Blink-182 - Neighborhoods

Eight years after their last full-length album, Blink-182 are back together and have a new album out for the world to hear. The band are now closer to 40 than 20 and that is reflected in the serious lyrics and proggy musicianship on display here. Quite frankly it's a relief - it would have been faintly ridiculous if they had returned with exactly the same sound and juvenile lyrics as they had ten years ago. There are certainly enough catchy tunes on here to satisfy the Blink-182 fans of old, but the three young upstarts of a decade ago have clearly grown up, and lyrically the album displays a seriousness completely absent from their early albums. It's to their credit that Blink-182's reunion is not just about cashing in on former glories and repeating past tricks, but rather about evolving beyond where they left off last time.

Top Tracks: Heart's All Gone, After Midnight, Natives
Rating: 7/10
Release Date: 27 September 2011

J. Cole - Cole World: The Sideline Story

J. Cole is a young American rapper and producer who has made a name for himself over the last two years with a couple of acclaimed mixtapes. Signed to Jay-Z's Roc Nation label, expectations are high for his debut album proper. "Cole World: The Sideline Story" is not a bad album by any measure, in fact it's pretty good, but it doesn't quite live up to the massive hype. The production is accomplished and Cole is a talented lyricist, but the album lacks the killer punch. There is no obvious hit here that would take the album into the mainstream, and while verses are often very good, the choruses are often a bit of an anticlimax. Cole certainly has talent and it is visible in places on "Cole World", but he's going to have to up his game if he wants to force his way into the big time.

Top Tracks: Dollar and a Dream III, Can't Get Enough, Nobody's Perfect
Rating: 6/10
Release Date: 27 September 2011

St. Vincent - Strange Mercy

St. Vincent is really just a moniker for one Annie Clark, a Texan singer and songwriting who combines an experimental streak with honest, poetic lyrics and accessible melodies. Being both experimental and accessible is a neat trick to pull off and Clark does it with aplomb. The album is full of wonky synths and off-kilter drum patterns, the tempo often shifting within tracks to create an almost woozy effect. This is counterbalanced by Clark's gorgeous voice and her way with a vocal melody. There are also a couple of beautiful ballads thrown in that could compete with anything Adele has to offer. Strange Mercy grabs you on the first listen and only gets better with each subsequent play, revealing new complexities every time you hear it. Annie Clark is a singular talent, and one we are lucky to have around.

Top Tracks: Cruel, Strange Mercy, Neutered Fruit
Rating: 8/10
Release Date: 13 September 2011

Kasabian - Velociraptor!

Kasabian are a Northern English rock band in the Oasis tradition; brash, self-opinionated and prone to bold statements of their own greatness, the most surprising thing about them is that more often than not they actually live up to their boasts. Their last album, West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum, was a massive step up in quality from their first two and Velociraptor! continues the band's upwards momentum. This is quality rock music, very British in it's melodicism, with some touches of electronic experimentation thrown into the mix as well. Their are a couple of the driving electro-rock anthems that made their name for them but generally the album is more understated than previous efforts and it is the slower songs that are the most impressive. Velociraptor! is the sound of a band maturing into the greatness they so often proclaim themselves to possess.

Top Tracks: Goodbye Kiss, La Fee Verte, Neon Noon
Rating: 8/10
Release Date: 20 September 2011

Toddla T - Watch Me Dance

Toddla T is a DJ, producer and artist hailing from Sheffield in England. His second album, Watch Me Dance, showcases a taste in music so eclectic it's difficult to keep up with all the snatches of different genres. There are elements of pop, grime, soul, minimalist electro and lots else thrown into the stew, and incredibly it all works. Despite all the variety the album works as a whole too, a technicolour jigsaw of sound that creates a vibrant and engaging listen. The beats are inventive and fun, and guests on the album include legendary London rapper Roots Manuva, Shola Ama, and Roisin Murphy. This is an album that is impossible to classify and Toddla T is certainly not an artist that can be pigeonholed, but what can be said about Watch Me Dance is that is one of the most fun albums you will hear all year.

Top Tracks: Watch Me Dance, Cruise Control, Badman Flu
Rating: 8/10
Release Date: 13 September 2011

Lenny Kravitz - Black and White America

Lenny Kravitz's ninth album does not veer much from his tried and tested formula, and as such it is a melting pot of his usual American influences - rock, funk and soul. The music is executed with the expertise we have come to know from Kravitz and which has made him a household name the world over. His guitar playing is exemplary, his voice as soulful as ever, and Black and White America contains the best set of songs Kravitz has written in years. The album reflects on growing up with biracial heritage and expresses hope for a colourblind future, and it does this through the kind of catchy rock songs and virtuoso guitar playing that made Kravitz famous. If you're a Lenny Kravitz fan, Black and White America is indispensable.

Top Tracks: In The Black, Stand, Superlove
Rating: 8/10
Release Date: 29 August 2011

David Guetta - Nothing But the Beat

David Guetta's music is pretty much ubiquitous at present; you can't go to a shopping centre or club without hearing the French DJ/producer's music blaring through the speakers, accompanied by the vocals of one of the stable of guest singers he seems to have at his disposal. On "Nothing But the Beat" these guest vocalists include Flo Rida, Nicki Minaj, Taio Cruz, Ludacris, Usher, will.i.am, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, Akon and Timbaland among others. It's dance music for the masses, for people who don't really like dance music as such but like pop music with a beat that they can drunkenly dance to in a nightclub. If you enjoyed the last David Guetta album or the tracks that you have heard on the radio like the Flo Rida assisted "Where Them Girls At" or the Snoop Dogg helmed "Sweat", then you will enjoy this album. If not, stay away.

Top Tracks: Where Them Girls At, Sweat, Nothing Really Matters
Rating: 6/10
Release Date: 29 August 2011

The Rapture - In the Grace of Your Love

It's been almost a decade since The Rapture emerged as the darlings of the New York dance-punk scene with their debut album "Echoes", and 5 years since their last album, so one could be forgiven for having forgotten about them completely. "In the Grace of Your Love" is a stirring reminder of what this trio can do, the best tracks a stomping mix of rump-shaking beats, funky bass-lines and singer Luke Jenner's yelping vocals that is almost impossible not to dance to. There are a couple of slower numbers too, interspersed among the dancier gems, but whilst they are not bad, they lack the punch of the rest of the album. The Rapture made their name by getting people onto the dancefloor and shaking their butts, and if "In the Grace of Your Love" proves anything, it's that after all these years they still haven't lost that knack.

Top Tracks: Sail Away, Miss You, Come Back to Me, In The Grace of Your Love
Rating: 8/10
Release Date: 5 September 2005