As with any Harvey project, the musicianship is of the highest, yet understated, order.

Lighting Matches isn’t a bad album, but sadly it doesn't excel either.

‘Renaissance’ sees Aluna cementing herself as one of the most exciting artists around with this iconic offering that will inspire dance records for years to come.

Whilst the Spacebomb country-psych-soul style was an unexpected move away from the pop- infused sounds that lingered in ‘Sweet Disarray’ and ‘Emerging Adulthood’, and not all fans will be best pleased by such a sound progression, the heartfelt and at times pitiful lyrics of his ‘Grand Plan’ is a humbling nod at the inevitability of growing up and branching out.

'Chansons d’Ennui Tip-Top' might be the strongest album Cocker has released since his 2006 debut, but that does the dirty on ‘Beyond the Pale’ and ‘Further Complications’. This is an album made with love. Love for the culture of his adopted home, but mostly a love of music in all its forms and styles.

'Ugly Season' is best digested as a whole concept. It demands focus, and if the listener isn't too careful, they'll miss the nuance found in muttered lyrics and a flicker of synth.

‘Sorry I Haven’t Called’, brings out the best dance music has to offer because although Vagabon’s music is soft-indie-pop at its core, she has somehow captured an intrinsically heavenly sphere throughout the twelve tracks, making it the best record to keep a tiny bit of summer inside of us as the autumnal air is taking over the outside world.

It’s an accomplished record that leans into the familiar with flourishes of exciting new textures that make it a constantly engaging listen with plenty to unpack.

Despite its teething issues, ‘Alligator Bites Never Heal’ offers Doechii enough dimension and versatility to cover all the bases, geared towards a spectacular live performance.

Through their ability to find beauty in adversity, Maribou State have created an album that stands as a beacon of resilience and artistry. ‘Hallucinating Love’ is a powerful contender for Album of the Year – a body of work that radiates a perspective on life we too often overlook.

With this 17-tracker, Joshua Idehen and Parment fashion a musical balm in an age of discontent.

‘Forever Ends Someday’ is wonderful – a rich, emotionally vivid experience, an inspired statement from start to finish.

Whatever your feelings around the words, and they are certainly a little clunky at times, this is a musically rich collection that is partly a logical step on from the rattle of 2011’s beautiful ‘Let England Shake’ and also as melodic a rock record as Harvey has released in some time.

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

With Polar Bear being fully paid-up jazzers, there's more of an understanding and utilisation of dynamics, which add to the pervading mood, yet the overall feeling is one of ennui.

Just bask in The Unseen in Between enigmatic glory.

The familiar sparse, shrugging guitar touches return, sounding no less beguiling than they did three years ago, but the craft has improved. Where 'xx' traded on a certain naïve charm, 'Coexist' is a meticulously controlled aural environment.

While it wouldn’t be unfair to say that the best moments generally belong to Barnett, the combined force of the duo produces a piece of work that certainly doesn’t seem like too much a step down from the superb ‘Sometimes I Sit And Think…’ and ‘b’lieve i’m goin down…’ that had us all so captivated back in 2015.

Considering the lucid, poignant albums to come to fruition from cabin writing retreats (Bon Iver’s ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’, Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Nebraska’ etc.)--Standards is an album that is almost completely devoid of such clarity and space.

Vivid, compelling and unafraid of delving into new territory, Mogwai have found the ideal combination of progression and familiarity.

Whilst the lyrics are direct and, in your face, the production is just as precise and thought out. It flows with Kano’s quick pace and ability to turn on the heat so quickly. The album offers 10 tracks of quality and meaning over the meaningless repackaged corporate sound that is found more often than not in this day and age.

This is equally Carlile’s record, her majestic vocals and distinct edges complementing his. We’re hoping this won’t be Elton John’s final record but it’s certainly one of his strongest collections in years, bookending a musical legacy unlike any other.

This is enduring evidence that the purest, most interesting music inevitably comes without hefty production or marketing budgets.

Woolford fends off critics of unoriginality by contributing to/completing bass music’s circle of life. Good tidings of Thunder and Joy.

A rich, rewarding experience, this isn’t an album to be understood easily – uneasy listening, it could be their most enlightening record yet.

There is so much right about this album that it’s hard to criticise: Swindle’s vision to blend different worlds of underground music, together with his choice of features--as well as intriguing changes in pace--are what makes this album great.

This is an album that shows a progression, but instead of delving deeper into harsh sounds, they have gone the other way, delivering something that feels light and fluffy but has the same lyrical hit as their debut.

It’s less of a ‘Burden…’ expansion pack and more of a statement in its own right, one that underlines Benny The Butcher’s ascension as one of the most vital voices in rap today.

It’s surprising, but oddly delightful.

This is one of modern rock’s very best kept secrets at their peak, a band on the brink of sold-out stadiums.

DIIV have refined their brooding vibe and produced as gorgeous a record as you’ll hear this year.

Engrossing, dark and irresistible, ‘Stray’ is a grandiose effort from an adventurous group, who just keep getting better all the time. Bambara remain a genuine force.

A quiet, understated triumph.

It retains the witticism and humble poetry that saw him crowned the beloved laureate of Fife, but there’s just a little bit of magic missing.

Iggy Pop is what it says on the tin and Iggy Pop is what every aspect the music revolves around.

There is more than enough emotional sensitivity available between the duo without resorting to being just like everyone else, and for that reason (amongst many others) this fragile, coming-of-age album should be celebrated.

The album definitely picks up where the previous effort left off, but delves even deeper into the left-field and draws from an ever-growing well of influences and ideas. It is this stylistic exploration that makes Man Vs Sofa all the more intriguing and unpredictable, but simultaneously renders it slightly less accessible than the duo’s debut.

Songs on ‘Reflection’ transcend the boundaries of radio-ready pop music, are a reflection (no pun intended) of the larger shift of pop music to something entirely digital in every sense, a shift that seems to mirror that of the music industry in the past decade.

At best, it serves as a reminder that Wiley is one of the best to ever do it, but it often feels unfocussed, and uneven.

‘Cooler Returns’ displays a keen eye for observation – both grand and quaint – as its myriad of tracks cohere together through a bond of musical influences old and new to form an album that’s invitingly optimistic, while also displaying intricacy and craftiness in abundance.

The production may be a little smoother but Pedestrian Verse just seems to prove how lasting, how devastating Frightened Rabbit can be.

‘The Great Impersonator’ is both deeply personal and sharply relevant to wider pop culture, quietly contributing to conversations being had by, and about, Chappell Roan, as well as those that have followed the death of Liam Payne.

‘Hellfire’ is at once goofy and high brow. A volcanic eruption of serious silliness.

Bonkers in parts it may be, but Take Me proves hugely enjoyable.

It's bonkers and wild.

While this experimentation might falter in places, it is a necessary and important addition to the growing Teklife catalogue of releases, prompting future collaborations, discussion, and the honing of that coveted vibe.

This record is about living, even as it is shaped by loss. They make the tiny changes, as the grieving do. Re-frame what is left, and keep him alive within.

‘The Family’ is the perfect BROCKHAMPTON album. It has a flawless balance on energy fuelled moments with more melancholic ones, and the departure in sound from previous efforts makes for a compelling full listen.

There’s generally less immediacy on this record than seen on previous albums, and this will no doubt turn off a few fair-weather fans. The flip side is a band pushing its boundaries, grabbing some serious Warp artist vibes, and evolving into something more cinematic and mature.

‘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.

An audacious, adventurous, unclassifiable fourth album from the newly expanded Austin natives: this is a seriously self-assured sonic experience.

By considering themes such as love, social injustice and all round perseverance, it is both mature and engaging. The Big Moon are constantly breathing new life into a genre which sometimes runs stale. For that we should be eternally grateful.

On ‘Nothing Lasts’, the final song on the album, Schleicher seems to find peace after what’s been a fascinating but intense journey.

While Jurado’s music has, on occasion, seemed a little slight, this is an endearingly ambitious, somewhat unexpected folk-rock triumph.

It’s been said that every era gets the monster they deserve. If this is the case then ‘Visions of Bodies Being Burned’ is everything wrong, and right, with the world distilled into 52- minutes of absurdist hip-hop. We’ve never had it so good!

“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.

While subtle, this album captures the evolution of a band in their element once more.

‘Late Developers’ is a fine piece of pop whimsy, delivered with self-deprecating panache.

The LP’s home stretch is up there with Blake’s best, not just in the tense penultimate title track and wet-cheeked closer ‘If I’m Insecure’, but on the lead single. ‘Say What You Will’ shows off the magic trick Blake’s perfected by now. Vocally, he’s unsettlingly beautiful.

Inji is a good album. It's one of the best albums to have been released this year, which says a lot about Dust's ability as a composer.

The beautiful blends of genres and crisp production make ‘As Above, So Below’ an enthralling listen, and has Sampa raising the bar for herself once again.

It's one young man's proper opening salvo cast as an entire genre's dying breaths. But for a last gasp, it sure sounds vital.

This isn’t a linear narrative, with our author bending the fabric of time to suck us deeper into the emotional life of the characters in his story. As devices go, it’s a sharp one.

More than two decades on, the group’s era-defining work projects the same spellbinding urgency, continually taking guitar music to new places with imagination, force and creativity.

‘Rabbit Rabbit’ is a joyful listen. Its refusal to follow the norms is an inspiration, and an attempt at an act of defiance in an age when it is becoming harder and harder to go against the grain.

This is a very strong album about love, written by two people who aren’t in love.

Their carefully crafted, layered arrangements, and surreal lyric create a bit of a wonderland feel which is more than welcome as the day slowly grows brighter.

Fabulously varied, at times unashamedly extravagant and with a consistently joyous urgency, 2013 may be a historical document but it points to a very bright future.

Perhaps his strongest solo collection in some time, ‘I Love The New Sky’ holds true to an innate but rarely explicit sense of optimism. Softly uplifting in a very English way, it feels like a slow exhalation, a record that gently tugs at your sleeve. A low-key marvel.

Prone to playing one too many familiar games--the compressed vocals and the clunky convergence of beats ducking down--though as the sole Brit on Brainfeeder, you can’t knock him for being a team player.

Hozier is an authentic portrait of an artist--soulful, spiritual and seductive – and is a deeply impressive first step.

She’s now surpassed [her debut release] on its follow up Grim Town, which continues the themes of her debut, but with a new emotional growth.

An observing eye, everywhere the spirit of Chan Marshall lingers, on a textured, fascinating album, one that feels as though you have been let loose in an endless hall of mirrors.

An authentic and contemporary guitar sound, ‘925’ is a snappy and raw blend that bounces the listener into the more unexpected edges of the imagination.

A comforting return rather than anything revolutionary, it is nevertheless a welcome addition to his formidable catalogue.

He has fateful serenity tangling with rudebwoy pluck through crackly pirate radio reception, smuggling in head-scratching interludes - field recordings seemingly from the club's toilets/smoking section - and one '70s synthesizer pitstop.

Sounding like club music for grown-ups wanting a decadent summer of love return without wanting their troublesome kids tagging along... Likely to be a hit in the woods and beyond.

A work of typically broad imagination, not everything on American Interior fully clicks into place. Yet when it does, there’s more than enough to suggest that Rhys need not cease his eternal voyaging.

Hallways demonstrates great writing, clever concepts, varying flow patterns and a solid ear for organic production--all of which nudges the boundaries without straying too far away.

Garden Of Ashes is redolent of a muggy swamp and just as easy to sink into.

Less of a debut and more of a bookend, it listens like an aural autobiography of Greene’s influences and productions, a release that will satisfy old fans as well as find new ones without compromising the clarity of his vision.

Empress is that rare breed of album that is entertaining and says something worth saying. Once you get past the tight production and bass blips, what you are left with is a way to live your life.

The songwriting leged could easily be rehashing old songs and playing it safe, but instead he’s written an album full of catchy songs, searing riffs about hope for the future, rather than dwelling on the past.

A solar system held in place by its own revolutions, ‘The Slow Rush’ is testament to the patient productivity and unrelenting creativity of Kevin Parker.

The result is something genuinely startling. Raw, and often quite deliberately unfinished, the lyrics have a bullet point bluntness to them, with Simz aspiring to a level of direct communication other MCs can only marvel at.

A wonderful, absorbing listen by a truly special group.

There are layers upon layers of glorious melodies and hooks here; you just need to spend the time to find the ones that work for you.

Lyrically the album does what pop music does and creates a vibe but doesn’t necessarily encite any thought or, challenge the listener and the rest of the album from this point feels quite disconnected as we navigate out of the Afro-R&B with a feature from Rema on ‘Compromise’ to Nigerian highlife with lead single ‘Afro Highlife’ and reggae rhythms on ‘Having Fun’.

The result defies expectations in the best possible way.

For the most part, ‘Addison’ is a fun, delicious ride, soundtracking a movie where a small-town girl wins the lottery and parties it up in New York City.

Nothing Was The Same offers the listener a lot of what they’ve come to love (or loathe, indeed) about its maker, with the occasional flash of something a little more daring than might’ve been anticipated.

The record feels slick and polished, yet natural and unnatural. Like Grimes’ previous music, it’s a scary, ambient, and muddlingly beautiful mess.

This album is a black-belt in terms of song writing and instrumentation... but when McCombs’ lyrics can’t match up, Tip Of The Sphere sounds like it’s limping.

It’s not a perfect album, though. The vocals effects on ‘Kick You When You’re Down’ are more than a little grating, while ‘No Man’s Land’ feels stodgy, at times even like a chore. That being said, there is quite simply no other group on the planet who can match AC/DC at their best.

With Closer to Grey, the group have created a near-perfect piece of 21st century pop escapism. So, the next time world’s weighing you down, you know what to do. Reach for your turntable. Chromatics have got your back.

This is Hopkins’ strongest album to date. It is also his bravest. Which is saying something indeed.

Intimate and endearingly honest, This Old Dog is Mac DeMarco’s most essential chapter of slacker gospel yet.

If you love Kasabian you might think Velociraptor! is a 9/10 album, but for the rest of us it's a salt-seasoned, Spielberg-sponsored 7/10.