At times uneven, the project stands as testament to the unique bond between these two A-list rap talents.

An endlessly engrossing record.

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

Both shockingly immediate and with immense replay value, TYLA’s debut album taps into the emerging energies of spring to produce one of 2024’s most insistent projects.

We are so here for Lauran’s honesty and the way tracks like ‘Mary’ and ‘Jealous’ and ‘90’s Kid’ are anthemic yet personal.

Revelatory, raw but resplendent throughout, ‘Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran’ is one of Shakira’s best albums to date and is a fitting testimony to her strength and resilience turning what was a devastating situation into a beautiful body of work.

This is an album that further cements their legacy and feels like it captures elements from across their 20-year career into something wholly new and exciting.

Undeniably impressive, ‘Three’ neatly frames the wondrous aspects of Four Tet’s work. It doesn’t move beyond the landscapes fans will be familiar with, choosing instead to embrace a more understated pursuit of evolution. For those in search of electronic beauty, however, few albums will be more radiant or rewarding.

Uncompromising and unconventional, ‘Glasgow Eyes’ sit comfortably in The Jesus and Mary Chain canon.

‘Everything I Thought It Was’ can sometimes be forgettable across its 18-track largesse, while thematically it feels bunched around a cluster of feelings.

‘Rockmaker’ is an experience of the addictive kind, a fitting reminder of what’s terrific about the Portland band, and it offers something novel, something blistering.

It’s the honest messaging that makes ‘WORLD WIDE WHACK’ her bravest work to date. This is music to get lost in. Whack seems to have lost herself and found herself within it too.

Whilst the premise of this album is for Ariana to purge all memories of her previous relationship whilst coming of age into her third decade, it’s highly unlikely we will be forgetting about ‘Eternal Sunshine’ any time soon.

‘Bleachers’ as an album symbolises the full-throttle shift from solo voice to its current form of ensemble unity; a band of six-talented musicians entering their most monumental era yet.

At times ‘Kaiser Chiefs’ Easy Eighth Album’ feels uneven and grating. However, the band should be applauded for their risk taking and sonic shift and there’s no doubt that the album performed live will be full of the energy and polish that is synonymous with their shows.

A record that refuses to compromise, ‘BLUE LIPS’ presents ScHoolboy Q in unfiltered form. A creative accelerator, its commitment to the individual voice makes this the LA rapper’s definitive statement.

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

A new listener to Everything Everything may not be fully converted, but the synth-pop twinkles coating this record freshen up their sound.

‘Where’s My Utopia?’ is a musically diverse step forward for Yard Act, who refuse to be intimidated by their debut.

Psychedelic rock in its original form, the album is unlikely to win the duo many new fans, but as a testament to enjoying life, it’s unrivalled.

Real Estate emerged as a band renewed, the palpable unity in these performances amplifying their sense of purpose. A Springtime joy.

‘On Purpose, With Purpose’ shows an artist who continues to be authentic, whilst also realising that at this stage of his career he needs to adapt his style in order to achieve greatness.

The rugged, ragged ‘Twenty Things’ sits against the bolshy ‘Sad Lads Anonymous’, a record whose sonic breadth is matched to the assured nature of its construction.

As a whole, ‘Loss Of Life’ deftly balances the ability to appeal to the hardcore fans who have stuck with them, all while winning back the hearts of those who may have been lost along the way.

Nestled amongst some of her most nuanced and carefully placed moments of Americana and joined by a host of backing singers and musicians from Connor Oberst to Hand Habits‘ Meg Duffy, Segarra manages to take solace in the fact that while we are victims of our formative years, there is always scope to heal.

‘Under The Sun’ isn’t an album to play while doing something else. It might start off as this but eventually you are listening intently, lost in its dense fug of sound and delicate melodies.

A project that demands to be listened to in one sitting, there is an immersive quality across the tracklist that instantly strikes through. Each track is submerged in a nocturnal wash of acoustics, playful in its use of distance, textures and melody.

Itasca’s ‘Imitation Of War’ is a wonderful record, one whose spell only reveals itself over countless enraptured listens.

Wise’s third record is a glossy-smooth addition to a stellar discography, oozing with infectious melodies, tempered production and lashes of sex appeal.

In forty minutes, the band not only reminds listeners why they became scene heroes but also why they’re one of the UK’s most thrilling exports. For our money, it’s another home-run of a record.

In terms of consistency, ‘Venus’ doesn’t quite match her previous work. Sure, it’s heaps of fun at times and packed with plenty of euro pop bangers to satisfy the faithful, but this time around, otherworldly, celestial highs compensate for moments when Larsson surrenders to commercial viability during its unfortunately frequent lows.

‘COMING HOME’ competently portrays love as part Afrodisiac, part pulse-racing chase, part languorous and lived-in sensation. ‘COMING HOME’ is also tangential to the live spectacle, and that’s okay.

His third is a fun yet wonderfully composed record that sounds radically different to what he’s produced before. If a little odd at points with a dialling down of immediacy, patience is required to fully appreciate the pay-off.

While it may be hard to place genre-wise, it’s not hard to see its quality and sense of ambition.

While it’d be difficult to proclaim it her finest work, ‘She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She’ is certainly Wolfe’s most ambitious and careful-constructed album. Deliciously-dramatic in its nocturnal flair, it cracks open a whole new set of tantalising sonic possibilities for Wolfe’s and her collaborators’ future.

The record holds a conciliatory anger at a civilisation that can’t save itself from itself. And through an exploration of war, bloodspill, loss and confusion Vera Sola has continued to tell her story, and invite us into her arresting world.

This is an album is subtle transition. Broadening the dynamic between light and shadow, rock crunch and synth splendour, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes grapple with their sound, oozing confidence at every turn.

It’s a delightful, towering debut that will indeed leave you ecstatic.

While hardly reinventing the wheel with ‘What Do We Do Now,’ J has yet again delivered a set of songs that only an enigma like he could.

Arresting, yet often unexpected, ‘Fairweather Friend’ pilfers from the indie pop lineage, while daring to stamp out a unique identity of its own.

A bold work of evolution, ‘EVERYBODY CAN’T GO’ utilises some fantastic production – notably from Hit-Boy – to piece together a seamless record, one that hauls his sound forwards into a fresh era.

One of Kirby’s key strengths is her lyrics, but even with her voice front and foremost her repeated appeal to “wait, wait, wait, listen” seems like it could be genuine. On the other hand, the fact that a first spin inspires a kind of relaxed inattention just makes ‘Blue Raspberry’ more of a slow burn, one which rewards listeners who come back for more.

‘What an enormous room’ is an amalgamation of its title: an expansive collection of tracks, difficult to define, but somehow remains undeniably TORRES.

Despite having to navigate different kinds of losses to get to this stage, Tucker and Brownstein have emerged stringently triumphant, their bond stronger and more unshakeable than ever.

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.

Future Islands’ fans will find plenty to love with this album, with some of the songs here already instant favourites and others feeling like some of the best, most fully realised of their career thus far.

A record of real depth, ‘Wall Of Eyes’ closes on a sombre note. Distinctive, melodic, and defined, ‘You Know Me’ doesn’t so much pull at the heartstrings as slice right through them, Thom Yorke’s voice dissolving into a mesh of strings. It’s a suitably potent moment to end the record on – poised and suggestive, it becomes a bridge from one phase, to something as yet uncharted.

Had it been trimmed down to ten or eleven tracks, then maybe we’d be talking about one of Green Day’s strongest releases. As it stands, ‘Saviors’ turns out to be a somewhat confident return to form, but one that also fails to build upon the records that inspired it.

‘Electrowavebaby’ is fun but doesn’t seem to add to his sound, while ‘Mr Coola’ feels a little dated. At its best, though, ‘Insano’ can be riveting.

A blockbuster that lives up to the hype, ‘american dream’ is 21 Savage at his most luminescent. In staying true to himself, he’s been able to build something unique – now he’s taking it to the world.

As with the twin EPs that preceded it, however, the glimpses of originality strewn across ‘Lovegaze’ are too often sparse islands in a sea of pleasant but generic etherea.

Whilst it might not be as immediately stunning as the mix of luscious synth pop and alternate universe James Bond themes on that album [Red Moon In Venus], she still shines on this record, code-switching between English and Romance and beat-switching between sultry R&B and sunny Latin party pop.

‘Iechyd Da’ is a forward-moving record rooted in love and loss, marking a significant chapter in the musician and producer’s career.

A gorgeous album, ‘Big Sigh’ is a winter treat for the long January nights.

The human condition and thus society is complex and difficult to navigate but Sprints have not been afraid to express uncertainty and vulnerability. And all the while they have enveloped these themes in the most glorious noise for us all to find comfort and lose ourselves in. Is it possible to have an album of the year contender on only the first week in? Of course it is.

While her debut could in places feel slight, this new record feels lived-in, and true.

Refusing to be hemmed in, it’s a record of real ambition, an example mirroring fan-pleasing tendencies with actual artistic growth. Sometimes the sequels really are better.

‘i/o’ takes us on a journey… of life and all of its experiences and is set to be one of Peter Gabriel’s greatest solo albums to date.

With a 19-track span and a colossal guest cast, not everything on ‘BLOCKBUSTA’ lands. There’s a feeling sometimes that these collaborations were done separately and then spliced together, with some moments lacking cohesion, or a sense of chemistry. ‘HOMAGE’ with Kodak Black feels flat, for example, while the record’s eclecticism prevents ‘BLOCKBUSTA’ from truly coalescing. That said, there are moments of real bravery.

The downside to the album is to appreciate it properly you need to play it front to back, no skipping. Whilst paying attention. This isn’t something to play in the background. You need to concentrate on it.

Kevin Abstract’s newest studio album continues to assert him as one of the greatest talents of this generation, an individual who eliminates conformity and remains earnest and candid, regardless of the sonic environment he visits.

Its primary strength lies in the way Drake threads himself and finds pockets within the grooves and crevices, foregoing lustre and grandiosity in favour of an understated performance piece. .... There’s an existential paranoia about this recent iteration of Drake, however.

This album is a step in the right direction in terms of mood, but it’s an overstep in terms of the emotional burden Brown is offering. The choruses are repetitive and don’t fit, and the take away should be focusing more on balance. However, it’s not a question of if he can get that balance right, but when.

Ultimately, the Achilles heel of the whole project is how invested, how much fans will truly believe in this. To some, it’s a meme stretched to breaking point, the elasticity of his flute-playing hauled out to become an opaque sheet, void of detail. To others, it’s an excellent – almost unclassifiable – mood piece. Whether it’s the meanderings of an internet-savvy millionaire or the crucial work of a modern day ambient auteur is perhaps in the eye of the beholder.

It takes a special sort to do such songs justice with a mere acoustic guitar, but Marshall manages it. When things go electric, the ante isn’t upped nearly enough, however, and can’t help but pale compared to the frantic energy of The Hawks and Dylan fighting the audience.

A long time coming, ‘Heaven knows’ is a debut album that was well worth the wait from PinkPantheress, and a sign of a promising career from the singer.

Overall ‘Quarter Life Crisis’ reigns true to Baby Queen’s signature synth-pop sound whilst being let down by lyrical cliches on a couple of the more manufactured upbeat, pop tracks. The album, however, triumphs on the more toned-down tracks showing a new dimension to the alt-pop starlet’s songwriting style.

It’s an album to get lost in and to find the pockets of light that punctuate the sublime melodies and dank instrumentation.

The 36 minute ambience of ‘Drone In B’ allows space to contemplate all that has come before; and the conclusion is that ‘I DES’ is a celebration of future possibilities, and a truly beautiful listen.

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.

Maybe it’s the sentimental Beatle-maniac in us, but ‘Now And Then’ feels like something beautiful, something to cherish.

Not every song is as enjoyable as it is intriguing, with moments of too many detours and not enough destinations. However, while ‘The Twits’ feels imperfect, intentionally so, it also feels like the final cliffhanger before a chapter ends in a thrilling novel.

Despite the odd lapse in power, ‘Venom’ is a super-charged and dramatic record characteristic of Wargasm’s spirit.

The songwriting is easy-going, the risks taken effortlessly; more than 15 years into their time together, Bombay Bicycle Club are still taking chances, and still reaping the rewards.

A fascinating return, ‘Bolted’ is often greyscale in tone and shading; rolling back the physicality of ‘Compassion’, it seems to find Forest Swords revelling in a more minimalist, yet also profoundly empathetic space.

As faithful as these songs might be to their back catalogue, OMD have never been ones to repeat themselves, and everything here shines with an intense and neon-lit originality.

‘History Books’ picks up exactly where the band left off, but with a renewed wind in their sails. Big guitars, anthemic singalongs and bruised and bloodied ballads are in no short supply, while Fallon’s existential lyricism reveals a renewed nuance to his songwriting.

A cross-cultural heavenly palette of starry-eyed soul, psychedelic rock, jazz funk and symphonic pop, ‘Chronicles’ is the most expansive expression yet of Black Pumas’ frenetic creativity and limitless vision to date.

Overall, ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ is excellent. The praise the original album received for its composition, songwriting and overall curation is still absolutely worthy, and will hopefully serve as a reminder of how and why Taylor Swift became one of the greatest solo artists of her generation. The tracks from the vault are exquisite and make strong additions to the album as a whole, and it would be surprising if these songs didn’t become immediate chart successes given their likeability and quality.

If you like filagree synths and dimorphous melodies, then this is the album for you. The songs are immaculately crafted. The melodies catchy. Lyrics memorable.

If you are looking for a deliciously dark soundtrack of horror and funk, then ‘Danse Macabre’ should be on your Halloween playlist. The big question is – is ‘Danse Macabre’ for life or just for Halloween? Either way, for the majority of Duran Duran’s sixteenth studio album, in true Halloween style, it will be love at first bite!

Taking listeners on a trippy journey through a landscape of organic musical complexity, there are also Beastie Boys vocal nods similar to those found in ‘Sadie Sorceress‘ from last year’s ‘Omnium Gatherum‘ release. Combining techno, disco, electronic and rap, this makes for a truly special combination.

The project does retain a level of focus and direction, despite the chameleon-like nature of Crosses, making for a thoroughly enjoyable and dynamic listening experience.

‘LAHAI’ is an astral soul coda that whilst intimately rendered, doubles as a pledge for connection and interrelatedness. We needed this.

Everywhere ‘the rest’ feels less collaborative than ‘the record,’ and more about celebrating the three of them as friends.

The songs are well written with glorious instrumentation. Hansard is the owner of, well, a decent pair of pipes and whether he’s singing, crooning, bellowing or whispering you feel the emotion in this voice. The downside to the album is, well, we’ve heard it all before. There isn’t anything new here.

‘Hackney Diamonds’ is probably the Rolling Stones’ best album in two decades. .... Equally, while his status as a lizard-like, hip-shaking frontman of immortal prowess remains intact, Jagger’s lyricism – so often underrated – delivers a few clunkers here. The highs, though, are what fans are tuning in for.

Blink remain true to form, even throwing in a few sub-1 minute swearword screamers, but with the band back together and continuing to go through life, it seems their form is grounded in something firmer.

A glittering project that underlines Offset’s status as one of American rap’s MVPs, ‘SET IT OFF’ doubles as an emotional mirror, as a form of autobiography. All that glitters isn’t gold – and very often the finest moments on this album are its most humble.

‘Sex, Death & The Infinite Void’, Creeper have created something that simultaneously pays homage to the bands that came before, and which is totally cutting-edge in the modern rock landscape.

An uplifting album with a distant and ever present sadness culminates on a high note, and then right before you know it, you’ll start it all over again.

Expectations for CMAT’s second album were sky-high, but she’s managed to reach new musical heights with ease and style. ‘Crazymad, For Me’ is another smash hit from a showstopper vocalist that really puts the fun back in pop music.

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.

‘Javelin’ is an outstanding record, technically brilliant, and emotionally bewitching.

An infectious offering, ‘Out And About’ shines a light on the band’s unified creativity.

On first listen, this isn’t his certified rap classic but it does signal a turning point. Now, if only Drake could could distill the best parts of his repertoire into a coherent whole.

With ‘Layover’, V’s intentions were clear. He obviously had a distinct sound that he wanted to stick to, his vision clear inhabiting by his sense of self. The influence of jazz and R&B is evident and the execution is slick.

It’s a more grounded and less airbrushed exploration of identity than we might be used to from Hannah Diamond, but one that counteracts an era increasingly obsessed with the perfect image and the false promise of forever.