There’s no need to know the full context to enjoy ‘Cabin In The Sky’. As one of the most straight-forwardly enjoyable hip-hop albums 2025 has offered us, you’d be hard-pushed to top it for entertainment.

If there’s a lack of truly revelatory alternative takes, then Anthology 4 makes up for this by shining a light on The Beatles as people, and as studio musicians.

The sugar coated melodies and lush production give ‘Finally Over It’ a frictionless feel this time round, but Walker’s aching monologues keep things grounded in reality.

‘Something To Consume’ is a brilliant debut, ambitious in the best of ways. The Austin outfit possess an unrivaled passion that is genuinely exciting, leaving their listeners eager for more.

Two years on from the initial release of ‘Norwegian Wood’ – cue an onslaught of media attention, baseless industry plant allegations and Courtney Love’s stamp of approval – Picture Parlour have honed a sound that feels admirably self-assured and truly authentic.

‘Everyone’s A Star!’ never loses its sense of fun. The album feels like their debut record, but grown up, bolder, and fully in command of its sound.

It may lack the pop-accented immediacy of ‘EUSEXUA’ tracks like ‘Perfect Stranger’ and ‘Room of Fools’, but there’s a surfeit of transcendent dance music on offer here, deftly undercut with a sensual, inventive, hi-definition approach that is always gesturing towards the future.

Despite spanning only nine tracks, the album feels complete, a full arc from despair to declaration. In its brevity lies potency: an emotional journey which navigates heartbreak, self-discovery and resilience.

Slender and carefully defined, it’s the work of someone unafraid to take chances – it’s good to have him back.

The result isn’t always beautiful, but it’s rarely dishonest.

Not For Radio’s ‘Melt’ is an incredible introduction to her solo world.

Ultimately, ‘COSPLAY’ is Sorry at their most innovative and impressive, with their strongest songwriting to date. The album has everything the band is loved for, but it’s augmented and heightened.

‘Stardust’ is more fun than it is masterful.

All in all, ‘Liquorice’ is Hatchie at her best yet: it’s poignant, poetic, and above all else, utterly hypnotic.

The songs are slow moving wonders that gather emotional steam with each passing moment. The pay off to this is an album full of unflinching narratives, and thoughts, that, if you let them, have the power to stop you in your tracks. ‘Night CRIÚ‘ is an album to get lost in with this night crew.

‘Lux’ is endearingly insistent on taking you away from the lethargy of modern life and transporting you to a surround sound, meta-textual dimension. It’s hard-won, but oh so worth it.

Avery’s evolution as a songwriter is plain to see on ‘Tremor’.

‘Caos’ is an arresting, if imperfect, scream from the heart.

Remaining steadfast in their signature sound, Circa Waves released another nine songs which combines with ‘Death & Love pt.1’ to make an 18 track album. Part two’s first single, ‘CherryBomb’ immediately places you into Circa Wave’s soundscape with its relaxed instrumentation, vibrant riffs and catchy choruses.

The most impressive thing about this large-scale (in terms of both musicianship as well as time) collection, particularly given its improvisatory nature, is that it never tests your patience. The final five tracks are least impressive, but the earlier stuff, particularly in the first half, are spell-binding.

Witch Fever is a band with overwhelming promise. Even in ‘FEVEREATEN’s less cohesive moments, they show their potential to grow into their sound and harness every remnant of emotion.

Never a band to shy away from making their songs as huge as possible, their fourth record features some of their most monumental tracks to date.

This is a staggeringly powerful record. Continually evading easy descriptors, Dave pushes his art to higher levels.

What is disarming about ‘ICONOCLASTS’ then is this level of earnestness, von Hausswolff’s cutting self-exploration. Here, she doesn’t hide behind imposing aural architecture or bookish mythology (though, there’s still plenty of both). Instead, she wrestles with loss, faith, and love – mature, deeply universal themes that her earlier oeuvre sometimes obscured.

It isn’t entirely comprehensive, lacking the fabled Witmark demos (which have already been collated in the Bootleg Series). What ‘Through The Open Window, 1956-1963’ supplies, though, is wonderful curatorial nous, one that gives it a palpable narrative thrust. You’re pulled through time to the streets of New York in the early 60s, and behind each door lies tantalising secrets.

‘Love Chant’ takes time to sink in, but it grows on the listener with every return.

Passionate and reflective, ‘We Are Love’ captures a band rooted in experience and brimming with creative renewal.

‘Only Slightly Empty’ may not be the full glass, but it’s proof that White Reaper aren’t done pouring yet. And I’m sitting here ready to sip on whatever they are going to pour out next.

‘Describe’ offers a peek into life as a twenty-something, untangling the thorns of maintaining connections.

There is an urgency heard in each song that completes ‘WE WERE JUST HERE’, as if to grasp at a fleeting emotion before it fades away.

At just half an hour long, the record skips by in just enough time to take to the dancefloor, take a breath out the side door, and make it back to sweat your stuff to your favourite song.

A hard-hitting pop exposition, it frequently feels daring, while also providing an endless supply of hooks.

The glimpses at the making of the album and its various iterations will enthral fans, finally getting the fabled electric sessions. Ultimately, it proves that the album in its original guise in 1982 was a masterstroke, continuing to win new fans to this day and reinventing the home recording process.

‘Fatal Optimist’ is, despite the content matter, enticing on first listen and a record that yields further dividends with repeated ones. Here her voice has space to breathe in a way does not always on her preceding albums.

‘LOTTO’ is still a disorientating and mystical record—one that feels a little out of reach even after multiple listens—but it’s certainly one of the most compelling releases of the year, the kind of album you’ll feel drawn to return to again and again.

‘The BPM’ is Sudan Archives’ bravest album to date. Lyrically, she effortlessly sings about love, loss, redemption, mental health issues and, err, 1980s computer games. It’s refreshing to hear someone this comfortable in their own skin unburden themselves like this.

Aside from spotty traces of Parker’s genius, at no point does the album elicit any passion since there’s really nothing on there that makes you want to own a copy of it on vinyl or witness the tracklist live.

The overstuffed nature of its production choices means that ‘God Save The Gun’ perhaps lacks some of the raw, impactful lucidity of the band’s debut, but it nonetheless overflows with singular, soaring and soulful energy.

While the slower tracks are perfunctory, it’s the moments where he stretches himself – vocally and musically – that elevate the album.

The vocal work throughout is astonishing. .... The Last Dinner Party are a rare and special band, and ‘From The Pyre’ proves it emphatically.

‘Some Like It Hot’ blurs the line between performance and vulnerability. bar italia’s lyrics explore identity and conflict, with the duality giving the album its undeniable pull.

Refusing to be hemmed in by their influences, there’s a real streak of inventive originality to The Cords’ songwriting, aligned to an effervescent innocence that feels totally right for the genre

‘Don’t Look Down’ is a bold, bruised, and beautifully messy project. It captures an artist still climbing, but refusing to ignore the vertigo.

Confident, strident guitar music, it’s a record that blends hugely effective songwriting with wicked production values, granting their work a crisp 90s-adjacent sheen that refuses to sacrifice their raw live endeavours.

Emotive and delicately intertwined with lush vocals and slices of upbeat moments (‘The Answer’), not for lack of trying, is a sensational project from dodie.

‘Belong’ has an easy-on-ear feel that is combined to a rich audio quality. But it’s more than just studio magic – Jay Som has rarely written with more confidence, rarely expressed herself with more bravery.

Often heavy in terms of lyrical context, in turn comes equal measures of humour: it’s difficult not to hark back to the tear away trousers with golden booty shorts underneath which Steen dons live onstage: ‘Cutthroat’ feels equally cheeky and to the point.

‘Idlewild’ is undoubtedly the strongest album of their second arc, a release that in any just world would gain plaudits and laurels at every turn.

With ‘Ad Astra’, Ash are reflective yet revitalised, offering a colourful, charismatic, and cosmic offering that’s truly out of this world.

Even as the tracks begin to mesh together a bit, hearing the versatility that AFI has pushed themselves towards is thrilling. Sonically, the looming influences of The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Sisters of Mercy trail every chord and drum lick.

‘The Life Of A Showgirl’ has its moments, but lacks the consistency of Taylor’s recent work.

An immersive, innovative (bold, futuristic production tricks protrude like mountain peaks throughout) and affecting adventure, ‘purity ring’ is as emotionally gripping as any collection of music you’ll hear this year.

Ultimately, ‘Midnight Sun’ is Zara Larsson honing in on what she does best with laser focus: starry-eyed, joyous Scandi-pop built to ignite dancefloors as easily as festival sing-alongs.

The album feels like an amalgamation of its two predecessors; the rap energy from ‘Scarlet’ and pop punch from ‘Planet Her’.

When she leans into vocal layering and harmony, the record comes alive. And while the production is minimal, the clarity it affords her words makes every lyric land with intention.

Even with 30 tracks, there is rarely an uninteresting moment across three LPs. Fans of Wilco and Tweedy will lap this up no doubt, and far from being throwaway, there is a sense of urgency and purpose throughout.

That’s what makes Geese’s work so exciting: uncompromising, they look steadily forwards, pushing at the seams of what their sound can do.

‘Saving Grace’ is intimate, emotional and transcendental, a warm mosaic of blues, alt-country and folk storytelling that reawakens the spirit of roots music that has been sympathetically reimagined through the clarity of a modern lens.

The self-described “cowboy gothic” leaves the album’s listening experience in a state of assurance that SPRINTS have not crumbled under the pressure of the success of their first album.

An unusual, beguiling collaboration, you hope it’s the first chapter in this duet, and not the last.

A muted gem, Joanne Robertson’s restraint sees ‘Blurrr’ reach fresh heights.

In some ways, this record feels like an impressive painting that charms you from the very first glance – without a cause, connecting with your mind on a subconscious level.

‘Juniper’ is a playful, exploratory and incredibly clever record – dealing with themes ranging from falling in love, mental health, music industry critique, politics, and self-love.

It’s a good effort in their catalogue with some shining moments, but it’s unlikely to invite those in who aren’t already fans of the band.

The new album presents songs of confession, reflection, wit, heartache and true crime in a new yet distinctive way.

It’s a record that at first curiously struggles to find its footing, before an assured mid-section guides Cardi B to the next level of her career.

With ‘Soak’ Black Honey are at their most fully fledged, brandishing a sword against the darker sides of society while still allowing time to reflect inwards in moments of raw introspection.

Always accompanied by her impressive soulful vocals, Lola Young wholeheartedly bares her soul on this album, leaving no stone unturned and no topic unaddressed.

This is a record that chafes at the furthest out fringes of guitar lexicon; respectful of her influences while seeking out individualistic plains, ‘Last Night I Heard The Dog Star Bark’ is something to set your compass by.

While some greatest hits collections can feel like cheap cash grabs, this feels like a reminder of why fans fell in love with Hot Chip in the first place. If you’re looking for an album of synth floor fillers, this will certainly do the job and some.

It is one of The Divine Comedy’s finest records and it draws from many of the most powerful elements of his musical instincts in support of a welcome emotional wallow.

For every Beyoncé, there’s a Michelle Williams. For every Harry Styles, there’s a Niall Horan. There’s no doubt this is a good record but only time will tell which side of the road JADE will land on.

A comforting, cathartic playground for disco, funk and cross-genre collabs, Sophie Ellis-Bextor comes into her own on ‘Perimenopop’.

While ‘Dim Probs’, on initial listens, may not appear the most substantial addition to Rhys’ work, it is nevertheless a relaxed (and relaxing) thing of warm humanity and beauty that, in the long run, may be more durable than much of his more lavish and accessible outputs.

“Absolute carnage” was how we described Maruja’s Glastonbury appearance earlier this year, and while no studio recording can capture that sort of live magic, ‘Pain To Power’ comes pretty bloody close.

With 22 tracks it’s self-evident that not everything lands – skits have always been a subject of debate to rap fans, and while some of the miniatures on ‘Supreme Clientele 2’ are fun, there’s a tad too many.

Moments of quaint inspiration and insight are few and far between. In the mire of an album experience intended to present Bieber as spirited and multi-dimensional, you instead get an artist spread thin; anonymous, distant, too often bloviating across a bloated runtime.

Lucrecia Dalt might not think about hit-making, but through her exploration of love and transcendence, she eventually created something strange and eerie, yet surprisingly close to a pop album — with weirdly catchy melodies that tempt you to either dance or hide under the bed — the very thing music critics with their radars on may be looking for.

A subversive work, ‘Antidepressants’ is confrontational, unfiltered and arguably one of their most electrifying releases to date.

Overall, ‘International’ looks back at the confidence the band has in creating bright catchy pop songs, whilst maintaining that whilst the band may no longer continue, the legacy that they have created remains bright and international.

It does not lose sight of its subject, and goes from strength to strength after each listen. There is no doubt that ‘Double Infinity’ will be a milestone release for Big Thief – for the band’s past, present, and future.

Having made a transformative 34-minute leap from the hesitant ‘Can I Call You in the Morning?’ to this Girls-meets-Sex and the City big moment, full of energy, self-irony, and hope, The Beaches sound like they’ve finally forgotten their exes ever existed.

‘Between You and Me’ sounds as if it was both carefully constructed over a thousand hours, and improvised in one take, and it’s the most Flyte Flyte have ever sounded. Half of the album is simpler, softer, and more stripped-down sonically, and it showcases the vivid songwriting that Flyte are so expert at.

With ‘Essex Honey’, Hynes doesn’t offer immediate catharsis or easy answers. Instead, he provides something equally valuable: an honest documentation of processing grief with such sophistication that his individual journey becomes widely resonant. It’s Blood Orange at his most complex, vulnerable, and accomplished.

A juxtaposition of life’s light and dark, glittering idealism and harsh realities, ‘Hard Headed Woman’ is a gorgeous display of classic country tropes, blues instrumentation and songwriting prowess.

‘Euro-Country’ is impeccably timed, but it’s also a weighty release, with the gorgeous Nashville-tinged songwriting allied to some fantastic polemic. This is a fantastic release – CMAT in excelsis.

It’s note-worthy how fresh and vivacious ‘Man’s Best Friend’ sounds.

This project combines many styles Hayley has touched on whether that might be with Paramore or independently, but her distinctive lyricism ties them all together into a discovery of self. [Review is based on the 17-track release]

Beth’s voice might be confronting at first, but over the course of the album the frustration becomes contagious, proving that anger is not something to be frightened by.

The production in songs like ‘Drive’, with its charming bass line, and ‘Silver Jubilee’, with its flirtation with 2016-electropop, are nice surprises, but overall the record can get a little repetitive with its themes and melodies. .... But her comedic and very specific style does shine through either way, and performing these songs for a crowd will probably add to the depth of future projects.

‘Escape Room’ reverberates with cinematic flair and curatorial focus, but its true strength lies in Taylor’s understanding of the RnB rhapsody through time; the love song that is most effective when it’s spare and submerged. For this reason, ‘Escape Room’ is as necessary as anything Teyana Taylor has ever recorded.

While there are moments where the concept of ‘Parasites and Butterflies’ is stronger than its execution, this is still a stellar outing for Nova Twins, once more establishing themselves as a vital and thrilling voice in the rock scene.

It is to the group’s credit that they manage to balance the disparate influences and styles with such panache. It is one of the band’s strongest to date and one fans will come back to time and time again.

In the end, LP 2 is the sound of a band taking everything that’s worked so far and refining it with style, taste and precision.

There is a distinctive confidence as Rachel Brown and Nate Amos weave nu-metal backbeat, indie guitar twang, piano motifs and deadpan vocals together.

‘Live Laugh Live’ is a rap Escher diagram, a Greek maze with MC as Minotaur; it extends Earl’s world, and invites you forward with every step.

A crisp, often emotional, pop experience, it’s a break with the past while remaining utterly true to the precepts that Wolf Alice forged their success by.

‘Guitar’ is easily one of Mac DeMarco’s most humane, and emotive records.