Though it's commendable to stick with one set of producers to give a sense of cohesion, Memoirs could have done with some variation.

Here's hoping that the pleasant-at-best Yeah Ghost is but a wispy, passing apparition, and not a haunting omen for similarly ineffective work in the future.

These twelve tracks make for diverting and beguiling company for the fifty or so minutes spent with them.

Like its predecessor, The Boy Who Knew Too Much is an eclectic work, lurching between exuberant pop, vaudevillian knees-ups, disco and sombre ballads. Mika would probably describe the album as 'kaleidoscopic', but it can come across as scattershot and unfocused.

The end result is a pleasing, intimate experience by no means out of context with the rest of Gray's catalogue.

It desperately needs some kind of visual accompaniment to, at least, add a cinematic legitimacy to the sound's sporadic mood swings. Worthwhile? Probably. But the world waits for the proper return of Bon Iver.

Overall, there's nothing much here for even Wainwright obsessives to get excited about. Buy it as a companion for the far superior DVD, or if you're desperate for a souvenir of the Release The Stars tour. Otherwise, this is strictly for completists only.

The Pains are unquestionably good at what they do. It's just that the dreamy Scandopop thing is rife, and this band don't really bring anything new to the table.

For now, though, Dark Young Hearts can perhaps best be considered a troubling, worthy yet ultimately unloveable misfire.

Disjointed, imperfect, tender and raw, at the final reckoning it sits as a fitting epitaph.

His attempts to be emotive or inspirational sound just wrong.

You'd be well advised to beg, borrow or download a handful of tracks from The Resistance; but if you're planning to sit through the whole ponderous enterprise, you'll likely need a blister pack of paracetamol and a hell of a lot of patience.

Mi Plan is a mildly diverting listen that doesn't tarnish the brand and helps re-connect the artist with a core fanbase.

Fans of David Sylvian will doubtless appreciate the elegant compositions and Sylvian's self-indulgent but soulful insights, but there is little to entertain the casual listener who may be better off back cataloguing Tom Waits and Nick Drake and realizing that they are not the same thing.

All this variety and uncertainty does become a little wearing in places, and the vocals in particular often fail to live up to the music that accompanies them.

Unfortunately Turn It Up, bar two brilliant singles, just doesn't stand up to repeat listens.

With the beginnings of what could be a cult following over the pond after enviable live support slots that've received much praise, it is a shame that such positivity could not transfer to this recording.

Perhaps it's the weight of expectancy that renders this a flawed if enjoyable effort.

The only evidence we have is a middling album marking a new chapter in a diva's life that doesn't sound any cheerier than the chapters that went before.

If you're a fan of her previous work, or even just like some good old-fashioned, earnestly well-crafted songs, then this is an honourable addition to the genre.

He can doubtless get a party started every bit as effectively as either of those two [Paul van Dyk & Diplo] but, on this record at least, in dance terms he finds himself rather falling between two stools as he enlarges the walls of his big tent.

For someone who has a lot to say and is such a unique figure in music, it's a disappointment that Light isn't as captivating as it should be.

Regardless of how good the voice is, if the music does not follow suit then there's only so far you can get.

The Black River Killer EP isn't the best place for Blitzen Trapper newbies to start--that would be Furr or Wild Mountain Nation. But, as a stopgap for existing fans, it's well worth a download or--if one's feeling old-fashioned--a trip to the music emporium.

My Old Familiar Friend seems to be an album with modest aspirations which, for the most part, it achieves.

The Bachelor sounds like another attempt by Wolf to perfect something that he got pretty much right on his first album.

While it hasn't got them to their destination, this album is a definite step in the right direction.

If plodding indie-by-numbers with the odd nice tune thrown in is your bag, jump right in. Those seeking a bit more invention may care to look elsewhere.