Playful and emotional if a touch polite, it's marked by moments of genuine greatness.

Glass Animals should definitely continue tinkering with their sound; they just haven’t yet earnt the right to full reinvention yet.

Running at 16 full-length tracks, Strength of A Woman can seem overindulgent. Songs that are enjoyable in isolation, or as a smaller subset, become either repetitive or forgettable in the context of the whole.

With the additions of neat production touches and elegantly self-aware lyricisms to complement Weiss’s already powerful atmospheric sound, there is a definitive feeling of hope that runs through the core of this album.

Though 'Nowhere Generation' isn’t breaking boundaries, it doesn’t need to. Rise Against have carved out a niche that works for them, and if it aint broke, why fix it?

A fascinating record, ‘Archive Material’ is another impressive step forward for Silverbacks.

With both these lyrical and sonic accomplishments, Foals have created a fine record with a very solidified sound that will be the soundtrack for the summer.

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

This is Westside’s last studio album, it seems like he wants to try other avenues and go out on a high, and while it’s not his best work, it’s the defiant idiosyncratic outlook of one of hip-hop’s most iconic upstarts with all the deserved cockiness of someone who never fell off under pressure to cater to a wider audience.

As a debut, it cements the band as one with a long path ahead of them. As an album, it’s a deeply moving, mesmerizing work with themes that stick with you long after listening.

For longtime fans of Everything Is Recorded, this album represents a bold new chapter-one that trades frenetic energy for quiet reflection. And for newcomers, ‘Temporary’ is a stunning introduction to Richard Russell’s ever-evolving musical world.

At its best, ‘Ruby’ is an exhilarating listen that proves Jennie is capable of much more than she’s been given credit for.

The group tread the perfect line between evolution and honouring their trademark style.

Infuriatingly irresistible.

Patchy with flashes of killer bee sting.

Beginning and ending on a high note, Hardwired miraculously leaves the listener hungry for more, following an all-out binge on some of Metallica’s strongest work since 1991.

Even an all-star cast can't save Caracal from its restrained atmosphere and overly polished production

Most certainly a bedroom record affair and perhaps suffering for this fact but the overall sentiment captured make up for whatever shortcomings may be presented.

There are moments of meandering musicality, and uncertain songcraft. That said, there’s plenty in here to soak up – from its title out, ‘Let’s Start Here’ seems to point to a fresh beginning for Lil Yachty.

It’s just irresistible and should proudly sit alongside the successes of their Bella Union labelmates.

It’s just unfortunate that ‘ISTHISFORREAL?’ is less of a philosophical treatise and more a frustrated misrepresentation of Purdy’s abilities.

All of this means that, in spite of the anguished self-interrogation that went into its making, this still sounds exactly how a Toro y Moi album should sound. However, Boo Boo feels like what we might call a coming-of-age album.

'Escapades' is an audible hallucinogen, and it’s a trip you’re gonna want to take.

The tracks ebb and flow, never stopping in a static moment but chasing a thought, an ideal and holding out hope.

‘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.

It might not have had a huge single to push those extra sales, but it feels real, it feels soulful, and it’s a representation of Rihanna that she will hopefully still be proud of 15 years on.

Finely crafted folk is elevated towards greatness by the stunning voice of Alessi Laurent-Marke.

For this, Fruit Bats' fifth outing, the Chicagoan took inspiration from a decade-old train ride.

Being a tad derivative isn't a crime, however, and everyone needs an influence. What's important is that the songs are good--and they are.

Designed as much for the dance floor as smoke-filled bedrooms, this album is a window into the mind of a producer refusing to be defined by, or reduced to, a singular style.

Abnormal and mystifying, audiobooks amplify bewilderment on a remarkable second album.

An enthralling listen from a compelling artist prepared to push the unorthodox.

With a low-fi high-five feel, The Black Keys appear to gentrify the rock’n’roll rodeo with an album of carefully poised tunes adhering to the rock-pop formula they spent their golden years trying to avoid.

Sure, it’s certainly not his best long-player, but the highlights stacked here--the truly awesome ‘The Introduction’, established heaters like ‘Fuck The Police’ (sequenced perfectly here towards the climax)--ensure The Diary is, in the end, a solid addition to the J Dilla catalogue.

In the end, ‘Rocket Power’ isn’t perfect, but it’s definitely rewarding.

The prominence of structure beams through and makes this more of a traditional offering than a novelty. Still unlike anything else, this is time well spent.

Undoubtedly their best record to date, it finds Palace asserting themselves in ways they’ve always suggested were possible.

His prodigious talent is undoubted, but a second dose of puppy punk feels suggests Baldi is in cruise control.

Fletcher’s most revealing and revelatory body of work to date. The candid storytelling of loss and trauma, the pain of personal growth, and the power of true self-acceptance opens up to serving soft pop-punk brilliancy in an exhilarating yet hypnotising project.

YU is a swagger drenched, masterful treatise from a woman with a new perspective, new weapons, and the confidence to use them.

What ultimately makes Stuff Like That There such an appealing record is the obvious delight in performing these songs.

There’s no denying the worth of the latter sort, but the electrifying nature of the first cut comes as a bit of a tease, setting you up for a (albeit nicely ambient) fall.

Some of the record suffers from being a little noodley--‘Shadows’ being the only standout example--but this can be forgiven both in the face of the scale of the task at hand and the otherwise great aplomb with which it’s been tackled.

The disorientating utopian ride you take when listening to this album in full will no doubt bring you glee, and maybe some weird dreams if you think about being a prawn too much.

Not terribly experimental then, nor especially genre-hopping, but let's not be sniffy; it's a very likeable cosmic pop record.

Hardly essential, then, but Unplugged is a fans-pleasing release that serves as a reminder that songs with great longevity needn’t always be played loudly.

Pale Blue Eyes have clearly worked their socks off, and to produce something that carries integrity in putting to music the nature of reminiscence, all the while working tirelessly to fund it, is commendable. ‘Souvenirs’ is a visceral release of material that bookends the band’s formative chapter, and ushers in the next.

Its deliberate rough edges give the album an intimate and resonant glimpse into Mackenzie-Barrow’s solo vision, and in trusting first takes and fragile moments, he reveals a voice that is not retreating from the noise but refining itself within it.

It's all very "nice" but only sporadically truly vital.

On balance it's still a more than worthy addition to the New Jersey outfit's growing collection.

It's more a relic of the past than a record of the future.

What Clipping have done on ‘There Existed An Addiction To Blood’ is show that hip-hop doesn’t need to keep to convention to be gripping and visceral; refusing to be placed in stasis for the sake of chart success, the group deserve all the plaudits that will come their way.

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

Mixing baroque instrumentation with choral elements, Blumberg adopts an already accomplished and familiar formula--but it’s one that, through his subtle twists, still manages to feel intimate and fresh.

Eagle’s skill is in being relatable to the listener, approaching issues that could otherwise be interpreted as controversial with a soft-spoken and melodic flow that never comes off as preachy or aggressive.

It’s a record that’s brimming with potential but which still has tonnes of room leftover for further improvement, which is exactly what the first entry in any band’s budding discography should be like.

Seven deeply moving songs teetering deliciously on the brink of collapse. It was a long time in the making, but now, at the age of 27, Minus feels alarmingly close to the album Blumberg was always supposed to write.

The first four tracks and ‘Take It Back’ are some of his strongest so far. It’s a gratifying epilogue to last year’s effort. He’s clearly sitting on a lot of good stuff, which we’ll have to hear soon.

With its intricate production, mesmerising melodies, dynamism and scope, ‘Honey’ is no doubt a stellar addition to Caribou’s catalogue.

Death III is the last of the group’s unreleased masters, a dusty odds-and-ends collection of songs from the ‘70s, 1980 and 1992 that’s full of drifting guitar melodies and psychedelic funk.

Like a lot of compilation albums, C-ORE struggles with coherence, but still makes for a tantalising selection box and entry point to the DMG project.

‘Only For Dolphins’ is the sound of free-flowing sonic travel, and it’s depiction of Action Bronson in full flight underlines the conception that this is an MC who is back to his peak.

It’s best described as an album for escape- to leave the world behind, and encompass yourself completely in the emotive contemplation it offers.

Asymmetrical and pitched up and down at any given moment, Miscontinuum is an unwavering data stream whose moments of relative clarity still press on your temples like a tightening vice.

Enthusiasts will salivate over another uncovering of tainted treasure.

Booming walls of sound are favoured at the expense of nuance, leaving Belong too regularly thirsting for a banner hit, and ultimately, offering a perfect example of why bigger isn’t always better.

It is impossible to deny the craftsmanship with which the trio have sculpted the opening salvo of 'This Is It' and 'Loveless'. ... Sadly his talent for building epic, emotive crescendos does not overshadow his shortcomings as a lyricist.

She’s past and future, concurrently. With that in mind, the Swedish-Iranian singer may have released one of the definitive breakup records of the year.

Good stuff, but their epics, like 'The Quick Mile', are curiously unengaging. When that track is immediately followed up by the captivating Eno-esque minimalism of 'Waves & Radiation', it's clear that their real talent still lies in crafting eerie electronic vistas.

This is a clear transition from her work with brother Angus, allowing her individual expression, resulting in a work of true depth and emotion.

Their sound is by no means unique, and it’s not hard to detect some Metronomy and Jungle in there, but they’ve certainly raised their game to the point where they sit at the same table as their arguably more illustrious peers.

While there isn't always a tonne sonically to separate this from Tonra's day job, it must be applauded for its brutal honesty and moments of pure poetry.

The full length return of The Streets, it offers Mike Skinner at his most vivid and most forgettable, offering moments of illumination before retreating into darkness.

Trentemøller’s studio chops are beyond question, but the results here suggest something of a new musical identity crisis.

On bygone albums he has displayed his own level of assertiveness; this is strictly a diffuser of pent-up situations, perfectly balanced between the background and forefront of your get together.

The Atlanta rapper is just too slick, too fast-moving, and too good to truly bring down. ‘Mixtape Pluto’ offers ample evidence to his continuing singular form of genius.

The instrumentation and guitar playing in particular can sometimes feel like a serenade, to encapsulate such place and time easily lends credit to the talent of this songwriter and all of a sudden, you are a sundowner too.

That the ‘World’s Most Successful Virtual Band’ sounds like something you’ve probably seen on the YouTube sidebar is apt. Otherwise, it seems to be business as usual on another jubilant and solidly varied Gorillaz album.

As fans of the Glaswegian producer will know only too well, the solemnity of Menzies’ work as Alex Smoke has always proved itself to be multi-faceted; transcending the sphere of electronic music to incorporate the multi-instrumentalist’s penchant for classical instruments. Fast forward to 2016 and this truth remains intact.

‘Man Alive!’ is an absorbing consolidation of Marshall’s inimitable sound.

It’s an accomplished album, but it feels like a debut and there is nothing here that gives any kind of excitement or majorly distinguishing feature that comes with time.

With ‘Evolution’ it feels like this has been an album she has been itching to make and she has done so with wisdom, purpose and candour. Truly compelling, her artistry and perspective will make us all open our eyes a little bit wider whilst continuing to hanker after the beautiful human experience.

It’s hard not to feel like the lead singles live in their own sonic universe. The remaining album tracks, while lyrically co-ordinated, lack sonic cohesion.

Djo triumphs in an accomplished attempt at a third album which spares no songs in getting to the crux of the matter.

Like the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz, La Di Da Di too often feels like a soulless automaton tearing around on autopilot. If only it had a heart.

Lolloping along with little desire to vary pace or style, it is ultimately forgettable.

All discussion of technique aside though, there can be no doubt that with Brute, Al Qadiri has invoked her own personal brand of protest in a world in which discussion over that right has become ever more charged.

Loose vocals meander through the whirling haze, the album more suited to intimate, personal listening rather than gatherings in the sun.

‘Broken Algorithms’ is a sizeable misfire from its title onwards, thundering about with the ham-fisted bluster of much of their debut, ‘Generation Terrorists’. Its digital focus is at odds with an album besotted with faded analogue beauty.

In marked contrast to a rich oeuvre combining stylistic fluidity with countless collaborations, it is often the most ascetic moments of introspection such as ‘When We Die’, ‘Past Mistake’, ‘Analyze Me’, ‘Makes Me Wanna Die’, and ‘Poems’ that are engraved on our memory, the stripped down productions displaying his sixth sense for the rhythm and emotional tone.

Although the album is full of brilliance, album opener ‘Marina’ stands headstrong above the others in terms of scope and grandeur, a dirty distorted guitar solo coupled with an African style instrumental and tribal chorusing sees ‘Fever’ go from commendable to a masterpiece.

In their bid to capture the essence of their bluesy, garage rock, Cage the Elephant have effectively managed to lose the quirky personality they once had, and whilst Tell Me I'm Pretty is far from a homogeneous record, the tracks do have a tendency to bleed into one another, particularly on repeat listens.

Fifteen years on from their first album, it reminds you that this band's trajectory is beholden to nothing except Andrew's own insatiable curiosity. Long may it remain this wayward.

Despite sometimes failing to embrace the originality that made its predecessors so popular, it has some exceptional moments.

Across its 12 tracks, ‘Good Riddance’, is a deeply confessional offering, with decadent melodies and production that platform her distinctive vocal.

The unabashed experimentalism can be jarring at times, but the project ultimately refuses to play it safe, carrying a quintessential European pop sensibility throughout.

Century Plaza sees all the greats of the synth-pop and original electro shown respect, if a little too closely at times--but damn, it’s some somber fun.

You can see how some might dismiss ‘Dream Get Together’ as irrelevant noodling (oh yes, there are solos herein), but if you are unphased by such concepts then you will enjoy this album a lot.