Praise indeed but then these hard-nosed softies are unique and this, make no mistake, is their "Definitely Maybe," the quintessential noise-pop set of the modern age.

While the listener is largely swamped in this sense of horror and disgust--which no doubt makes the point--Gallows are also concerned with some kind of catharsis.

His third stint as the Fireman, his partnership with producer Youth, finds the pair on inspired form, ready to take risks while knocking out a track a day.

A perfectly executed debut as might be expected from a band championed in OMM53 for their mathematical precision.

Ideology aside, this is a diverse album that retains her trademark dirty electro but on collaborations with Simian Mobile Disco still delights.

Eight years later, no longer so wide-eyed, the Norwegian duo sound more pedestrian, though 'Royksopp Forever' proves they haven't lost their sense of fun.

Whether live or unplugged, though, the effect is much the same: disbelief that one band can convey this much emotion when, for all the unearthly beauty of the music, the lyrics amount to little more than gibberish.

It's Chrissie Hynde reinvestigating her roots with some rockabilly and a Dylan vibe.

Tired of her peculiar singer-songwriter pop being a fringe taste, the Russian-born New Yorker's gone for the commercial jugular, polishing her strangeness with help from ELO's Jeff Lynne among others.

It's not a huge departure for the Southern songbirds but proves them to be magisterial practitioners of the dark blues-rock arts.

This faultless debut album will delight lovers of recent records by Nouvelle Vague and Roisin Murphy.

Standards given a sensual bossa makeover

Now comes the first album of new material for 35 years, and although never quite reaching the innocent glory of late 60s Mutantes, Haih or Amortecedor is still brimming with vitality and ideas.

Jayceon Taylor's eagerness to live down to a cartoon sketch of what a rapper should be is in danger of obscuring his very real talent.

Brotherhood seems to be one for completists only. But the bonus disc, Electronic Battle Weapons 1-10, takes this into must-have territory.

Crazy Itch Radio cements Basement Jaxx reputation as Britain's gold-standard dance duo.

More Stravinsky than the Saturdays, this is still way more fun than the latter.

This is the Lips' fifth album and their slickest yet. It hurtles along with impressive momentum, its 13 songs each under three minutes long

It really shouldn't hang together but somehow does, and effortlessly so, without ever seeming gimmicky.

There's hardly any doodling or misfiring to undermine the sheer vastness of Stadium Arcadium.

So here they are, doing again what they've done before: mostly slow and sombre songs, sometimes delivered with a wary hesitancy that can be endearing but is occasionally frustrating.

Magic is a record aimed squarely at radio, stadiums, open car windows and the solar plexus of guys who don't notice passing musical fashion. Magic sounds big. And it sounds great.

This is beautifully fragile music, not disposable but built to last.

Scars on Broadway offers up the tastiest smorgasbord of bite-sized pop-metal delicacies since the last time Cheap Trick recorded a Queens of the Stone Age tribute album.

And while this all may sound suspiciously over-indulgent, the fact is these self-styled 'soft-core' rockers are fulfilling their own prophesy.

It's often quite wonderful, occasionally pretty woeful, but endearingly frantic and chaotic.

This marvellously fluid third album seamlessly integrates big names Terry Hall and Martina Topley-Bird into Leilas close-knit cadre of vocal helpmeets

This song cycle concerning Margaret, her swain William and forest queens is as dazzling as it is beautiful.