Panda Bear: Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper review – Lennox’s blithe, kaleidoscopic side is uppermost

The Animal Collective star is in playful mood on his most accessible album yet, writes Kitty Empire

Joanna Gruesome review – captivating, combative and coaxing

The prizewinning darlings of the DIY scene showed fire and delicacy with stunning results, writes Betty Clark

Menace Beach: Ratworld review – fuzzily enthusiastic alt-rock pastiche

Menace Beach’s 90s-worship rocking is expertly done, but perhaps lacking a real personality of its own, writes Michael Hann

Dan Mangan + Blacksmith: Club Meds review – adventurous, expansive alt-pop

Canadian singer-songwriter Dan Mangan’s fourth album finds him in a more ambitious and adventurous mode, writes Tim Jonze

Diagrams: Chromatics review – indie-electronic woe and wonder

Hope and despair battle through Sam Genders’ ornate, introspective songs – but his forebodings have soft musical landings, writes Harriet Gibsone

Beck Goldsmith: Lustre & Curve review – a polite howl of pain

Singer-songwriter Goldsmith’s chronicle is a folk-tinged breakup album that never quite punches to the gut, writes Tshepo Mokoena

Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper review – blurry, beautiful psychedelia

Noah Lennox’s latest album may not sound quite as weird or radical as some of his previous ones, but it’s still full of irresistibly lovely sounds, writes Alexis Petridis

The Cure review – ‘frequent highs and meandering lows’

The Cure deliver a three-hour, 40-song Christmas gig with a set list apparently on ‘shuffle’, writes Kitty Empire

Inspiral Carpets review – this is how it feels to be 90s

The bowl haircuts may have greyed but the twangy Carpets’s bright-eyed sound hasn’t changed, writes Dave Simpson

2014 albums we missed: Babe – Volery Flighty review

Gerard Black’s debut is as odd as it is charming, writes Harriet Gibsone

Brian Chippendale and Greg Saunier review – noise drummers lock horns

The drummers from Lightning Bolt and Deerhoof join forces for a riveting video album, writes Kitty Empire

The Drink: Company review – odd lyrics set them apart from the indie crowd

Dearbhla Minogue’s soaring vocals and lyrics about blood transfusions are enough to make this three-piece stand out, writes Corinne Jones

Best albums of 2014: No 1 – St Vincent by St Vincent

St Vincent’s fourth album had a certain swagger about it, and rightly so – it seemed to have come from a more intriguing world than most rock music in 2014

Uncle Tupelo: No Depression – Legacy Edition review – pioneering alt-country landmark

This reissue of an alt-country punk hybrid is early evidence of Jeff Tweedy, Mike Heidorn and Jay Farrar’s talents, writes Lanre Bakare

Wild Billy Childish and CMTF: Acorn Man review – potent business as usual

Billy Childish’s new album might sound similar to all of his others, but its tongue-in-cheek humour is particularly potent this time around, writes Kitty Empire