Esben and the Witch – Violet Cries
Over-indulgent Gothic melodrama from Brighton's Esben And The Witch. How do you like your nightmares? Black with 2 sugars, thanks.
Sleeper – Smart / The It Girl
Putting on our Britpop goggles yet again, Sleeper's debut album Smart and its follow-up The It Girl get the reissue treatment.
The Low Anthem – Smart Flesh
Providence, Rhode Island indie-folksters The Low Anthem fail to im-press the smart flesh on their sophomore release.
The Decemberists – The King Is Dead
The Decemberists discard the costumes and dispense with the theatre slipping into more familiar musical threads on album number 6.
British Sea Power – Valhalla Dancehall
Hurrah for English music. Just when you think Webcuts panders almost exclusively to the Americans, British Sea Power save the day.
Braids – Native Speaker
Debut album from Montreal's Braids. Like a Canadian Animal Collective with female vocals? Read on and find out...
The Loves – …Love You
The final bow from London’s The Loves balances its buoyant pop against a knowing end and comes up smelling of roses.
Elliott Smith – An Introduction To…
It's hard to believe that he's been gone 7 years now. This collection attempts to define one of last great songwriters of the 20th Century.
The Bangles – All Over The Place / Different Light
The Bangles chart-conquering Different Light and their slighty less impressive debut album get the reissue treatment.
Kings Of Leon – Come Around Sundown
"a polished genre grab bag record of mostly stale, completely innocuous songs". Kings of Leon - Win!
Weezer – Death To False Metal
Just how many albums are Weezer going to release (or re-release) this year? What's one more for Christmas?
No Age – Everything In Between
No Age push the 'mature album' button while still managing to shred and transcend on their third release.
Chief – Modern Rituals
Totally random, but a friend of mine once got "Chief" tattooed on the back of her neck and the tattoo guy spelt it wrong. There is no metaphor to be found here.
The Charlatans – Who We Touch
Touched by the somewhat friendly eclectic hand of The Charlatans for their tenth album in twenty years.
Twin Sister – Vampires With Dreaming Kids / Colour Your Life
How many times do you get given a record and for it to feel like a breath of fresh air? Here you are then.
Suckers – Wild Smile
Brooklyn's Suckers channel a little ADHD indie rock throughout their debut album, defying hype and maintaining interest.
Pernice Brothers – Goodbye, Killer
All killer, no filler, Joe Pernice and Co. turn up the volume and turn in one of their most enjoyable records to date.
Jonneine Zapata – Cast The Demons Out
Sounding like a counter-revolutionary, singer-songwriter Jonneine Zapata's task at hand is presciently hinted at in the title.
M.I.A. – MAYA
Send out the search parties -- Missing in action on the latest album from M.I.A. -- "melody, listenability, and some semblance of a point".
Magic Kids – Memphis
Named after the town they're from, Memphis has "some great songs, some brilliant moments", but not quite all adding up to Magic, Kids.
Spoon – Transference
The anticipated follow-up to the fan and critic fave Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, fails to meet expectation, begging the question, 'Where were Spoon transferring to?'.
Sloan – B Sides Win (1992-2008)
In Sloan's case, it was definitely the A Sides that won, but there's some forgotten treats amongst this rarities collection.
MGMT – Congratulations
One of the hotly anticipated releases for 2010, MGMT shake things up with their follow-up to Oracular Spectacular but the title is anything but ironic.
Yeasayer – Odd Blood
With a new sound and approach on display, Yeasayer have in their hands a contender for album of the year with Odd Blood. Yes, we know it's only March.
Pavement – Quarantine The Past
The smell of reunion is in the air as Pavement's back catalogue is harvested for the new-comers in this career-spanning collection.
Broken Bells – Broken Bells
In an era dominated by unexpected musical collaborations, Broken Bells (James Mercer of The Shins and Brian Burton aka Danger Mouse) triumphs.
Shearwater – The Golden Archipelago
Shearwater seem to have run aground on The Golden Archipelago. Not quite paradise, nor a place you'll likely return to soon.
Tune-yards – Bird-brains
One of the top records of the year that you never want to hear again? Merrill Garbus is Tune-yards and experimental lo-fi folk is the order of the day.
Lightspeed Champion – Life is Sweet! Nice to Meet You
Dev Hynes brings us more songs of bittersweet romance on his sophomore release as Lightspeed Champion.
Idlewild – Post Electric Blues
Idlewild return with their fan-funded sixth album, offering much talk of Warnings (and Promises). But do they deliver?
Taken By Trees – East of Eden
Ex-Concrete Victoria Bergsman heads to Pakistan to seek inspiration for her second album as Taken By Trees.
The Horrors – Primary Colours
The Horrors pull off the surprise reinvention act of the century and lift the curse of the sophomore slump forever.
The Church – Untitled #23
Moving on from Uninvited, Like The Clouds to Untitled #23, The Church near the end of the alphabet but not the end of their career.
Lotus Plaza – The Floodlight Collective
The second solo project members of Deerhunter, Lotus Plaza is guitarist Lockett Pundt's self-fulfilling dreampop odyssey.
St. Vincent – Actor
The honeymoon of Marry Me is over for Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent, as she sets her gaze on the big stage in Actor.
Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career
Four albums in, Camera Obscura assess their career, wisely trading 'brilliant' for 'maudlin' and coming up somewhere inbetween.
Doves – Kingdom of Rust
Fourth album in from these Mancunian maestros, offering a slight return to their electro/house days as Sub Sub.
PJ Harvey & John Parish – A Woman A Man Walked By
We took at poll at Webcuts, and PJ Harvey is most definitely not a woman one of us would walk by.
Condo Fucks – Fuckbook
Who are the Condo Fucks? What is a Fuckbook and is it any good? So many questions, but are you prepared for the answers?
HTRK – Marry Me Tonight
New No Wave or Narco-Electro? Whatever the case, Marry Me Tonight is well worth making an engagement with...
Hatcham Social – You Dig The Tunnel, I’ll Hide The Soil
There's no hiding Hatcham Social. "You Dig The Tunnel" kicks the dirt long and high in a dazzling display of pop sensibility.
Vivian Girls – Vivian Girls
Brooklyn twee-punksters the Vivian Girls hit the reverb heights in a hail of cartoon tattoos and converse on their debut album.
M.Ward – Hold Time
As Conor Oberst once proclaimed, "M. Ward for President". As far-fetched as it sounds, Oberst may have a point.
Andrew Bird – Noble Beast
Andrew Bird takes flight with his latest album Noble Beast. Thankfully it's nothing at all like a Flock of Seagulls.
Grand Duchy – Petit Fours
Grand who? Just call them Mr. and Mrs. Frank Black and everything will be peachy, or desserty...
Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
Animal Collective shake the sand from their fur as they take Merriweather Post Pavillion down to the Beach, Boys.
Pavement – Brighten The Corners (Nicene Creedence Edition)
Expanded and remastered fourth album tour de force from Stockton, CA quintet. High-ho silver ride!
The Stills – Oceans Will Rise
The Stills channel an environmental apocalypse with Oceans Will Rise. Will anyone be left to hear it?
The Lucksmiths – First Frost
The ever durable Lucksmiths get up before dawn on their latest album. Don't forget your mittens, boys!
The Fauves – When Good Times Go Good
Melbourne's The Fauves prove to be remarkably prophetic with their ninth serve of twisted rock.