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.

Playful and melodic, Clash suggests that you take this on a Norfolk country ramble ASAP.

Accomplished again, then, and greatly engrossing throughout. It’s just lacking that crucial aspect of singular appeal to stand aside from a fiercely competitive pack.

The album is littered with so many clunky lines and cliched conspiracy talk it almost becomes laughable, but the main problem is with the narrative itself which makes next to no sense at all.... Luckily, a good sizeable chunk of this album is good enough to stand alone, stripped of the high-minded concepts.

Surprising and satisfying, we'll even try to forgive the spoken word interlude.

Love him or hate him, you can't deny that Ronson can certainly put an album together.

The music lacks the meditative quality of similar works like those by Philip Glass. In place of this, tracks like ‘Sunshimmers’ and ‘The Amazon: The Highlands’ produce a warmness that makes the album an agreeable experience, an experience that does not ensnare the listener’s attention.

Unashamedly broad, it can lack detail and punch; yet ‘=’ has something about it that is difficult to shrug off, while being hard to truly relate to.

A fine sound indeed, but one that could have been better with a shade more variety injected into proceedings.

A bold gesture weighed down with excess, 'The Voice Of The Heroes' is a worthy experiment, one that feels destined to be a cult favourite.

It makes for a focused, solid offering.

It's All Real continues along the same lines: lush production, low-key bleeps and bloops, a hushed, lovelorn 2am ambience.

Plays it safe, doubling down on the formula that made his debut so beloved by fans, while making only subtle changes.

For the most part, it’s actually pretty entertaining.

Commendably still opting for spontaneity after all these years, the lads have whittled down some dance-tinged jams into workable songs and the result is an LP that, while unfocused, still has plenty of drive and energy.

The good tracks on 'Body Talk' are of such a high quality that it definitely makes it worthwhile to check this album out but you are soon left with a feeling that the subsequent releases in this series will cobble together one amazing album and one really bad one.

This is principally a marriage of simple, forlorn fretwork and O’s deliciously otherworldly vocals: impossibly, she manages to sound simultaneously seductive and indifferent; emotive yet also strangely detached.

Soft Control is a carefully crafted debut that comes from a very real place and shows what can be achieved when you keep pushing forward.

There’s a lack of precision, with a flabby middle section finding ‘Begin To Begin’, for example, looping aimlessly. Yet when it hits home, Reality Testing more than justifies Lone’s tag as one of the most flexible, dextrous producers in the game.

Lianne La Havas has grown up, branched out, written some devastatingly honest songs, and presented a highly competent album.

Playing it safe just a little too often, it finds John Legend in full flow, demonstrating his undeniable versatility – yet it can also appear to be covering the bases, offering breadth for the sake of breadth.

'A Billion Heartbeats' perhaps lacks the cutting perspective or lyricism of classic protest records, while managing to present the revolutionary spirit of old in a modern context.

Ultimately, as a standalone record, Nothing feels somewhat incomplete.

Despite the overarching quality of the album, its continual, dirge-like range of instrumentation can become a little stifling and songs risk blending into one another.

A beautiful recording but an occasional listen.

It’s not a bad record – the highs more than justify your entrance – but with a rumoured follow up on the way, perhaps it’s time for Future to break a few of his own rules once more.

Enthusiasts will salivate over another uncovering of tainted treasure.

The real issue is that in a genre filled with imitators, many whom Deerhunter no doubt inspired, we need a bit more bang for our buck. When the oddities on this album ride so high they should have let complete weirdness take over.

The blistering debut is a collection of delightfully pungent tracks, delivered in all their unashamed, reckless glory.

There are some real moments of beauty on the record - 'In Blur' aches and sparkles, whilst singles 'Great Mass Of Colour' and 'The Gnashing' showcase a band adept at building beautiful soundscapes even with the guitars turned down - but at a certain point, the album suffers from the lack of depth in Clarke’s vocals, or range in his melodies.

The problem with any soundtrack is that, in isolation, something gets lost and there's no exception here, but it serves as a showcase for a virtuoso performer with the dexterity to excel within any discipline.

An interesting experiment.

On occasions it’s a disappointing walk through ‘hardcore by numbers’ routines peppered in clever imagery and breakneck instrumentation.

A bold, contained statement nonetheless, doubling down on her niche style with a few twists and turns brings us some truly great moments to cherish.

It’s patchy then, but there’s enough quality here to suggest Croll is capable of better things in the future.

Valtari is glistening, subliminal and sounds as if it's balanced on a falling raindrop.

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.

Spanning an array of genres including worldbeat, jazz, classical, blues, rock and new-age, 'Duets' is an solid collection from one of the UK’s most prolific singer-songwriters.

A rejig and a little more fire could have elevated this collection to something that’ll get the heart racing.

It's a microcosm for the muddled thinking that holds Ludaversal back.

Moments of quaint inspiration and insight are few and far between. In the mire of an album experience intended to present Bieber as spirited and multi-dimensional, you instead get an artist spread thin; anonymous, distant, too often bloviating across a bloated runtime.

Older, wiser, still rocking: Mould’s sounding as electric as ever.

Begin may be more of a reverential piece of art than a novel creation, but there is enough substance here to surmise Lion Babe’s future promise.

The pair still aren’t in that DFA1979 category of combatively brilliant, just yet.

From opener ‘Cheap Talk’ onwards, this is never anything but the purest DFA1979, served flaming hot. Which was just fine back when--but it’s definitely a disappointment to not hear the band even hinting at an expansion of their stripped-raw sound, just deep-groove bass and heavily hit drums.

Rave horns echo like WW2 sirens being played on a fucked-up ghetto blaster while the cast of House Of 1000 Corpses do their best Gucci Mane impressions--an interesting, if perhaps slightly contrived, oddity.

Call this a mismatch, a contradiction, if you want, but only he can fully acknowledge this seriousness, this complexity. And if this is a ‘coming-to-terms-with’-type record, it does suggest he is starting that process, even if--musically--the progression remains somewhat tender.

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.

While this might not be the most fun album to listen to, Neil Young and Crazy Horse deliver solid performances that elevate it from seven songs of despondency.

The songs are largely beautiful, the vocal performance is mostly impeccable and the recording generally captivating, but so was its predecessor.... not quite as good live album.

Hard to fault but not the progress we hoped for.

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

Drenched in trademark rosy glow, it’s all tender and consolatory.

On the whole Encyclopedia is a bit of a misanthropic drag.

It’d be interesting to hear what this band comes up with if they stepped away from a doomy signature sound, but right now this is an assured album and a satisfying follow-up.

‘The Loneliest Time’ feels a far cry from the saccharine star that launched Jepsen’s career but proves her musical pliability.

This new album, then, is the perfect piece of fan service. It’s Aubrey on the mic, 21 Savage in full flow. The roll out – which pirated a Tiny Desk session and copied a Vogue cover – was pitch perfect, two artists subverting the expectations placed on them...It’s a shame, then, that ‘Her Loss’ often feels entirely predictable. The foes that punctuate their bars are well-worn – less talented adversaries trying to gain clout; love interests who leech on their wealth and prestige – and while it’s nice to hear Drake unleashed, at times 21 Savage can feel like a passenger.

The undeniable influence of Krautrock in the drone, dirge and motorik beats interspersed with passages of ambiance make for a deliciously diffused, shimmering, summery psyche salad.

There's a great Rick Ross album in here somewhere. If only the boss had abstained from some of his extravagant habits and used his editing sheers more cuttingly.

As a musique concrète or experimental electronica album, Burials In Several Earths is an above average attempt that contains myriad intricacies and points of interest. As something to carry on a peerless lineage, however, it feels like an unnecessary move.

While the playing is never less than exceptional – displaying Mark Knopfler’s assured rhythmic sensibility, and his lyrical lead styles – the arrangements on ‘One Deep River’ can sometimes falter.

With an energy and ambience that ebbs and flows in waves rather than exploding in peaks and crescendos, this is edgy, kaleidoscopic lounge music for the Digital Age.

It has bassline crunch, and a very distinctive space-age exterior; so why does The Vision sound like it's playing catch up?

Denmark's Kölsch repeats the trick of 2013's '1977', hanging on the coattails of the EDM set with a less extravagant set of fireworks but with plenty of instantly recognisable and effectively crafted signposts and set pieces.

It is an interesting concept -that could have become a beacon for the perspectives of (male) feminists in music- that failed because it was executed poorly a few too many times.

While casual listeners might find the overall listen a bit sparse, there’s no doubt it’s the perfect soundtrack to a Halloween party, or indeed a Halloween Movie™️.

‘Broke Me In Two’, which you can already find online, is a good place to start if you’re looking for a sampler. Overall though, it’s a case of ‘good to have you back Joan’, and ‘next time, let’s have a bit more you and little less Lazar Davis’.

A valiant and partly successful attempt from K-pop’s biggest band to move forward in their music. While they undeniably remain a success, the recycled sonics and multiple references to past music makes it hard for old listeners to let go of past glory and for the new to connect with their current music.

At times, ‘Lil Baby 3’ comes close to grappling with maturity, but Lil Yachty’s version of adulthood feels distinctly shallow.

This schizophrenic album will frustrate purists and sate pop kids.

It’s an accomplished if somewhat safe set of songs; a JoJo on the cusp of finding her range.

Views packs much less of a political punch than Bey’s must-hear epic, and at 20 tracks, Aubrey for the most part provides a rather overweight and lethargic waltz through his musical comfort zone.

Things are a little different now but like many of their contemporaries, Cut Copy have had to adapt to the landscape and Zonoscope is a considered attempt at a more kaleidoscopic approach.

The upped slickness does mean the album offers little in the way of the provocative, though, so you may be disappointed by Breakage's leniency, and a wrath that's merely implied.

It hardly moves mountains as a standalone effort, but is moderately impactful and somewhat befitting of its lofty pandemic-era presentation.

At its best, The Saga Continues captures some of the old Wu magic but unfortunately these moments are few and far between.

‘Small And Silver’ is a welcome break around the halfway mark, when their stock in trade is replaced with unsettling bass and an off-beat production. However, it’s only a hint of a promise to explore new territories and doesn’t go far enough to vary the album.

While a fun and energetic record, much of the songwriting falls into the somewhat forgettable. Everyone is bringing their A-game, and they're having a blast while doing so, but nothing entirely sticks to the ribs.

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.

The band’s approach to music-making has always been as eclectic as their references, but generally they’ve stuck to one approach per album. Unfortunately this is where Home Counties comes a bit unstuck. There’s quite a lot going on.

Lady Wood proves Tove Lo is one of the more interesting characters in what is often a personality-less genre, but unfortunately, her unique perspective is diluted by fairly humdrum electro-pop production.

[Wonky has] not improved on any of their previous work. They are merely chasing the shadows cast from their own trademarked head torches.

Whilst adhering to a pretty well-worn formula with the usual rousing emotion ebbs and flows, Gibbard’s ability to paint such vivid imagery with his carefully considered approach to lyricism does warrant revisiting, despite some moments proving patchy than others.

Remaining steadfast in their signature sound, Circa Waves released another nine songs which combines with ‘Death & Love pt.1’ to make an 18 track album. Part two’s first single, ‘CherryBomb’ immediately places you into Circa Wave’s soundscape with its relaxed instrumentation, vibrant riffs and catchy choruses.

There’s enough here to make even the most discerning New Rap playlist – but as a body of work it doesn’t land in the effortless fashion that made EARTHGANG such a pivotal pairing.

Hold/Still conjures up the existential mood of floating in deep space. Lonely--but also out of this world.

While ‘PANORAMA’ at times feels repetitive, there’s certainly moments that smoulder with passion, sparkling with Kiyoko’s signature charm.

The results here feel somewhat less spirited.

Pure pop is an unforgiving master and a slight dip in quality results in the flaccid 'Patient' sounding like a blighted Go West off-cut. Fitfully good.

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.

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

With such weighty subject matter, and with some own personal trauma influencing the record, it’s sadly lacking in bite or overall attack.

Keys fails to emulate these peers and instead only succeeds in certain apt production choices and the partial development of her earlier sound. She becomes yet another voice unable to deliver its message.

At times frustrating, ‘The Last Slimeto’ is never less than entertaining. A bracing, defiant gesture, it finds NBA YoungBoy embracing freedom with both hands.

Impressive, but there are misses as well as hits here. Sometimes Cuco’s vocals and lyrics don’t match up to his sonic atmospheres.

Studio gloss and sanitised drums too often leave things sounding a little safe.

In ‘Love Goes’ Sam Smith has produced a flawed but decent return that mirrors the introspection of this strange, difficult year.

It ultimately falls between two stools - not giving a true portrayal of a Villagers live show, and failing to mix-up tracks enough to justify this ‘re-imagining’ of older material.