Islands' Arm’s Way is as fascinating as it is unsettling, as unexpected as it is rewarding. Brazen noise sits next to magnificent style while its lyrics seem tailor made for umpteen interpretations. It is a towering, complex achievement…

Punchy, brief, technically proficient and suitably varied, O Fracas' Fits & Starts debut dares you to make it through its duration without moving your feet, whether it’s a toe-tap or a stomp…

Difficult to pin down, ever glad to fly the nest, Water Curses gives few clues to where Animal Collective want to head next, but is all the better for providing a moment of retrospective restraint as we play catch-up…

This City Holds Us All possesses a wide-eyed energy and youthful exuberance - not to mention melodic intricacy - that's sadly lacking from other guitar bands of Situationists' ilk. A fine start to their recorded career…

Crystal Castles' Alice behaves like she's just arrived from another planet. God knows what she's screaming on 'Alice Practice' but the room sing back their own interpretations. It's a bewildering, unifying moment…

Miracle Fortress' Five Roses remains one of my Desert Island Discs. Based on tonight's set, though, there's no need for the Canadians to come and tour where I get stranded…