This is a triumphantly singular album that explores a space that only this band could have made.

It's just we know there's more to this guy than this sluggish, lifeless material.

Overall, Ritual is too much of the same.

The end result is a tepid, lifeless album devoid of everything that we've come to expect from them in this part of their career, leaving only the most traditional aspects of their sound intact.

Most of III/IV come off as what you'd expect; a massive talent messing around in the studio and crafting some perfectly serviceable rock tunes.

There is nothing overblown about the album, there's no sense of superiority here. This is the proof that Cudi fell from grace but was able to gracefully climb out of that dark place with a desire to be better, not just for himself, but for us.

Women occupy a unique place in the indie rock spectrum. Their songs and makeup can put them nowhere else –- Public Strain would be a Deerhunter album if it weren't for that sneer in its lip- and yet their music is completely singular.

Thankfully, the thrills don't stop with the summer's hit single.

It's this underdog story that emphasizes just why Body Talk is such a revelation; it is the musical peak of an artist who has always had a bigger picture for what pop could sound like.

It's totally different from everything he's done while still being perfectly, irrevocably Kanye.

Danger Days definitely isn't worth it. If nothing else, it makes me interested to see where they'll go from here, but I find it saddening that the most likely future for them seems to be a breakup after this uninspired mess of an album.

Disambiguation clearly shows that Underoath are still very much the same well oiled machine that brought us Define the Great Line back in 2006 when they firmly established themselves as the kings of the scene, even if that title is somewhat constricting and misleading as their music transcends its given tags and connects with their fanbase at a deeper level, regardless of belief structure.

They sound fresher and more relevant than they have done in years, even eclipsing the latter records of Bergsman's time with the band.

Nothing is just what it brazenly titles itself as – an empty record, one lacking the sometimes questionable but more often than not intriguing experimentation and oddball weirdness that might not have made their earlier records great, but at least made them interesting.

Small Craft is an attempt to puncture that bubble, but doesn't quite do it; but, hopefully, if Eno's focus is still there, the next one should. I'm at least optimistic that it will.

In refining the band's sound and style so effectively, The Fire is ultimately a resounding success which meets its objectives.

As a whole, Cardiology is an attempt to leave behind the band's failed newer sound and return to their pop-punk roots.

Swift still prefers to write about her own broken love stories, the production is still a glossy pop-rock with only the faintest of country tinge to harken back to her roots, and Swift herself is still as dead-to-rights honest as she's always been.

Shimmering psychedelic post-punk to get lost into.

At the end of the day, the title Write About Love turned out to be just as bland as the music it pertained to.

Aspiring to find a middle ground between her folk background and the burgeoning success of electro-pop is an enterprising objective, but it is one which Goulding predominantly succeeds in through her genuine sincerity.

Sometimes The Blues is Just a Passing Bird is a quieter set of songs, and an EP that continues to reveal both the talent and ambition of one of the most exciting folk artists of recent years.

There's no pandering to authenticity here, no appeal to the emotion: Love Remains doesn't drag you into its world with any sort of force whatsoever so much as it places square within it, naked and indifferent.

If the point of music is for us to take something from it - whether it be an emotional response or a change in mindset or any sort of inspiration - then The Age Of Adz is the most selfless album ever recorded, and Sufjan is the most giving composer.

If Guster can grow old and still sound so damn cheerful, maybe everything won't be so drab after all.

Monogamy falls somewhere near the bottom rung. The indie game has changed. Without the Cursive name behind him, Tim Kasher is, sadly, not much of a player.

Unlike previous releases, there is not a dire need to shuffle back a few tracks to listen repetitively, but more of a, 'when I'm in the mood' feeling. No Age are certainly living in the moment, and Everything In Between has a similar retention factor.

Invented reins in Jimmy Eat World after Chase This Light. It still possesses the same inviting, feel-good sentiment, but it's expressed more personably, and in this regard it makes for a very rewarding listen.