Named after an animated film about Raccoons (not the Cyril Sneer one), Pom Poko are a Norwegian four piece who may well be the great new hope if you're after a band that's original, inventive and a heaps of fun. A hard balancing act to pull off but this lot have done it with aplomb. I'm not an expert on the output of Studio Ghibli, but Pom Poko seem to not just take their name from an obscure 1994 film from the Japanese animation giants.

When various members of bands from music scenes gone by decide to form new bands (super-groups, if you will) it can have wildly varying rates of success (both critically and commercially). There's sometimes a definite air of midlife crisis in these ventures, but there can also be an unexpected spark of mid-career creativity. When it works, it really works (The Good, The Bad and The Queen, Electronic) and when it fails it can be a sorry sight (anyone remember Freebass? They had three bassists which should really have set alarm bells ringing).

The gist Danish five piece deliver some icy electro on this assured debut. The music Formed just a few years ago in Denmark, Lowly's sound remarkably accomplished. They seem like the finished article rather than a group finding their feet. Perhaps this, in some part, is due to the place that they formed, a music academy in Aarhus - these are presumably five people who know their stuff. That, in itself, doesn't automatically make for good music, in fact, it could even be a little off putting for some punk rock purists, but luckily this lot can also pen a tune, and pen it well.

The gist Second collaboration from this unlikely duo The music Although this is only Xylouris White's second album (a sequel to 2014's Goats), the friendship of George Xylouris and Jim White actually spans more than 25 years. Xylouris is a legendary Lute player from Crete and White is the celebrated drummer with Australia's favourite avant-rockers The Dirty Three. However, this is a relationship that pre-dates The Dirty Three, the two having met in Melbourne in the early 1990s.

Unlike some of their post-rock contemporaries who have moved on to other areas of the sonic landscape, Austin, Texas' Explosions In The Sky seem content to be tinkering away within the quiet-loud remit. Here they do it as well as ever. Massive epic tunes, with a touch more electronics than you might be used to - I genuinely thought my speakers would explode due to some of the distorted/glitchy drum patterns on offer. It also comes in the most elaborate vinyl packaging I've ever purchased.

The gist Second album from Manchester's rightly lauded four piece. The music Recorded in Joshua Tree, CA, PINS have a pleasing dirty desert rock jibe running through their second album Wild Nights. Its probably not surprising as one of its producers was Dave Catching, known for his work with The Eagles of Death Metal and Queens of The Stone Age. And the stoner groove of those two bands spills out onto many of these songs, in a seemingly organic and completely non-cynical way.

The gist Second album from Hannah Cohen mixes classic songwriting with modern production, and gets things just right The music Pleasure Boy is a lean eight tracks in length, which harks back to the heyday of the LP, when artists weren't slaves to padding out their records to 50, 60, 70 minutes at the behest of the CD. And there's actually quite an old fashioned vibe to this whole record. Not in a sub-Amy Winehouse kind of way, but some of these songs, despite their modern productions sound like woozy Twin Peaks ballads or bond themes from a different timeline.

The gist Ex-Fleet Fox reinvents himself as the bastard offspring of Harry Nilsson The music Coming nearly three years after 2012’s Fear Fun, Father John Misty (aka former Fleet Foxes member J Tillman) returns with his latest offering that for the most part channels the spirit of Harry Nilsson, Gene Clark and even early 70s Elton John. Kicking off with the title track, “I Love You, Honeybear” it's a record that is at once profane and profound in its lyrical content.

Waiting for Something to Happen is the sophomore album from London based outfit Veronica Falls.  This foursome have a knack for concocting catchy pop tunes, but they never stray far away from their C86 based version of jangle pop.  For the most part, they tread down the same path as their self titled debut album, instead of choosing to expand on their sound.