Though compact, Crawl Space draws the focus in on Tei Shi’s compelling and sultry vocals like never before and includes more elements of guitar.

Throughout, Kirk’s hyper-literate brand of songwriting is fully captivating, thanks in part to his propensity for a real zinger.

Misty keeps this album pretty genuine. There are jaunts and horns and dancing mixed with sorrow and piano and heartache; his lyrics cutting through any joy with wicked humour and his comic persona still second place to his incredible songwriting.

The result is an intense kind of dialogue between man and machine, and draws from the typically organic piano sound a new, otherworldly texture.

On Automaton, the band falters under the weight of its previous singles, leaving any possibility for chart success mired in a sound that comes across as tired and unoriginal, and the album listening experience as a monotonous ordeal.

Despite the two opposing moods of the album, the candid and dark lyricism is the only consistent effort in the album. It’s a massive shame, considering how much headway the band made with ‘Asymmetry’, but Mallory Knox have found themselves half a step behind their peers once again.

Whilst production and rhythms are excellent, the hooks (barring the album’s final lyric: “There’s so much bullshit comin’ out of your mouth”) often fall short.

Its straightforward, no bells and whistles approach is at once its greatest appeal and its most obvious shortcoming. Doris & The Daggers is deliciously satisfying beer rock--nothing more, nothing less.

The Wild offers solid proof that rappers in their middle ages are far from a spent force.

With Eternity, In Your Arms, Creeper have torn up their own sonic rulebook, giving them licence to roam musically wherever they please. It’s a fresh page in a new story for a band who are really just getting started.

This is the strongest project Drake since 2013’s ‘Nothing Was The Same’, and one that owes itself to sounds across the globe.

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.

This preference for impulsiveness and reaction off of one another when making their music comes through in the warm, emotive feel of the whole record.

A debut that is full of depth and one that exposes the scope of electronic music beyond just the club.

In Mind, for all its charms and willingness to explore, mostly opts to bask in the lingering afterglow of Real Estate’s first truly outstanding record.

It must be said that a few of the dance mixes will sound a tad repetitive to modern ears, but what really proves fascinating is the melting pot of influences on display.

This is a musician who has simply absorbed a broad set of musical styles through a massively eclectic listening palette, and who sees no issue in crunching that together in one tidy little album. Embrace the chaos. You'll feel better for it.

The Liverpudlian foursome have by far exceeded expectations with their new, more defined, crisper record.

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.

Everyone will have their own favourites. It’s just a blessing that picking one will prove so difficult.

The impact of his earlier existence as a jazz player also noticeably infuses tracks ‘Betelgeuse’s Endless Bamboo Oceans’ and ‘Ode to The Pleiades’, attaching another rich dimension to this record.

Maybe he (and it will be a he) should approach ÷ with more of an open mind, because it’s packed full of tunes that have an undeniable quality and mark the point where Ed Sheeran goes truly stratospheric. It’s less ÷, more conquer.

Though it’s slow and brooding, Impermanence is bold enough to employ silence as part of the music.

A record that raises as many smiles as it does questions, The Courtneys channel more wit, fun, humour, and intelligence into The Courtneys II than most bands manage in their entire discography. Go seek it out.

Last Place is an occasionally misty-eyed but very welcome return. A broken but pretty mess.

Largely Uyai stands as a genre meshing oddity which, thanks to its pure groove and spirituality, will appeal to those who haunt the dance floor as well as their own dimly lit bedrooms.

Bold, speculative and profound Impressions is a vital reminder that although we may keep moving forward and putting the negatives behind us, they should never be forgotten.

A strange, lovely and at times genuinely unnerving album that feels like a deep-dive into the subconscious of these hauntology pioneers.

That soulfulness amid the misery is the key to making sense of Spirit.

Occasionally it feels like it veers too suddenly from braggadocio to piety, and it’s questionable whether Stormzy has a sufficiently versatile delivery (he’s no Durrty Goodz) to support this. But by casting his net so wide, the MC is unlikely to disappoint his diverse audience.

It’s rich in intricately layered synths, blending swathes of influences into a more distinctive sound.

Sleeping Through The War strikes the perfect balance of the familiar and the alien to distill 45 minutes of musical opium. Bliss.

They write hooks, they’re inventive, they’re passionate, they can do uplifting and they can do poignant, and on ‘Sick Scenes’, they do it all with panache.

Why Love Now is a brash ballache of an album that will make you hate yourself as much as it makes you hate the world. Rest assured lads, the bar is now slightly higher than it was a week ago.

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.

The album tails off after a strong start. Lyrically though, and as a view into Adams’ psychopathology, Prisoner is nothing short of fascinating.

An album that occasionally feels uneven but is executed with such heart, joy and vigour that it’s difficult not to love.

Dirty Projectors [is] a disruption, but a pleasant one at that--it affords listeners the space to grapple with the loss of Dirty Projectors in their previous form, while dispensing enough nurturing, boundary-breaking tonic to ensure that the first run-out for the project's next chapter is shrouded in optimism rather than dissolution, unforeseen obstacles and all.

As a whole, Savage Times is a chaotic, yet interesting album.

The result is a truly thought-provoking, needfully important record.

A mix that has 2017 in its pocket.

Please Be Mine will go down as a hugely self-assured debut offering from one of indie’s most promising new acts.

The Incessant has a wealth of great ideas baked into the sediment of a wholly unremarkable collection of songs but boasts enough personality to still be worth giving the benefit of your doubt.

Forever rushing forwards, Saturday Night isn’t content to sit still. It’s illuminating and infuriating, but never easy to ignore.

An effortless blending and renewed celebration of genres like punk, new wave, techno and hip-hop is all made possible with the inclusion of long time Trainspotting favourites Iggy Pop, Blondie and Underworld and extra additions in Queen, The Clash, Run DMC and Frankie Goes To Hollywood.

Lower Than Atlantis may have already released a self-titled album in 2014, but it’s the follow-up that sounds more like them than any of their other records.

CULTURE may be limited in its scope, but it delivers in spades everything one might have hoped for from “the Beatles of this generation.”

While it's undoubtedly a solid addition to Sean's catalogue, at the end of I Decided. it's the flows and instrumentals that are left with the listener, having upstaged what Sean is actually trying to say.

A dry and devilishly powerful psych rock collection, hard-nosed and sinister in all the right ways.

From the delighted cheers of the fans to the simple message of ‘merci’ from Sleater-Kinny themselves Live In Paris is the sound of band who--frequently under-rated, sometimes unjustly ignored--have found a room of their own. This is their time.

Life & Livin’ It is a powerful reminder that basic truths, basic rights, are always the most important.

Fin is one record in conversation with the others--a new model of creativity and one that has produced, at the very least, an excellent piece of work.

Human is an impressive, life-affirming record chock-full of hooks and classy, grown-up production. Praise be.

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.

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

There’s nothing that lifts it from being middle of the road Einaudi. Then again, standing on a cliff listening to middle of the road Einaudi is never a bad place to be.

Process is his ‘Carrie And Lowell’, a healing record for the broken, the lovelorn and the lost.

Fresh Air is confidently obtuse in that it expertly harnesses the power in Sagar’s slightly off-kilter and out-of-tune instrumentation.

Crafted to perfection, Silhouette is outstanding in its audible beauty.

While there’s certainly more emphasis on melody this time around, it’s brought about through noticeably more mature, more refined compositions.

Little Fictions, in the end, though a welcome sign of elbow gently progressing with their formula, is a step forward feels too hesitant.

Jardin is also no departure from Garzón-Montano’s first release, 2014’s EP ‘Bishouné: Alma del Huila’, but rather a continuation of theme and sound. Perhaps it is his self-imposed musical exile which has created a sound that some listeners may find repetitive whilst others meaningful in its persistence.

While nostalgia does play a prominent role in ‘After The Party’, the record manages to avoid getting bogged down in it thanks to its ability to keep one eye looking forward.

After an unimaginably tough year, Surfer Blood should reap the rewards of soldiering on. Inspiring stuff.

From the zany club outings of his 2010 to 2011 releases with Night Slugs to the more restrained and conceptualised LPs of recent years, each record has been a milestone in the development of this most remarkable musician--his latest album being no exception.

Cloud Nothings’ best work to date.

Kehlani is most comfortable when she’s her most abrasive and cutting, challenging her counterparts as she glides over Pop & Oak manufactured beats.

An undeniably innovative slant lies at the forefront of this LP, as well as a warming glow to soundtrack impending winter nights.

A bold and confident return.

Tracks such as ‘Aurelia’ and ‘Feed From The Floor’ harbour familiar macabre theatrics, though this time they feel more matured and far less overwrought than in previous offerings.

Strike A Match feels like it is racing against itself, a gentle, playful intensity that feels wholly inviting.

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

It’s overwhelming in its grandiosity, and though it has its virtues, Foxygen’s latest LP is best enjoyed as a bite-size hors d'oeuvre instead of a main course.

With this new album Wallace proves himself as a complex and multifaceted producer and this makes us even more excited to see what he’ll come out with next.

The record plots a gorgeous curve from open to close, with earthy drum rolls rubbing up against rusty industrial buzzsaw synths and field recordings serving as segues.

At times the new record sounds utterly sublime, particularly on a sweeping opening trio of lead single ‘Another Youth’, ‘Difference’, and the career-highlight drive of ‘Drowsy’, and though there’s the occasional hint of MOR, for the most part the group stay well clear of being ordinary.

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.

It goes without saying that he hasn’t lost what has made him a permanent fixture of British music for so long.

Following the trend set on previous effort ‘Olympia’, the beats continue to become crunchier, direct and undoubtedly more contemporary--but unfortunately less interesting also.

Jazz-heavy, experimental but rooted in beats, Migration plays with your emotions in a way that befits a post-break up period--and is yet another fine offering from the Ninja Tune mainstay.

Ultimately, Graveyard Of Good Times is too much of a mixed bag to be considered a great record.

It’s a follow-up that interlocks with the debut perfectly, building on its foundation both lavish and coy, doing pop music that’s both bang on target and way too wise for the charts. A dot of light in the darkness that will dazzle you should you look too long.

This [‘I am William Corder’], the pinnacle of a truly masterful, sonic annihilation of a record, is a murder ballad not in the melodramatic gothic tradition, but something else, something transcendent, and like the rest of the record something terrifyingly transfixing.

Featuring a host of Daptone Records talent (Lee Fields & The Expressions, Menahan Street Band) the album’s eleven numbers are a confident walk through the finest examples of soul instrumentals and stands a great homage to the best releases of Cadet, Stax or Hi.

There’s barely a convincing lyric in the album and by the end you’re wondering whether the title itself has been chosen based on the sheer novelty.

I See You is perhaps the bravest album of the band’s career, the one laden with the most changes, with the most prolonged journeys into the unexpected. Yet it also feels resolutely like The xx.

Youth is full of uncertainty, but one thing’s for sure: this four-piece have an impressive body of work to share with you.

They’ve managed to meld together the grand themes of ‘The Soft Bulletin’ and ‘Yoshimi…’ with some of the experimentation of ‘Embryonic’ and ‘The Terror’, and it makes for a fascinating return.

This won’t run as smoothly as her DJ-Kicks bow of 2015, and it’s not a mix you’re allowed to get comfortable with, the Siberian’s non-conformist stance playing fast and loose with the ideals of cohesion, and letting the faders lead punters astray.

This is what we have come to the expect from Eno’s ambient endeavours, and it remains as beguiling and original as ever.

Irrespective of how you choose to approach it, the final installment of the trilogy that Hansen began back in 2011 fully underlines his strength, deftness and creative dexterity as a producer.

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.

Despite its originality and powerful execution of atonal techniques, it is too tonally diverse to function properly as a separate entity from its corresponding film. Do yourself a favour and go listen to it in the cinema.

Though the record as a whole is weaker than its predecessor, there’s enough flashes of career-high brilliance to keep The Wharves on the right path of progression.

There are enough hair-raising moments here to anchor your skin and stop it crawling quite so much.

While there’s nothing really here to ignite a flame of revolution, or indeed get fists in the air to be honest, Peace Trail sees Young doing what comes naturally, soundtracking tumultuous times with some confident and easy songwriting.

The problem, however, is that the record suffers from a lack of variety and an overkill of nostalgia, while of a raft of identikit, if solid, guest vocalists it’s only Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor who really stands out.

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