living rappers, with the best overall production and best quality control since Illmatic: the curse may finally be lifting.

What might start as a project which has specialist appeal only therefore becomes something well worth hearing, a lesson in how to make the most from an instrument with seemingly limited range, without overdoing the beard scratching.

There simply isn’t enough variation, with the overwhelming presence of Righton’s one dimensional vocals lacking allure after a few tracks and the invariable electronica also doing little to excite or surprise.

As opening statements go, Better Living is comprehensive and, as a hardcore punk album, it is extremely successful.

After 30 years since their first incarnation, has the flowing fountain of creative inspiration finally run dry for the Bunnymen?

This is a debut album of startling originality, that seems set to cast its spell most acutely on a hot summer's night.

The most impressive thing about Long Way Down is how, despite being an album based on a simple, almost naïve set of concepts--being in love, falling out of love, the raw emotion of being young and not understanding the world yet--it sounds accomplished well beyond Odell’s years.

Drowners is a fun little record, if you want to get all patronizing about it, but it’s difficult to get any further than that because of its staggering unoriginality.

To Kill A King here seem ultimately still to be wrestling with the problem of how to make several different ideas gel together. They are at their best when it feels as if they’re playing just to you and no one else; maybe a bit of scaling down would do them a lot of good.

She has not made Smile to impress critics, but rather as an emotional catharsis, and in some tracks this catharsis does sparkle. But it would be great if, in her next creative venture, she focused less on just her smile, as wonderful as it is, and more on the complex emotions that make up the main draw of Smile.

Although Brown is to be commended for braving topics that other songwriters would fear to tread, he has a habit of expressing his sentiments in the most laughably simplistic terms.

The record is overweight with memorable tunes, epic and intimate at the same time.

It’s a beautifully produced album with a consistent sound which they can finally call shot gun on.

Hook-laced in all the right places, melodic, rhythmic, intelligent, addictive and slightly quirky: they don’t skimp on any of the ingredients here.

The sad thing is, Gomez has one of the most pleasant and distinctive voices of her Disney cohorts, but she's let down by an album of weak songs that try too hard to be family friendly. Back to the drawing board for this cartoon pop star.

While this isn't a bad album--and Manson diehards are likely to enjoy it quite a bit--there's the sense that it may be an unwanted one.

Unfortunately, it's generally downhill all the way thereafter, as it becomes rapidly apparent that Young The Giant have banged out all their best songs early on and rapidly run out of ideas.

Free Spirit is a patchy album from an artist who is perfectly capable of delivering nifty falsetto lines and smooth come-ons, but who is also far too predisposed to sloppy downtempo numbers.

This is one for hardcore fans only and casual listeners will be better off waiting for the inevitable Greatest Hits compilation.

It's a passable enough indie guitar album, but this is a genre that requires shaking up by a truly revolutionary record. This, unfortunately, isn't that record.

Sadly, Do It In The AM is formulaic, conveyor-belt pop music with no discernable feeling or soul to it.

Had Crystal Fighters not taken their foot of the pedal towards the end, Cave Rave could have been their breakthrough album. Instead, it’s just a very good one.

There is much potential here--Arthur clearly has far more to offer music than the Marcus Collins‘ of this world--yet it feels frustratingly undeveloped.

It’s not an unqualified success, but it’s a guaranteed seller over Christmas. And, as one of this country’s more entertaining pop stars, it’s nice to have him back.

The album hits more often than it misses. Longstanding fans will either love or loathe the more prominently electronic direction, but it’s clear that Embrace have succeeded in keeping up with the times while continuing to sound like the same band.

Despite its name K2.0 is neither a straightforward sequel nor a reboot; rather, a half-familiar formula performed with renewed vigour.

The record is obvious and contrived; but bass is bass, a drop is a drop, and a banger is a banger – no matter how much guilt the enjoyment brings.

The trouble is that in the two years since Love Angel Music Baby she doesn't seem to have moved on or evolved at all.

All in all, Put The Shine On is a stunning update of the classic CocoRosie sound.

It's shallow but sweet, light-hearted pop indulgence, like the love child of Elton John and Jamiroquai auditioning for Simon Cowell.

Unfortunately, all this really means is an extra emphasis on weirdly pitched keyboard riffs and slightly dated sounding beats.

While there is plenty of soul in the sound, there is a lack of body in both delivery and melody.

To Lose My Life is an album made to a predefined plan with skill and no heart.

It's this capacity to write immediately affecting songs coupled with an effortless cool that will see Hurts catapulted towards stardom. The fact that the album tails off dramatically with a series of appalling ballads in the shape of The Water and Unspoken will almost certainly be overlooked in favour of the classy sounds of Wonderful Life or the glorious pulsing anthem of Better Than Love.

There's something appealing about their brand of music with its light, sunny harmonies and direct choruses.

In the final reckoning, a solid album is raised a bar by its direct communication, illustrated by the closing 'Hard Time For Dreamers.'

The Path Of Totality is overall quite an interesting and largely rewarding proposition. Whether it manages to please dubstep or Korn fans however is another matter.

While the impressive Himalayan featured six tracks over four minutes long, By Default sees this length exceeded just once, concentrating more on short, sharp power punches.

Pavement fans expecting similar lo-fi experimentation may be disappointed with The Real Feel, but anyone who appreciates organically structured rock songs should love this album.

The tunes here are good enough to warrant repeated listens and when the album hits its stride, it's got a couple of proper anthems. It's not trying to be anything particularly clever or innovative--and it's fair to hope for some sort of evolution for a second album--but the trade off is a satisfying one.

This isn't really an album to analyse in any great depth, more to nod to endlessly, ideally with a drink in hand and a clutch of friends arrayed around, in staunch defiance of our grey-skied British reality.

Whilst most die-hard fans are likely to be put off by some of the tracks on offer, this is the sound of a band settling into comfortable maturity.

Ultimately though, Music is a case of too much filler, too little killer, even when divorced from its controversial origins.

Go Hard is worth a listen, if only to laugh at all the bravado.

Trouble is, the arrangements on Head Up High are low-key to the point of nothingness.

Nothing groundbreaking there, you might think, but it is all done with a down to earth approach that is at once appealing.

They managed to produce a collection of songs perfect for the summer months [in second album, Cave Rave]. The same could be said of Spreading Rumours, which is another album that could just as easily provide the soundtrack to Summer 2014.

This comeback effort is a huge amount of fun and a reminder that it's great that the Happy Mondays have never completely disappeared.

Like most Hole albums, Nobody's Daughter has flashes of inspiration but is generally weighed down by inconsistency and too many songs that sound like they were phoned in.

An album that playfully veers all over the place and leaves you feeling as heady and confused as a first time stoner.

At times it may seem like the most depressing easy listening record you've ever heard, but there's plenty of depth and deft touches here to make it well worth checking out.

As such, the experimentations, and their hit-and-miss nature, doesn't make for an album you want to play over and over again; in fact, a fair amount of tunes are rather forgettable and don't really offer much.

Until Now never quite shakes the feeling of being a little gratuitous--a few euphoric gems aside, there isn't enough creative spark on the record to justify its existence, and listening to it feels about as useful as attending a Swedes gig without the live atmosphere.

Tides stakes an admirable claim to being a first tentative step in building a more advanced, melodic palette.

Listening to Rules is a surprisingly boring experience. At several instances throughout this album you wish someone would let rip with a guitar solo, fire off a rave horn or just do something to liven up proceedings.

18 Months neatly packs Calvin's hits from the last year and a half into a solid playlist.

[They] have returned sounding pretty much exactly the same as they did three and a half years ago.

While this makes for pleasant enough listening, we know that Damon Gough can do a lot better than pleasant.

Instead of recycling the catchy tunes of his '80s heydays, Lewis has gone back to his roots, delving straight into the Stax Records catalogue. Welcome to Soulsville.

It would enjoyably help to while away an hour's driving, but those seeking a little more punch will have to look elsewhere.

Tom McRae is so desperately trying to convince us that he's still a curmudgeon and angst continues to fill his soul, but it sounds unconvincingly flat.

The bits which 'aren't bad' are the bits which don't involve Ms Hilton.

Those that have heard lead single Yummy will essentially be able to form their view on Changes without listening to it: if they find it icky and monotonous then that will be how they perceive the whole album, whereas those that think it’s catchy and well-produced are well and truly in luck.

Coup De Grace has plenty to offer, but it’s not a big step forward from Kane’s previous solo work. If you liked that you’ll probably like this; if you didn’t, this probably won’t change your mind.

Overall, this one's largely forgettable, and plays primarily as a jokey--if not well produced--one-off continuation of The Red Album.