dream

On American Dream, James Murphy and co. reinstate their title as understated dance-punk pioneers with a knack for catchy melodies, thoughtful ambience and Murphy’s classic New York drawl. His lyrics, which are as quick-witted as ever, touch on the hyper-personal as he tackles topics such as isolation, love and his outlook on life. From the brooding, beat-infected how do you sleep? and groove-laden tonite through to anthem call the police and pulsating opener oh baby, American Dream has slowly but surely grown to become one of Murphy and co.’s best records. It’s the comeback nobody knew they wanted, but now love more than they expected.

14 Jon Hopkins – Immunity

Building rich visual landscapes through music isn’t for everyone, but for Jon Hopkins it’s a specialty. The London producer hasClaire Boucher) ended up not sleeping for nine days as she took amphetamines to get through the process as fast as humanly possible. This might sound like it would have been a rushed affair, but on the contrary: it only went on to work in her favour. Visions is 45 minutes of out of this world synth pop, partly fuelled by drugs but also fuelled by Boucher’s insane attention to detail and penchant for the weird and wonderful. Standout singles Genesis and Oblivion demonstrate this early on, setting the tone for an album which bewilders the mind just as much as it enthrals.

8 Lana Del Rey – Born to Die

Blue Jeans, the third song on Lana Del Rey’s debut record Born To Die, references James Dean and red,