Amongst the army of incredible contributors, all unified by melancholic production drawn from the ether of another age, David Lynch's star shimmers brightest.

Four is an accessible album, filled with heavy questions about what love really means, posed through sensitive and dramatic arrangements.

An unassuming and bewitching masterpiece.

We're New Here is a psychedelic atlas with which we can all sonically voyage upon. A great way to start the year.

Fragile yet utterly destructive, this wolf in sheep’s clothing will hurl you five ways and leave you hovering over a bleak abyss. In a great way, obviously.

In its relentless fixation upon youth Light Upon The Lake seems to have stumbled across the timeless.

A cohesive, immersive listen that heartily repays repeated listens.

It’s a multi-faceted and mature second album from an artist that a lot of people wrongly assumed could only work in one narrow lane.

‘Unfollow The Rules’ feels like a gentle stroll through the various stages of Rufus’s career; far from creating the impression of Rufus covering his own back catalogue, the effect is like a timely reminder of everything that’s wonderful about Wainwright.

An enlightening journey through the mind of an outsider, but an entirely relatable one.

A stunning set of songs, this is an album that whispers its impact long after the last note has finished.

Showcases an artist gleefully scaling dizzying, wondrous peaks, backed by flawless musicianship, detailed production and marvellous songs.

A fantastic release, ‘SICK!’ pushes Earl Sweatshirt into a new chapter of his work, while adding further context to what has come before. The production work is impeccable, its dizzying imaginative flurry the perfect hinge against Earl’s lyrical precision. Short but emphatically creative, it presents an entire universe to explore, with its finer details laying in wait for repeated listens.

Amyl and Sniffers have released the album of the year. .... The record speaks as a journey of a woman finding her own worth whether that be in life, relationships or career, and it’s here to inspire you to do the same.

A long time in the making, Royksöpp have birthed an engaging, expressive multimedia universe suspended in digital mystery, a sum of many components meticulously executed. ‘Profound Mysteries’ truly captures the imagination.

A stunning work of self-analysis, it’s Jamila Woods’ finest record yet – high praise in itself – one of the most absorbing, illuminating records you’re going to discover this year.

These tracks are like messages in glass bottles, making their journey from one continent to another, across a calm sea. Pure serenity. ‘Flora Fauna’ is proof that a woman can be many things.

Where other emo bands might dramatise the horrors and wonders of death, American Football evokes its totality as a comfort, an ending whose completeness leaves nothing to fear. In the process, they’ve crafted another work of startling, very human beauty.

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.

If ‘RENAISSANCE’ doesn’t convince you that a star with nothing to prove continues to produce sprawling bodies of work that are editorially precise, prismatic and rhythmically audacious, nothing will.

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.

Semper Femina matches Laura Marling’s personal quest to unlock facets of her identity echoing with the wider struggle to clear a space for the feminine voice within society itself. With a triumphant new album it seems that this songwriter has found a room of her own.

A record that feels incredibly refined, ‘JAGUAR’ is an expert piece of R&B engineering, with each individual part interlocking perfectly. It’s a wonderful experience, with Victoria Monét’s stellar artistry balancing the sensuality of sound with a killer lyrical flair that aims straight for the heart.

The OOZ is undoubtedly another thought-provoking entry into the discography one of Britain’s most exciting and challenging young artists. An intense, yet rewarding listen.

For those seeking solace, joy, or pure emotional catharsis, Jamie xx has delivered a masterpiece that will linger long after the last beat fades.

With his debut album he firmly establishes himself as one of the leading lights in UK rap (if there were any doubts), and in a year where some of the scene’s heavyweights are also dropping albums, it won’t be a surprise if AJ’s project is rated as among the best of them by the end of 2019.

This compelling and provocative record is a haunting echo of a seemingly hopeless vignette of Britain today, where slowthai offers the slightest glimmer of optimism for a potentially brighter future.

On her sixth studio album, Charli XCX comfortably reaches into the extremes of her catalogue thus far, presenting one of her most subversive and conceptual bodies of work to date.

Suffused with an indefinable sense of melancholy, the likes of ‘I Can Change’, ‘Home’ and ‘Dance Yrself Clean’ instil the rubbery electro with a tangible soul - whilst ‘Drunk Girls’ delivers a giddy hit of bony post-punk.

Power drifting through the gears and with cutting-edge in hand, this is a shoe-in contender for house album of the year--clear and distinct, all the way through.

Arab Strap are back with a vengeance. And it’s fucking glorious.

Outrage! finds them actually enjoying the process of writing and experimenting with the potent formula they concocted back at the start of the millennium.

It’s very much a record that stands on its own two feet. These are excellent songs. Not only that, but given the isolation and anxieties of life in 2021, it’s easy to find commonality in these tales of hope and strength amid troubling uncertainty.

There is a modern, angry masterpiece in here--just skip the manifesto.

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

The variety in the instrumentation is only met by the variety in her voice; going through registers, accents and even characters, 'Warm Chris' is an album covering the complex and enigmatic voices of a supremely singular talent.

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

While the duo may have expanded their sonic palette, it’s Alice Merida Richards' distinctive vocals that give the record depth and weight.

A radiant, uplifting and spiritual album that feels like home. .... This is an album that does not ask to be understood – it asks to be felt.

‘Tableau’ sees the The Orielles venture into the unknown, with the sole ambition of testing their limits (or lack thereof). They succeed, resurfacing with new vision, and setting an example of what can occur when artists have the opportunity to revel in full, untethered, boundless creativity.

Dirty, loud and intimidatingly sexy, Blood Pressures is the result of a year spent apart - Hince's adventures in sound provide the album's thick production, while Mosshart's stint as Dead Weather frontwoman instils further confidence and swagger in her provocative lyrics.

The production is absolutely masterful. The conviction is assured; the weightiest of subjects: that of 'life' and 'death' are tackled and shackled by Zola exper

This latest 4-CD/5-LP boxset is a treasure trove for both hardcore fans and music buffs in general. The first thing your hard-earned money gets you is a beautifully crisp 2021 remaster of the original album, every solo, and cymbal crash, never sounding so unspoiled. Being a deluxe album set, you've naturally got the kind of material that only a lunatic would revisit regularly.

The colour of ‘Chromakopia’ resides in the album’s grooves, layered production and immersive penmanship. While some elements feel a bit safe, the sound design is chiseled and sharper, showcasing Tyler, the Creator’s now-mastered style in HD glory. If ‘Chromakopia’ is anything, it’s profoundly human and revealing.

Albanese joins a select group of modern classical artists able to offer so very much without the need for words.

As both a treatise and a sonic testament, ‘COWBOY CARTER’ is its own triumph; unmoored in form, space and time, it’s the work of a preternatural talent painstakingly poring over every word, stratified vocal, sample and stylistic flourish.

It’s difficult to envisage anyone else but Remy conceiving such a record. This is exemplary, political pop music executed to near perfection.

‘Fate & Alcohol’ is also the closest they have ever come to perfecting their own sound.

Three decades after forming, hitting the reset button has unleashed this iconic duo afresh, demonstrating an insatiable ability to forge the perfect dance track, whatever the era. Go get your rave on.

Live up to the hype? The short answer is ‘yes.’ The slightly longer answer is ‘yes, but not as you’d expect it to.’ Funnily enough, the record packs something of a slow burn effect.

There’s a profusion of standout tracks that invite you into Teyana’s world of emotions, sex and vulnerability. ... This a grown woman ready to continue her reign over R&B.

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

San Diego’s Crocodiles have absolutely nailed album number four.

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

Potent in its masculine restraint, this record has surely always existed, just waiting to be plucked from the surf; a mercurial, magisterial, stick of seaside rock.

From ‘Stuck in the mud’ to ‘What you Reckon’, Digga D is quick and snappy, delivering lyrics that push you to listen again and again. With the confidence that knows he is a star ( he raps ‘I’m as hard as Stromzy and Dave, what a statement to make but I say what I say and I mean it’), Digga D proves he is greater than just another rapper. He is an icon.

If they’ve perfected the modern pop template associated with acts like SOPHIE (on production duties here) - and they have - it’s somehow not the most impressive element of the record. The second half of the album includes a pair of breathtaking epics, ‘Cool & Collected’ and ‘Donnie Darko’, that showcase a songwriting maturity well beyond their 18 and 19 years.

‘Weirdo’ is as stark, sharply composed and up close to its creator as the photo that adorns its cover.

Charli is no doubt an album of too many features and too many parts, but it somehow all fits together in a way that allows her penchant for unconventional songwriting and her ear for an exciting melody to work in concert, creating a project better than most anything she’s done in the past.

The party standards are present and correct. ‘Mamma Mia’ is as dizzying good and gay as you’ll get, the aural equivalent of downing three bottles of pink fizz in an Uber with Magic FM, getting pissed with your pals, on the way to the best night of your life. ‘Waterloo’ crashes in on glam-rock drums, a pantomime dame in silver thigh-highs, as she battles and bosses that irresistible chorus. ‘SOS’? Not even going to talk about it. It’s a double-dunt of serotonin; a sure-fire cure for sadness.

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

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

‘TM’ feels like a classic BROCKHAMPTON record. Immaculate production, genre shapeshifting, and some of the cleanest verses from the group in quite some time. There’s no filler on the record either – just eleven tracks of pure BH instant classics.

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

One of the most engrossing UK electronic albums to land in 2022.

It’s an album that’s somehow halfway between DJ mix and a greatest hits compilation, and arguably the best of The Avalanches’ trio of releases thus far.

This is music that’s meticulous and expansive without ever falling into the trap of being boring or self-indulgent.

That it’s been executed so flawlessly is testament to the musicians involved; acting both as fuel for this summer’s arena shows and an artistic work in its own right, ‘More’ perfectly meets the brief of what a Pulp record should sound like in 2015.

Claud’s ability to create earnest, anecdotal songs ensures ‘Supermodels’ is not just a queer-pop triumph but a universal one.

Most of ‘Halo’ was sculpted on the road, a moment of pause and introspection that affords Bakar space to surge forwards creatively.

It's a gem for Harcourt fans and the sweetest of introductions for new listeners.

Hollowed will give you hope, then gut you. Nothing but a victory all round.

He’s deftly left himself room to manoeuvre, but at this rate, there’s a hyperpop throne with his name on it.

Ezra Collective have once again released an album that is hard to fault.

What might be the most understated and confident album of the summer.

‘Humanhood’ is the most full-throated creation from The Weather Station to date. The relief is that they still have something really worth saying, which makes the album an early yardstick for all the releases to follow across the rest of the year.

Few albums this year will match up to the level of proficiency and commitment here and yet it remains a distinct probability that the world still won't listen. An album that will shadow most others.

Sounding fifty years out of time and traversing genres without concern, it is unlike anything else you will hear this summer. And you really must hear it.

‘RTJ4’ is a must listen. It is diverse enough to appeal to even the hardest crowds. Many genres are represented here, but lyrical hip-hop is at the forefront of all that Run The Jewels is. They stand out from the crowd, whilst invoking the people to stand up for themselves. There is not a bad song on the entire album and the production and features are second to none.

If you love the ambiguous crossover between half-step London sounds and crushed and warped 4/4 peddled by the likes of Martyn, Burial or Joy Orbison, then the love in you will find this album.

As ‘Red (Taylor’s Version)’ shows, this is an exercise in catharsis. Leafing back through the storybook of our own formative years, we feel it all.

Caroline Polachek has set a serious precedent for any pop releases that follow it this year. She is an artist completely in her own lane, refusing to conform, every moment on this record a vicissitude. Her commitment to her craft is undeniable, her talent indisputable.

Dove Ellis’ debut translates his quietly magnetic presence into something much larger, one that barely scratches the surface of what he’s capable of. We’re just at the start.

The hype for his newest album, 'The Off-Season', reached astronomical heights. Fortunately for fans, they did not have to wait long, and the North Carolina rapper did not disappoint.

She’s broken the curse, she’s woven a spell--and the self-described ‘luckiest little Scottish witch in the world’ is safe to cackle back off into the night, having created possibly the best album we’ll hear all year.

It makes for a stark--often chilling, often exhilarating--collection of music that spans the genre(s), from the well-known to the esoteric, the accessible to the impenetrable.

Without a single skip, Cat Burns was able to make a record far greater than what could’ve ever been expected. Yes, it has the impeccable blend of her strong voice, brightly produced ideas, and perfectly curated hits, but it somehow also allowed her to be the voice of a generation.

II is an absolute masterpiece of dancefloor work.

A product of its time, it will unsettle and confuse you, and there are even moments that feel poignant. That is why they will be remembered as an important band, and this album a significant milestone in modern guitar music.

Tense, manic strings chop away at the languid celebration, presaging a gathering storm of noise that reaches its peak only to be plunged abruptly into silence. No neat resolutions here, folks. Onwards.

It is so unmistakably Deerhunter without sacrificing any of their mythos or crucial genetic makeup. And we sure can't find any fault with that.

It has the power to give you these little, unexpected, rushes enabling you to fall utterly for this intricate, complex, but captivating album.

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.

Athena isn’t just an album to be listened to, it’s to be experienced. While this is arguably true of all music, this album is filled with deeply textured soundscapes that feel contemporary but also from the not-too-distant future.

A record that stretches the boundaries, ‘UTOPIA’ feels like his finest hour.

It embraces you like a hug from a friend you haven’t seen for a while. Musically Ellis has created understated gossamer soundscapes that emphasise the emotions of the poems but don't draw the attention from Faithfull’s voice.

The oft-explored worldwide sensualist feels newly alive here, ‘Fountain Baby’ a prime exemplar of mind-expanding afro-pop alchemy that revivifies the weary spirit.

Antiphon is going to divide opinion, but give it a chance--it might just be the best thing they’ve ever done.