Subtlety is, of course, the first casualty in the stampede for the folk mosh pit, and singer Jon Boden sometimes strains too hard for drama, lapsing into hamminess on murder ballad Greenwood Side.

As this bold magpie of an album flies past, its swagger falters occasionally as genre pastiches gain the upper hand.

As with their previous work, it transcends easy genre-pigeonholing, but imagine a Radiohead you can dance to and you’re getting close.

At its worst this understated quality [astral rambling] produces the drear muzak of "Gar", but at its best ... it's sublime.

This adds welcome colour to the xx cinematic universe, but it’s no blockbuster.

If there are no huge surprises here, Further offers a punchy synthesis of country croon, psych-rock riffs and snappy songwriting that proves South Yorkshire’s stoic son has plenty of miles left to run.

These punishing, three-dimensional soundscapes connect 70s No Wave with the mischievous end of contemporary digital production: quite a feat.

A certain wooziness has always been the point of the Baltimore duo’s music but at times its gauzy aimlessness drifts dangerously close to torpor. More often, though, it is subtly tethered to some elegant, insidious hooks.

All these highs and lows pass in an unvarying, mid-paced indie-rock fug, with little to hold the attention outside her gossamer delivery of candour and insight.

Sprawling. ... Engrossing, audacious record.

This is Wagner's second album, and that was the backstory of her 2012 self-titled debut. This follow-up is no less enigmatic.

This is a kaleidoscopic, hard-hitting record designed for the feet as much as the synapses, healing by frequencies.

This is a well-crafted collection that could maybe do with a couple more heaters, but will keep the wider audience he picked up with Conflict of Interest happy.

There's enough crunch to their hooky electropop to dispel accusations of unwarranted hype.

Things feel all the sweeter knowing how hard they fought to get here: through relationship troubles and against the systemic racism Jay alludes to throughout. It might lack urgency, but it’s an accomplished, glossy finale.

This album is, without a doubt, a big, glitchy, swooning, hyper-modern declaration of love.

Fresh Blood refines the Spacebomb MO, darkening themes and expanding their range.

There are few genres White Denim won’t disrupt, and this wide-ranging record touches upon many of them.

Lush, cavernous record.

Borderline silly at times, it is nonetheless a carefully crafted piece of work with a distinctive sound.

Standouts such as Run a Red Light and No One Knows We’re Dancing provide clubland demimonde vignettes, while a number of expansive, impressionistic sound-beds allow for more matter-of-fact lyrics about loss (Lost) and cutting oneself some slack (When You Mess Up). Less memorable are the songs – like Caution to the Wind - where the two coast pellucidly along.

Halsey is less a pop chameleon than a musical magpie and Manic is a pristinely produced album that sounds a bit like everything you know, but better (Still Learning is a banger, like Evanescence with steelpan).

Bon Iver have imperceptibly moved from requesting close listening to requiring it, and i,i spins a mesmerising web of superficially insubstantial yet intensely majestic music. Listen closely and you can hear the language of pop being redrafted in real time.

Even the weaker moments are elevated by a raw vocal that growls with bubbling emotion. Love’s trials and tribulations never sounded so exquisite.

The 50-something from Brooklyn is her own diva and sounds at once wounded, defiant and exuberant. Producer-bassist Bosco Mann runs a tight band with its own tricks and which purrs along so joyously the influences fade to leave a core of unadulterated soul.

Every rhythmic lurch and stylistic shift, though, remains in the service of the band's greater groove, giving these 10 tracks an ease that belies their ferocious complexity.

Small Town Heroes may mourn victims of violence but it is emphatically a record stuffed with good times.

Not surprisingly, many of the highlights of his fourth solo album – a treatise on capitalism and loss – nod to Power’s better-known band.