It’s already time of year again. Gather your tents, sleeping bags and silly hats ““ festival season is upon us.

It almost hurts to criticize the Boss when I recall the heights he has reached in popular music over the last four decades, but unfortunately, “Working on a Dream” marks one of the lowest points in the Springsteen catalogue.

No longer are rock bands confined to the standard five-piece format.

1. Portishead ““ “Third”
To call this record mature would be to (falsely) imply the immaturity of Portishead’s earlier works. Nevertheless, the trip-hop staple’s first output in 11 years finds the band commendably more restrained and less glitchy, letting its tribal, minor-key ballads form a dusky playground for vocalist Beth Gibbons’ haunting flirtation with time and key.

A year and five months on from the first “Live Earth” concerts, the prevalence of both local and global musical projects associated with “green” living suggests the continued growth of a culture of environmentalism.