There are stretches, most notable the middle third, where the impulse to experiment obscures the user-friendliness, but nitpicking like this detracts from what we really should be acknowledging.

There are a couple of lesser tracks on Nostalchic and it’s up for debate as to how well Howard sticks the landing on the LP format, but Lapalux is a singular talent and his debut is evidence of that even if the pieces don’t all quite click neatly into place.

Because of the fractured, whimsical makeup of the album, it can become a bit frustrating for the listeners hoping to detect Half Pearl‘s beating heart. But listen close enough, and resolve is there beneath the rubble in the chopped jazz pop of “Wild Animals”, in which Liv.e struts to her own self-belief, untethered from other people’s expectations of her.

Overall, I Don’t Know is a formidable leap forward for bdrmm and needs to be seen as one body of work that veers this way and that, but always with a purposeful forward motion.

Cousin carries just about the same level of uniqueness as any other Wilco release. Icy and poised, with support from Cate Le Bon on production, it’s their most emotional yet composed record in some time.

It improves on its predecessor, is chock full of quotable lyrics (“I’m three words away from absolutely fucking ruining your life”), and even where it stumbles, it still manages to pick up the pace soon after. Perhaps best of all is all the ups and downs Gartland captures.

With Hen’s Teeth, again, Sam Beam brings us more well-aged Iron & Wine.

Nothing on Sleepless Night necessarily surprises, but nothing disappoints either. For a band with 15 studio albums (and counting), we unsurprisingly don’t discover anything new about them here, but this isn’t the point. We’re just glad to be in their company once again; this, one feels, will never change.

Deep States does feel a bit all over the place, but what works for it (as it does for everything Liddiard has been involved with) is the overpowering confidence with which it is performed.

We got an album entirely thrown on the shoulders of the cub, and like a growing king, J. Cole actually pulled it off, but scope, cohesiveness, and focus couldn't help but become somewhat lost in the disarray.

On Sweet Sour, Band Of Skulls show themselves to be well equipped to keep the garage blues/rock flame alive.

As fleeting an experience as this is, it’s still emotionally moving and deeply affecting. Within its ambition, and for those who are open to its fainting beauty, it contains entire worlds.

Cruel Summer might be the worst thing in Kanye West's discography thus far, but it's a success as mainstream rap cabal compilation albums go.

Despite its minor detours, Crash is one of Charli’s better albums even if it will likely garner a polarizing reaction. She’s fully dedicated though, and it’s a testament to her commitment to crafting the big ‘sellout’ pop album, which she mostly nails.

The surreal and whimsical electric guitar licks that slice through the track’s acoustic backbone achieve a sense of flippantness that foreshadows the thesis of I’ll Be Waving.

Reznor and Ross have managed to balance creating fitting soundscapes without overshadowing the poignant dialogue.

The record is at its best when it combines its pop sensibilities with its ambient leanings.

Could Glutton For Punishment have been more strategically curated? Perhaps, but this is an ambitious act. And sometimes you need to be commended for what you attempt as much as for what you achieve.

UGLY is surely his most intense, unvarnished, unrelenting personal excavation

New fans get a wonderful introduction to a fascinating discography, and existing fans get a project that will leave them both pleased and eagerly awaiting the next move of a star that can seemingly do it all.

3D Country is a fun album, and it gives the band a more definable personality – even if it’s bonkers.

The surrounding material is all solid, if not to be ranked as some of her best stuff.

His choruses don’t jump out at you so much as slink by, which is not always a bad thing, but maybe not what you want from pop music. ... Every song on Changephobia sounds like it has an inch-thick layer of dust on it, but if you take a finger and smear that off, there’s a beautiful ice-cream paint-job below.

Like its title, Loud Bloom is undeniably a blossoming. It’s a flourish of individual style and a record of following your gut for what feels right; some of the tracks might not work for everyone, but they work for Dreijer.

There’s a lot to love about it. It’s a tad too long, and some of the talent is under-utilized, but Dessner and Vernon have created a worthwhile follow-up to their humble debut.

It’s been three years since The Forever Story, and JID’s returned with something more precise, more obsessive, and possibly more brilliant than anything he’s touched before.

Guaranteed both to amuse and to confuse, Ten$ion is a masterpiece of kitsch: an intently provocative, tongue-in-cheek rave-rap record, by a cryptic performance art group.

Shame is another great record from Uniform. Slightly more mature, perhaps even more confident, than some of the visceral slabs of pure adrenaline that marked their earlier releases, it’s a record that plays with extremes but with a command over the noise created. The overarching thematic intent of the record gets lost, truth be told, as the rush of sounds overwhelm the lyrics but this just gives you more reason to go back to it to pick those narrative elements apart.