He never carves out a distinctive sound for himself, opting instead to show off the breadth of his musical abilities--it's impressive, yes, but noncommittal.

His debut album experiments with intense sincerity and captivating subtleties in the lyrics and melodies respectively.

There is precious little personality to be found on this dry, pedestrian record, which comes across as a selection of yawn-worthy Adele-rejects rather than a cohesive body of work from a singular artist.

Barnes has had a habit of throwing dozens of these complex noises and genres my way within the context of a single song. The newest, Aureate Gloom, has collected these idiosyncrasies in the best way since Fauna's atom bomb performances.

Shedding Skin is a bold move for an artist so associated with a different sonic cadence, and kudos to Ejimiwe for trying to artistically reposition himself. Ultimately though, I would have liked to have heard more of an evolution rather than a complete metamorphosis from him.

Late Night Tales is a beautifully constructed, cohesive compilation of tracks which proves the ascension of Jon Hopkins to the highest level was no fluke.

It's hard to imagine a record more slick and fun than Tuxedo arriving any time soon.

Ultimately though, Messier Objects feels like a collector's curio.

It's not a terrible record, but given the weight of expectation and the creativity we've seen from them before, this just feels like a step backwards.

Clocking in at just over twelve minutes, Sunne is a jarringly short EP in a genre that has always been characterised by these expansive and immersive albums.

The result is a measured, wonderfully arranged, but emotionally singular album, tackling very personal feelings of doubt, pain and insecurity in a way that's easy to feel, but difficult to truly connect with.

While it may not be the most unique or innovative record, Waxing Romantic is certainly sincere.

Over the course of these five tracks, the assembled musicians bring their own roots music to the mix, and end up with something that is slightly different to anything they have done before.

There may be variances in sound on a track-by-track basis, but individual songs lack any real dynamic shifts and as a result this makes Transfixiation a fairly gruelling listen.

This is a fraught and definite collection of the uttermost importance. For the first time in their career, the end of the album doesn't feel like the extinction of Dodos, but instead an invigoration.

For better or worse, Gliss Riffer is the most characteristically 'Dan Deacon' record that Dan Deacon has yet released.

For those fans of the Sea and Cake who are intrigued to hear their main songwriter develop some different ideas, this album is worth investigating. On the other hand, if you've never heard of Sam Prekop before, yet you are keen to hear some edgy and creative music made with modular synths, then this is definitely worth a listen.

Ward proves that there's still room for him to make his mark on the genre--producing an album that feels fresh and bright. Not a bad way to start the year.

When it's as gloriously complex, grandiose and naturally magnificent as what he's presented on Sauna and the couplet of albums that preceded it, you can entirely empathise.

These improvised pieces are intricate and certainly stand up to repeated listens, and the album makes a good companion piece to Bishop's previous, rather fine, acoustic recordings.

The bag is mixed, and the lyrics often seem a bit familiar, but Sundfør's shadowy contributions to an often-tired genre are undoubtedly unique.

Sonically, this is the most Drake Drake's ever been, with the signature sound he's been dancing around ever since 2009's So Far Gone (released exactly 6 years prior) finally being cemented in wall-to-wall.

It's consistent, thrilling and boasts high replay value.

This music has an antique heart and, instead of having lots of modern crap plastered on top of it, it has been lovingly restored.

Darren Hayman has undoubtedly done a good thing here, and so it seems a shame that the musical result sounds so uninspiring.

It's disappointing in some ways that quite a chunk of the record feels like offcuts; of precisely what, we can only wonder.

Although it is by no means a bad record, it just represents the first time that he has lost the emotional power that has previously made him so much more than just a man with a guitar.

It's an album that wonderfully conjures up the cauldron of emotions that came from those first steps out into the great unknown: the dangers, the excitement, the belief that anything is possible.