While November is the season for video games, January appears to be the time for albums. So far we’ve seen recently released albums courtesy of Good Shoes, OK Go, Field Music, RJD2 and Hot Chip. I’ve already posted a negative review of OK Go’s Of the Colour Blue of The Sky because it lacked the pure pop charm of their second album.

The Good Shoes album is a classic case of an indie band becoming a one trick pony. Their sophomore release, No Hope, No Future, is full of un-catchy riffs, bad track ordering and an overall lazy sound. Their previous mellifluous art rock sound has all but disappeared to reveal just generic indie music, it’s a shame as I loved the former.

I probably haven’t listened to enough of the RJD2 and Hot Chip albums to form a full opinion but what I have heard isn’t promising. I thoroughly enjoyed the last two Hot Chip releases but this one doesn’t seem to have those one or two catchy tracks that lift the whole album. Meanwhile, I originally got into RJD2 for his album The Third Hand – it was mellow and I could happily use it as ambiance while writing. The Colossus seems to lack that same tight production but I’ve only listened to it a handful of times, so I’m not ready to cast it off yet.

The only album of the five released this month, that I can happily say I’m enjoying, is Field Music’s Measure. This lengthy twenty track double album is full of the perfect mix between experimentation and that classic, unappreciated, Field Music sound. As soon as I took a sneaky listen to an advance leak, I pre-ordered the limited edition vinyl and it’s been a long time since I’ve done that.

It’s ultimately been disappointing month; filled with two albums that only feature a few decent tracks, two albums that are taking longer to get into and one album is… well… brilliant. At least there are Justice, Beastie Boys, LCD Soundsystem, N.E.R.D, The Roots and The Streets albums penned for the rest of the year.