HALF-TERM REPORT!!!
The 25 Best Albums Of The Year....So Far!

So, here we are then - just over 6 months into what is already a remarkably healthy year for new albums and what's the state of play? I have to admit that I've struggled to keep pace with the relentless torrent of startling new releases - and the second half of 2017 looks even stronger with new albums on the way from big-hitters like Arcade Fire, The War On Drugs, The National and the much anticipated resurrection of the magnificent LCD Sound System. As a little taster for my end of year Top 50 - which at this rate could easily grow into a Top 100 - here is my current pick of the best records released so far this year. If you haven't heard any of these, then rectify that oversight immediately!!! 
(And before I'm inundated with heated comments about the validity of my number one pick, I know it's only a mini-album but it's so frickin brilliant I really have no other choice....)

25: The Magpie Salute  'The Magpie Salute'
24: Nadia Reid  'Preservation'
23: Thurston Moore  'Rock N Roll Consciousness'
22: Robert Cray & Hi-Rhythm  'RC&HR'
21: The Afghan Whigs  'In Spades'
20: Slowdive  'Slowdive'
19: The Feelies  'In Between'
18: The Jesus And Mary Chain  'Damage And Joy'
17: Elbow  'Little Fictions'
16: Cigarettes After Sex  'Cigarettes After Sex'
15: Spiral Stairs  'Doris And The Daggers'
14: Jane Weaver  'Modern Kosmology'
13: Grandaddy  'Last Place'
12: Spoon  'Hot Thoughts'
11: Depeche Mode  'Spirit'
10: The Moonlandingz  'Interplanetary Class Classics'
9: Little Cub  'Little Cub'
8: Sun Kil Moon  'Common As Light And Love Are Red Valleys Of Blood'
7: Endless Boogie  'Vibe Killer'
6: Mark Lanegan Band  'Gargoyle'
5: Ride  'Weather Diaries'
4: Pumarosa  'The Witch'
3: Fleet Foxes  'Crack-Up'
2: Jesu/Sun Kil Moon  '30 Seconds To The Decline Of Mother Earth'
1: Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever  'The French Press'