Emmy The Great & Tim Wheeler - This Is Christmas (2011)

5/10   

I’ll be honest. When it comes to Christmas music, I’m something of a Scrooge. With this year’s main festive entries coming courtesy of the likes of Bieber and Bublé, can you really blame me?

So I was highly surprised to learn that an artist who I’ve keenly followed over the last few years, Emmy The Great, was releasing a Christmas album with her significant other, Tim Wheeler of Ash. Just to add to the romance, they began work on the album last year while trapped inside by snow, aww... As much as you’d like them to succeed with their first (and surely not last) collaborative effort, it doesn’t exactly scream potential masterpiece.

Kito & Reija - Sweet Talk EP (2011)

7/10  

Aussie duo bring some very palatable dub-pop

The dubstep scene isn’t exactly flush with female producers, but Perth-based Kito created such a stir with her early work that she attracted the attention Skream, signing to his Disfigured Dubz label. She teams up with singer Reija Lee to bring us Sweet Talk, a four-track release with as much emphasis on the sweet-as-sugar vocals as the impact of the bass kick.

Kasabian - Velociraptor! (2011)

7/10  

Kasabian can't go wrong with more electronic-tinged madness

Among Kasabian’s claims earlier this year were that this album “will change your life” and be “the greatest ever”. Clearly, they’re not short on confidence, and their bravado happily transcends into their music.

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues (2011)

Fleet Foxes return with a work of almost unparalleled beauty

9/10 

After the success of their self-titled debut album, Seattle’s Fleet Foxes are back with more of their baroque, old-worldly magic. Once again, the level of craft in the record is astonishing; I’m not even going to try to name all of the instruments they use, or pretend that I immediately got the references to Yeats, but it’s fair to say that the arrangement and lyricism in parts of this album touch upon mastery.

Friendly Fires - Pala (2011)

Too much of Friendly Fires' second effort fails to inspire

6/10  

Pulling out of the shadow of nu-rave, the Friendly Fires come back with the lush-sounding, dancey Pala. But while the band have definitely got a clear vision of what they’re doing, it comes across as a bit predictable and unimaginative.

Various Artists - Inès (2011)

Engaging electronic compilation from up-and-coming trio

Nicolas Jaar is one of the most fascinating talents in electronic music right now. He gives us a short compilation of the works of himself and friends Soul Keita and Nikita Quasim (collectively known as Clown N Sun Collective) in the shape of Inès, a collection of deep, abstract tracks with a smattering of South American flavour, an organic feel to the music and a minimalism so profound that the craft of the producers takes centre stage.

Fenech-Soler - Fenech-Soler (2010)

One word to describe Fenech-Soler’s self-titled? Forgettable.

The four piece electropop group from Northamptonshire generated a fair bit of hype with their early release, “The Cult Of Romance”. After being signed, an album and accompanying singles would soon follow. Can it be so hard to make something chorus-based with a few bouncy synths?

Ozric Tentacles - Erpland (1990)

Genre-bending gem from psychedelic masters

To anyone that hasn’t had the pleasure of listening to Ozric Tentacles, the best word to describe their music is experimental. Meeting at Stonehenge Festival in 1983, and changing lineups several times (with founding member Ed Wynne the only constant) they perform psychedelic-tinged progressive rock in a variety of styles. Erpland sees them throw up some lively tracks littered with tempo changes, ambient songs to chill out to and curious use of electronica alonside exotic, Eastern sounds.

Wild Beasts - Smother (2011)

A deeper, less flamboyant work still showcases the creativity you've come to love from the Wild Beasts

Hailing from Cumbria, Wild Beasts have built a reputation as one of the most exciting bands to come through in the last few years. Their first two studio albums were oozing in quirkiness and personality, with two lead singers whose voices contrasted beautifully and poetic, sexually charged lyrics.

Lupe Fiasco - Lasers (2011)

Lupe’s latest offering sees him become his own worst nightmare

Lupe Fiasco has made a name for himself as the alternative voice of modern hip hop. In a genre inherently afflicted with inflated bravado, here was a geeky skater kid from Chicago writing the sort of socially and politically conscious rap which is being pushed further underground. But despite having two successful and acclaimed albums under his belt, Atlantic Records seemed to have felt that they could give a boost to their artist’s sales and radio play.

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Marc Houle - Drift (2010)

Few producers can claim to have a sound as recognisable as that of Minus' Marc Houle. And while his listeners will immediately recognise his fourth LP as his work, there’s been a real change from the 8-bit playfulness of his previous recordings.

The Chameleons - Strange Times (1986)

You may not have heard of The Chameleons, but you’ll know their sound. Are you a fan of Interpol? Editors? Or, errr, The Killers? These bands, among many others, have been influenced by the post-punk quartet from Manchester.  If atmospheric songs with echoing guitars and dark, humour-tinged lyrics are your thing, look no further than Strange Times.

The album begins with the anthemic “Mad Jack”, an upbeat ode to that one friend you have who can’t keep out of trouble. With an addictive guitar riff and some beauties from lead singer Mark Burgess (“He holds the night/Walks in shadow and avoids the light/Masturbates the madness in you!”), there can’t be many opening tracks that are better at drawing you into an album.

Nite Jewel - Am I Real (2010)

Coming out of Los Angeles with her dreamy 2009 debut, Good Evening, Nite Jewel gave us indie electronica in such a different way to many of her more popular peers. While the louder, more extrovert elements of the ‘80s dominate the radio these days, this artist produces lo-fi music with an ethereal, almost unearthly feel to it. She can be difficult to listen to at times, with sometimes unintelligible vocals and a readiness to allow an audible tape hiss on some tracks, but her debut LP provided its fair share of interesting moments.

It’s fair to say that she’s been working on her sound a bit for this six-track EP, Am I Real? You might not think it when you hear the first track, “Another Horizon”, which sounds like a Good Evening track, as does the blurry “Falling Far”. While they don’t make for unpleasant listening, these songs neither excite nor fit into the record very well. In fact, at times her muffled, melancholic singing loses a bit of the appeal found on her earlier work. Nothing on here reaches the same level of idyllic loveliness as, say, the first two tracks on Good Evening.

Radiohead - The King of Limbs (2011)

Radiohead surprised the world when they announced that they were set to release a new album this February. More surprising was the news that the release was set for a few days after the announcement. So more than three years on from their last big release, what did they come up with?

The first thing of note is the length of the album. While previous effort In Rainbows was a tight, concise piece at 42 minutes, The King of Limbs is in fact five minutes shorter. Fine, you might think; shorter album, less filler. And first track “Bloom” is indeed a thing of beauty, giving you a taste of the harmonised vocals, broken beats and glitch electronic sounds that are to come.

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs (2010)

The progression of Arcade Fire is a curious tale. Breaking out with the appropriately-titled Funeral, the Canadian band showed they were unafraid to deal with heavy lyrical themes, while second album Neon Bible saw them return more politically charged and with a grandiose sound.

So it caused some surprise to hear that their third LP was to be given the tame title of The Suburbs. Indeed, upon first listen, Arcade Fire’s penchant for high drama seems to have been quelled. There’s a distinct lack of memorable, standout tunes; certainly nothing like a “No Cars Go”. “Empty Room” and lead single “Month Of May” are about as energetic as it gets; the rest of the hour-long album are as laid-back as the early afternoon on a suburban street.