Raw artistry paired with rich heritage makes for a magnificent, spine-tingling first album for Rina Sawayama.

There’s a quiet, steady faith apparent in ‘Wild God’, a simple wonder that feels unique in modern songwriting, a beatific glow that lingers after the final lights have been switched off.

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

A successfully adventurous debut that bears countless relistens.

A striking, fantastically original work, this is an album that taps into animalistic emotion.

All Mirrors is a record that is so intuitive and interior, that it feels it could be difficult to penetrate - but it’s one hell of a prize if you give it the chance.

Sudan Archives is proving that she is an artist who knows no bounds, and projects like this one are what is going to propel her further into acclaim and stardom.

‘For Those I Love’ is a truly exquisite achievement in which the redemptive hope that love and friendship provide is never allowed to sink beneath the waters.

Not only is this their biggest album to date, it’s also their best. It builds on their remarkable career, as a duo and solo artists, to date and makes us question what jazz should be doing in 2022. ... It’s brave, accomplished, daring and wonderfully catchy in ways you don’t expect.

Yazmin Lacey’s curatorial skill sits alongside her painterly-like vocals, resulting in a bold, and emphatic album project.

Analog Africa has created a compilation that’s less esoteric than some previous releases and more focused feeling. It’s a fascinating time capsule into not only the artists and studios of the time but the cities themselves and the Congolese spirit as a whole—another must-buy for those who get a kick of uncovering long-lost musical treasures.

On ‘HIT ME HARD AND SOFT’, it’s evident Eilish is conveying a musical restraint beyond her years, moulding a musical identity to her image and not the ephemeral pop game.

Revealing, often beautiful, ‘Service Station At The End Of The Universe’ has a heart of gold.

It’s a mature, delicately crafted, and wisely put-together project that speaks of love, growth and family.

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.

Big Fish Theory is a record that not only sees Vince taking risks and progressing forward as an artist, but also another astounding example of what hip-hop should and can be in 2017.

'Ignorance' is a well-crafted and heart-felt piece of work that dances seamlessly through the caverns of dark and light, a perfect offering to hold onto with hope.

A breathless, breathtaking achievement, Chris is a fascinating, infectious, endlessly suggestive work, an ode to 80s pop bombast that uses those splinters to build and then de-construct countless glimpses of Héloïse Letissier. Somewhere in amongst these myriad of definitions is Christine And The Queens, a shape-shifting pop entity perpetually aiming for something greater.

An endlessly engrossing record.

It’s a scintillating experience, perhaps the moment where underscores fully out-strips her peers, and comes into her own.

A Seat At The Table is an expertly-curated, a near-perfect record that serves as a timely, musical manifesto on how to be black and proud.

‘Pink Noise’ is a triumph for both the label and for the super-talented Laura Mvula.

Overall, When I Get Home is a triumph, and is the kind of album you put on to reach your calming, safe place, when you get home at the end of a long day.

Slipknot make an unexpected impact with their newly-discovered tenderness, but it’s those instantly-recognisable throat-shredding roars that really shine.

The record swells and retreats at will as the group flex their musical dexterity.

A potent debut album. Succinct yet packed with stunning detail, it refuses to take the easy way out, and that stubbornness may see Squid outstrip their peers in a head-long race towards a re-engaged future.

All Hell’ is the quintessential Los Campesinos! album. Big, bold and brash, whilst at the same time succeeding in retaining the band’s politics and indeed their humility. .... The band have bared their guts once again, and never, ever has it sounded so good.

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

This latest set sees Clark back in domineering form. There’s not a second wasted on the album’s taut track list, the songwriter managing to balance her teenage inspirations simultaneously, go back to basics, and break new ground all at once.

‘Sex, Death & The Infinite Void’, Creeper have created something that simultaneously pays homage to the bands that came before, and which is totally cutting-edge in the modern rock landscape.

It’s a stunning record, one of depth but also immediacy; it exists to be adored.

We’re graced with upbeat music, the antidote for the negativity that surrounds us. They speak out and speak up about the wrongs that surround them, like the patriarchal limitations placed on them ('Man In The Magazine'), but also explore the joy of the everyday ('Hallelujah').

Makaya McCraven breathes new life into not only the album but Scott-Heron’s legacy.

Taylor Swift’s quiet, exquisite album.

[His albums] are normally produced to the hilt, but here Neil Young sounds more vulnerable than he normally does, and this makes the songs more immediate and personal.

There is no weak link in sight across 18 varied and often pulsating tracks that dance between darkness and light as Cave’s music so often does. It is a testament to his artistry and continued innovation.

To Be Kind is altogether more colourful, an expansive record--fleshier, bloodier and lusciously psychedelic.... Near perfection.

Even what Jordan already excelled at – her vocal and lyrical expression, as well as her skill with guitar –does not stagnate, resulting in a fantastic example of how a second album should be.

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.

‘Song For Our Daughter’ is a powerful and resounding success, and re-affirms Marling’s position as one of our most important feminist songwriters.

‘Future Nostalgia’ is an empowering, dynamic pop cavort from start to finish. Dua’s compelling vocals, hooks and beats are a force to be reckoned with, daring you not to boogie around your bedroom.

It's a truly incredible album, a special album and a rare album.

An album with novelistic depth, when ‘30’ turns once more for its London-rooted conclusion, Adele seems to reach a new level in her stratospheric career.

It doesn’t disappoint. Unapologetically heavy, with some spell-binding riffs and addictive hooks, ‘Below’ takes us across twelve gritty tunes all reflective of the turbulence of fourteen months spent in isolation.

Although it takes more than a couple of listens for Loud City Song to feel like a cohesive album, the reward once you do is well worth the outlay.

A work of pure, true genius.

It probably won’t satisfy those who still yearn for a return to their ‘90s alt-rock beginnings but it’s a good starting point for newcomers. For the rest of us though, what this all amounts to, in the end, is another fantastic Radiohead album.

But for all its merits, much of the chaos on MASSEDUCTION tends to move rapidly in one ear and out the other, making it a pleasant but somewhat faceless affair.

‘Saint Cloud’ is the refreshed, reformed and matured Waxahatchee – and it’s glorious.

Bey channels the destabilising loss of her father and its attendant grief into something transcendent yet eminently relatable. ‘Ten Fold’, like the best journeying album, takes you along for the ride whilst serenading your anguish.

As after parties go, ‘brat and it’s completely different but also still brat’ is one for the books.

With ‘Sometimes I Might Be Introvert’, the answer seems to be found in widening that scope and ambition in a way we’ve never seen before. The cinematic flourishes are cranked up and Simz is more confessional than ever, pondering what defines her as both Little Simz the artist and Simbi the person. It makes for addictive listening.

If anything, 'Proof' provides context to K-pop’s infiltration into the Western industry and gives reasoning to BTS’ dominance.

Put together, the disparate elements that make up ‘My Light, My Destroyer’ may betray the occasional influence, but combine to produce a singular world – one that is, at points, both deadly serious and funny, but always habitable.

‘GOLLIWOG’ is an abrasive, demanding album. woods’ afro-pessimist vision of a world fundamentally hostile to every facet of black existence (family, history, spirituality) is a hell of a lot to chew on. However, it’s also a beautifully singular vision, one that’s delivered with thrilling intelligence and visceral, gripping force.

This is a record that showcases Tyler, the Creator’s continued refusal to be caged in by any set sound or genre, with references to his earlier style alongside tracks that sound completely new. Defying expectations, Tyler, the Creator continues to rise.

Half of the time Barnett, sounds like she isn't even trying, shrugging out moments of brilliance with ease and nonchalance. Whether she sits and thinks or sits and does nothing, it would appear the results are still golden.

By the time the more politically minded triptych of ‘Don’t Get Captured’, ‘Thieves!’ and ‘2100’ roll round you’ve almost forgotten just what El and Mike are capable of when they drag their eyes away from their own navels. Thankfully there’s enough gold at hand to excuse Run The Jewels for getting a little bit carried away with their own runaway success.

Cinematic in scope and delicately constructed, the album grows from warm, organic techno (‘Persona’) through ambient electronica (‘Dreamer’s Wake’) to the insistent synths, drums and drones of ‘Hidden’. Lovely stuff.

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.

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.

It’s so heart-rending you could keep yourself wrapped inside its comfort for hours and not come out. To all those troubled minds and torn hearts clinging to the past, this is utterly heavenly.

‘Alfredo’ excels on every front, a record that fuses a thirst for fresh innovation with a depth of love for hip-hop and rap music that is almost unparalleled. Pretty much an instant classic, it’s the sound of Freddie Gibbs finally bursting free, working with tour de force production to surge past expectations and claim his place at the absolute pinnacle.

'Big Time' is a focused record that contains stunning examples of vulnerability, almost too exposed to watch. Her ability to shed layers artistically and emotionally, over and over, leaves you excited to see where her next destination may be.

While each of the band's EPs were like short, sharp gut-shots, Vile Child feels diluted in comparison, and as such is a record that shows plenty of promise, but not one that will change lives.

Designer is a striking return, pursuing solitary aesthetic goals in a fashion both unrelenting and admirable. It perhaps lacks a little of the indefinable magic that made 2017’s ‘Party’ such a gripping experience, but in its ability to conjure bold, riveting songwriting it underlines Aldous Harding’s position as a truly remarkable artist.

Almost every track on ‘Magdalene’ is built upwards from a simple piano line, hammering home the impression of someone delicately yet decisively knitting themselves back together after coming undone.

As a whole, ‘Letter To You’ is a wonderfully warm experience, perhaps Springsteen’s most human for some time.

‘Jubilee’ sees Zauner fully unshackled for the first time, keeping the emotive core of her songwriting and marrying it with boundless energy and ambition. It’s truly a triumph.

Masterful in its softness of touch, Sault know when to apply and relieve pressure; at moments it can be intense, yet others are bathed in a beatific R&B halo.

While familair touchstones remain in place, they are thouroughly eroded and inverted by Doctor L's production adding subtle,a dn not so subtle, layers of noise and distortion along with a throbbing bass presense and post punk reverb.

Blurring the lines between inner and outer worlds, ‘Manning Fireworks’ is a powerful achievement, one that deserves to last.

‘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.

‘Only God Is Above Us’ is an elegant summation of the band’s journey and strengths – of joy, sincerity and a feeling of believing in and offering calm amongst the chaos.

While it may be hard to place genre-wise, it’s not hard to see its quality and sense of ambition.

Hypno-grooving at its best.

A fantastically consistent, perpetually illuminating full-length, it shows Nas to retain a hunger, and sheer fire that so many of his peers have lost. Recalling former glories while remaining fixed on the future, ‘The King’s Disease III’ underlines the rapper’s current creative streak.

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

‘Jaime’ is arguably Howard’s most important work to date spiritually, let alone critically. Named in memoriam of the beloved sister she lost to cancer when both were in their teens, the album is a sonic sucking of the poison from the wounds of life, and the regeneration of the artist thereafter.

Madlib continues to provide the backing that allows Freddie Gibbs to shine, choosing to predominantly stick to slower, authentically instrumental led soundscapes across the LP.

This is Hey Colossus' best LP yet--by some distance.

Whilst it might not be as immediately stunning as the mix of luscious synth pop and alternate universe James Bond themes on that album [Red Moon In Venus], she still shines on this record, code-switching between English and Romance and beat-switching between sultry R&B and sunny Latin party pop.

Despite the visceral joy and catchy melodies of the music; it's Joseph Talbot’s lyrics that are the main event. Part social commentary, stand-up routine and motivational quotes lyrics.

Art Angels is boundary pushing, it’s listenable and it’s Boucher’s most ambitious and most consistent work to date.

Whilst it lacks the character and vivacity of its predecessor, ‘Dawn FM’ develops the latest reinvention of the Weeknd with its dramatic instrumentation and refreshed view of the world.

An exhausting and thoroughly absorbing set.... It is a record that everybody should own. Meticulous, majestic, momentous.

They’ve come out the other end with a truly talismanic record that will live long in the memory for any who experience it.

Thoughtfully constructed and bristling with quiet self-belief, ‘Dog Eared’ sounds both fresh and warm. Billie Marten shimmers with a chill confidence, offering clear-eyed portraits of her personal relationships that resonate with universal desires to love and be loved.

These songs may be scorched with an unavoidable yearning quality, but they find her standing at a new creative peak: ‘The Gypsy Faerie Queen’, co-written with Nick Cave, might rank among the best songs either have written, while ‘Born To Live’, her piano-led paean to departed lifelong friend Anita Pallenberg, speaks of our corporeal impermanence with a calm but unswervingly frank honesty.

This, his fifth album, is also an overt ode to limbo, the halfway house of consciousness and true death. And this is where all 19 tracks dwell, in between the failing light of traditional jazz and the bursts of neon emitted from his polyrhythmic, nocturnal electronica.

‘Homegrown’ not only lives up to the hype of being a lost classic, it surpasses it.

An exciting and slightly experimental new chapter for the band and their most cohesive release in quite a while. A late-year stunner.

Nestled amongst some of her most nuanced and carefully placed moments of Americana and joined by a host of backing singers and musicians from Connor Oberst to Hand Habits‘ Meg Duffy, Segarra manages to take solace in the fact that while we are victims of our formative years, there is always scope to heal.

The rugged, ragged ‘Twenty Things’ sits against the bolshy ‘Sad Lads Anonymous’, a record whose sonic breadth is matched to the assured nature of its construction.

Theatrical and majestic, ANOHNI’s supple world-building acts as a mirror to her soul – ‘My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross’ may well be her masterpiece.

With his new album RM demonstrates a sense of growth. Weaving throughout each track, RM feels vividly present. Through the inclusion of art combined with the presence of an interpretation of nature, ‘Indigo’ feels calming, relatable and fresh.

Though ‘Everything Harmony’ may be a pastiche, the band carried it past the point of mere replica and into its own identity. It’s resonant in modern times; a dreamlike escape from the electronic clamour and constant buzz that can drain one’s spirit.

‘LAHAI’ is an astral soul coda that whilst intimately rendered, doubles as a pledge for connection and interrelatedness. We needed this.