A series of Eloe Omoe’s vein-poppingly furious bass clarinet solos follows before a period containing some of Ra’s most unhinged moog playing. June Tyson is given the responsibility of playing interstellar pied piper before a six-minute stretch of keyboard bleeps and whirrs that sonically alternate between an arcade game racing car, space ship and vacuum cleaner. A tough act to follow and in truth the rest of this collection suffers in comparison.

If Cardinal established Pinegrove as the punchy, poetic point where alt-country, US alterna-rock, beat-style lyricism and Sufjan Stevens-ish banjo meet, Everything maps a scenic route there.

A collection of great songs, to the point where exorcising the spoken word passages would have created a more sharply focused set.

True, distinction is not at a premium. But if the job for now is to keep mosh-pits lively while adding chasers of personality and long-term promise, the melodiously snarky Pull The Other One and all-together-now anthem Formidable offer crowning evidence of a job well done.

The lyrical dimension jars a bit painfully with the generally highly serviceable blasts of clanging, paint-stripping, mildly experimental, and somewhat extended rock.

It’s as capricious and confusing as it sounds, yet the overall result is one of surprising cohesion.

The feel is desolate, doomed and desperate combining their hallowed 60s Texan psych with 80s and 90s influences. If not instant, it’s a grower.

Beautiful as it sounds, Double Roses largely reminds you of other things without ever fully settling into itself. It’s deft and accomplished, but Elson has yet to fully bloom into her own talent.

They have that whole male/female duality down to a tee as well. It’s just that a few more sonic peaks and troughs wouldn’t go amiss.

Prolific in output, both together and in their separate projects, Sorcerer reflects a relentless drive to create something that’s restless and demanding in its realisation.

Arguably not as good as his main act, it’s still a welcome addition from an otherwise “non-moonlighting” type.

Rarely dipping below engaging, Doris is a welcome return that could all too easily have been dashed off or worse, ended up morbid.

On Spirit, Depeche Mode aren’t quite repeating themselves, nor is there real revolution in their sound. But they are nevertheless going forwards, and fans will be happy to join the march.

If the album takes fewer side roads than long-term fans may be used to, it also rewards repeat listening, revealing a little more each time. They may have covertly tucked their idiosyncrasies behind an accessible sound, but their unique vision remains.

Like its clumsy title, this release finds itself falling between two stools; stuck in mid-Atlantic, perhaps. It does have its moments, but may fail to win new converts.

A lot of the morsels are unremittingly 80s in flavour, which leaves them divided into sassy material that still works, a few oddments, and a significant minority that are almost unpalatable, and which could probably be dated down to the day they were recorded, they’re so of their time.

With these band versions, Oberst seems more removed, drowned out by unnecessary country embellishments that only dilute the passion and emotion of the originals. That’s not to say these are bad, but they just aren’t quite as heart-stoppingly, heartbreakingly brilliant. Less, as it turns out, can be much more.

If Condition does not herald a radical artistic reincarnation, it does involve a subtler devolution into a slightly more primitive form.

Some tracks inspire more amusement than may perhaps have been intended.

One minute solid as a rock, the next seemingly in flux, Solide Mirage reveals itself anew with each listen: fleeting glimpses at a map into unknown territory.

With its subtle and strange arrangements, Be Ok is a most engaging listen.

Genuinely touching tunes such Driving and Tomorrow add a layer of depth and will help fend off inevitable accusations of ironic retroism, but Delicate Steve’s core appeal will always be that of good times all the time.

The track’s second half building gradually--if not as gradually as their less condensed recordings – to a more dramatic finale. In comparison, dronesome pair Overhear and Rise feel a little underwhelming.

In short, sharp bursts, this approach [bubblegum-flavoured power-pop enhanced by youthful, punky vigour] remains a winner, though as Courtneys II’s samey second side reveals, it can just as easily sound formulaic.

Singer John Paul Pitts explains there are also other heavy themes on this record, varying from mental illness to car accidents. But still the sunniness pervades. Ironically perhaps, Snowdonia is a summery sounding record, produced in a time that could easily have called for a deep freeze for Surfer Blood.

Instead of the rich brass that embellished his band’s last album Familiars or the warm electronics of 2011’s Burst Apart, this is based around stripped-down guitar and hushed, sometimes mantra-like intonations, with plenty of space.

Aas Blanck Mass he’s always presented a rawer sound. While his third full-length looks to take that to an extreme, compared to his recent live shows, it falls just slightly flat.

Rooted in funk grooves and infused with squelchy and crackling electronic textures, their compositions flow in and out of krautrock, afrobeat, art rock and desert rock.