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Review: Much loved Welsh rockers Manic Street Preachers serve up a record of lament and reflection on The Ultra Vivid Lament, which is their 14th full length record. The band has said the record is inspired by the music of their earlier years such as ABBA, post-Eno Roxy, the Bunnymen and more. James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire and Sean Moore of course all added their own distinctive take on those sounds and the result has you gazing into the distance, lost in the riffs, surfing drums and losing vocals. This version features a bonus 7" with the 'Orwellian' original and a Gwenno remix.

Review: Quiet revolution seems to be the driving force of this sophomore set from lauded trio London Grammar. Lyricist and vocalist Hannah Reid has expanded her subject matter a little, though angst and love lost are still her major concern. Her delivery, too, is a little gentler, something presumably party inspired by the band's warmer and dreamier musical outlook. There are a few heartfelt sing-alongs, of course, but for the most part Truth is a Beautiful Thing is a more considered and voluptuous excursion.

Review: When vital bandmember Andrew Fletcher suddenly passed away at the start of the sessions for 'Memento Mori', even Dave Gahan and Martin Gore wondered aloud whether Depeche Mode would continue. Yet somehow, Gore and Gahan put their much-discussed differences aside, knuckled down and produced something fittingly special: an album that may well be the iconic outfit's most consistent and impressive body of work for decades. Naturally, darkness abounds, with opener 'My Cosmos Is Mine' - all evocative vocals, distorted electronic beats, dark sonic textures and mutilated choral vocal samples - setting the tone for a set that once again brilliantly blends dark synth-pop, gnarled guitars and the kind of lyrical melancholia that stays with you for days. Highlights are plentiful, with our picks including 'Ghosts Again', 'Soul With Me' and closing cut 'Speak To Me'.

Review: Depeche Mode's latest album Memento Mori is one that has been madly anticipated by fans. The record - which comes on wax and in a lovely embossed sleeve here - centres on the mood of grief after the passing of the band's founding member Andrew "Fletch" Fletcher, this is the first LP by a Depeche Mode made up of only two remaining members: Dave Gahan and Martin Gore. The band's progression in their latest years have heard them move into darker, peakier, sadder and more industrial themes, as they make do with a future-present that wasn't promised to them in the 80s, while drawing on deathly topoi and nodding to Ingmar Bergman.

Review: Recent reviews of Spirit, Depeche Mode's first studio set for four years, have remarked at how angry and frustrated the band seems to be throughout. Messers Gore, Gahan and Fletcher are not particularly happy with the way the world is right now, and have laid down an album of rare intensity, seemingly fuelled by a growing desperation at political events on both sides of the Atlantic. Producer James Ford undoubtedly played a role in defining the sound of Sprit, but the combination of raucous, punk style guitars, thrusting electronics and big choruses is what we've come to expect from Depeche Mode.

Review: RECOMMENDED
Let's face it, White Blood Cells is the moment when The White Stripes really broke the mould. It's a continuation of Jack and Meg's garage rock aesthetic as fine-tuned over two previous albums, and wholeheartedly a straight up rock 'n' roll album. But the elements are so perfectly primed it's impossible not to rank this as one of the greatest long form outings of this century, so far. And we're not alone - Rolling Stone even reckons it's among the best LPs of all time. Pity the fool who disagrees.

From the racing 'Fell in Love With A Girl', to the beguiling mystery of 'The Union Forever', 'I Think I Smell A Rat''s meld of mariachi riffs and mosh stomp and the emotional piano closer 'This Protector', to the innocent acoustic joy of 'We're Going To Be Friends', this is a masterclass of songwriting and arrangement, tracks that evolve, perplex, surprise, and - most importantly - entertain.