Think of hardcore outfit Pissed Jeans; they’re not afraid to sing it out when the time is right, which often adds a great balance to their work. Overall though, a damn fine listen.

It’s a vast departure, sure, but Sigur Ros have tapped into a primal and enchanting energy on Kveikur.

The music is of course amazing, affirming, spiritual and beautiful – music with both a soul and a social consciousness.

This is music that has been created in the hope of bringing people closer together, and if you take the heavy levels of glitter with a grain of salt, then you’ll be kept warm with this icy winter wonder.

If any cult metal band’s record deserves a big push this year; it’s this one, as the DEP stand at the peak of their evolution.

Everything about it – the sound, the title, hell, even the cover art – screams science fiction. Whether you agree with that admittedly dorky notion or not, you can’t disagree that Tomorrow’s Harvest is a journey.

Be warned, though – Nuclear Winter is brutal, yet brutally addictive.

This incarnation of the band is a mix of middle-of-the-road indie (Purple Yellow Red And Blue sounding like a Jamiroquai B-side) and unforgettable pop gems.

Though not the classic he threatens to create, Born Sinner remains intelligent, middle-classy mainstream hip hop, a cut above the dumb shit that dominates the genre in 2013.

While not a party album like previous releases, Modern Vampires… is, without doubt, Vampire Weekend’s most accomplished record yet.

Beneath the surface, the band has used its infectious music and detailed storytelling to explore some much darker concepts. It’s a captivating album that deserves closer inspection.

While offering consistently pleasant and dreamy summer-tinged tunes, Smith Westerns will not blow minds with Soft Will, and could have afforded a few more risks in songwriting and arrangement.

These New Puritans have made something original, daring and deeply expressive, and suffice to say, you really need to listen to it.

That’s The Bellrays – an uncompromising force, unwilling to kowtow to fads and trends, only aiming to rock and/or roll.

Leto has aimed far too high with this one, and clearly forgotten the art of subtlety.

The slightly raspy waver in David Bridie’s voice provides a feeling of distant heat haze and space that marks some of the best Australian music.

Obsidian sounds like Wiesenfeld crying while drunk and half-submerged in a bathtub of cold water, but he actually makes it sounds sexy.

What we have here is the perfect recipe for yet another summery lo-fi bedroom-pop record.

Powerfully sexual and fuzzed out 40 minutes of blues punk rock’n’roll.

This is not the Sigur Rós of old.

Crystal Fighters’ music may not necessarily challenge listeners, but it certainly is creative and flippantly gratifying.