I said on the 2013 album of the year thread that I'd start an album of the month thread. It hopefully could be a good way of finding hidden gems.

January is usually a quiet month for new releases. I'll compile a top five on Sunday afternoon if it's viable; if there's a wide range of albums mentioned with enough votes. Otherwise it can be a scroll down thread to read other users recommendations. I've started the thread today before the boards go quiet over the weekend.

There's no real rules. Mention as many albums as you like but just make your album of the month clear please.

My best January album is Hospitality - Trouble. I'm a huge fan of female fronted 90s bands and this album could easily slot amongst those. The new Hospitality album sounds similar to last year's Waxahatchee and just is brilliantly melodic. No new ground broken but a pleasure to listen to. I must have heard it nearly ten times since getting it on Monday.

Other honourable mentions go to the new Stephen Malkmus album which isn't as good as Mirror Traffic but is good nonetheless. The September Girls album was also good. They sound a cross between Dum Dum Girls and The Bangles. They were good live too at The Lexington earlier this month.