This carefully constructed and cohesive record really is a big deal.

Both immediately hook-filled and intellectually deep at the same time, God First has already earned its place as one of the most exciting and unexpected releases of 2017.

This is the music of ritual, an electronic folk chimera of primordial pagan beats, ancient and timeless yet psychedelically futurist.

Dark Sky, three shape-shifting bass heads from London, have turned in a belter of a debut album.

‘Mutator’ is not an epitaph or vault-scraping footnote; it is a painful reminder that New York lost one of its important critical voices when Vega passed away in 2016.

Oddly, ‘Butterfly 3000’ shines brightest not through its movement but its precise arrangements. ... On those occasions where King Gizzard fully embraces the groove, however, ‘Butterfly 3000’ is a real treat.

Eve Owen has only just started her journey, but there’s clearly a bright future ahead for the artist as her mature and accomplished album proves she’s indie music’s rising star.

This is a contemplative, confident record which will only strengthen with further listening.

Patiently moving into a new era, ‘Happier Than Ever’ is shrouded in a transformative darkness.

Still in place is their frenetic rushes of sonic trickery, but most notably the band have relaxed a little and even got a little funky.

It’s exceptional stuff.

Bold, uncompromising and totally EE, A Fever Dream further cements the idea that the Manchester outfit will one day be considered as one of art-pop’s true greats.

Raw but refined, familiar but resolutely strange, Marauder seizes that fine balance of retaining the old while introducing the new; the sound of a band at ease with themselves, it could well be Interpol’s finest album in a decade.

It’s a touching journey reflecting on how the four boys changed into men and changed the world through the power of music at the same time.

A record for late, empty, lonely nights.

‘Year of Love’ opens the record with a palm-muted guitar riff, unexpectedly, and from there ‘Classic Objects’ blossoms into classic Jenny Hval, ‘Cemetery of Splendour’ and ‘Jupiter’ forming its plain, heavenly, skyscraping highlights.

A blindingly good debut.

It’s compact, elegant and striking.

What one quickly realises is that this is an accomplished record.

The bottom line: if you're looking for an intelligent summer record then hit download immediately.

Towards the end of the album, tracks threaten to meld into each other, making for one big visceral haze of love-lamenting. But beat seekers should find their bag on dynamic tracks like ‘Florida!!!’, a thumping, bewitching collaboration with Florence + The Machine, ‘Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?,’ and triumphantly-erupting, more optimistic ‘I Can Do It With A Broken Heart.’

Tallulah is classic Feeder, and it is hard to think of anything more fitting for a 10th album.

‘Saving Grace’ is intimate, emotional and transcendental, a warm mosaic of blues, alt-country and folk storytelling that reawakens the spirit of roots music that has been sympathetically reimagined through the clarity of a modern lens.

She has developed her own world over the last few years, this record feeling like the grand opening; the musical renegade uses this sonic landscape to release feelings of sorrow and doubt and anger, culminating in a truly vivid and innovative record.

Again Future marshals the glittering soundscapes expertly, his tuneful flow reining in the beats while imbuing all the fragility, heartsickness and aggression that make it the most impressive instrument in rap right now.

It’s immersive and ambiguous, these tales belong to you as much as they do the person next to you on the train.

In short, it’s a low-key gem.

Unpredictably diverse and unexpectedly personal, this album sees Bugg managing to maintain the relatable style which won him so many fans in the first place, while taking the necessary risks that allow him to grow as an artist.

The main takeaway from ‘Dawn Of Chromatica’ however is Gaga’s curatorial ability, and the even strength of talent on display. Capable of moving from Ashnikko’s playful digitalism through to the ballroom energy of the Jimmy Edgar and Bree Runway take on ‘Babylon’, it’s a relentlessly entertaining display.

It is a bewitching, beautiful album, with no two songs alike.

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

A wonderful, worthy follow-up.

The career-spanning retrospective Alone and Unreal: The Best of the Clientele serves as a potent reminder of just how discreetly revelatory the group's primary method of operation has always been.

Let Them Eat Chaos is engaging and at only 48 minutes it doesn't outstay its welcome. Tempest seems to relish the challenge of delivering a concise but complex story over a compelling variety of instrumentals.

‘Sorry I Haven’t Called’, brings out the best dance music has to offer because although Vagabon’s music is soft-indie-pop at its core, she has somehow captured an intrinsically heavenly sphere throughout the twelve tracks, making it the best record to keep a tiny bit of summer inside of us as the autumnal air is taking over the outside world.

Always respectful of the traditions from which they emerge, Steve Gunn and the Black Twig Pickers are happy to less these sounds evolve exponentially into stunning, unforeseen vistas. A real gem.

Eleven years on from her debut, TORRES’ songwriting remains as infatuating as ever.

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.

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.

Amid the deferential nods, Mazes exude vigour and vibrancy.

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.

Lucrecia Dalt might not think about hit-making, but through her exploration of love and transcendence, she eventually created something strange and eerie, yet surprisingly close to a pop album — with weirdly catchy melodies that tempt you to either dance or hide under the bed — the very thing music critics with their radars on may be looking for.

Marks to Prove It is the most cohesive offering from the Maccabees to date.

While the album is pretty much removed from her usual major pop moments, it’s more refreshing that way, and there’s more of a connective-unit feel to Positions than much of her previous work. After all, Grande has always been an album artist, and this one is yet another to whistle home about.

For this project Ben Cohen has taken the vocal outtakes and sketches and has crafted wonderfully rich and vibrant music around them. Is it what Leonard would have wanted? We’ll never know, but it doesn’t sound out of place in his rich canon of work, which is the important thing. Long-term fans will revel in another chance to lap up his wisdom and that captivated audiences for almost 50 years.

Pop classicists with a heart of gold, Sparks are busy out-pacing the copyists, and reminding us all exactly why they remain so beloved.

With a mix of frantic and scrappy pop songs alongside blankets of processed peacefulness Contra is a fun and always intriguing listen.

[Here shows] a true progression without losing any of the magic that made their first album such a breath of fresh air. Simply superb.

The Long Island five-piece show a greater willingness to vary their musical palette than many of their contemporaries

When Gambino plays it straight he sounds majestic.

Wilson has a fantastic ear for the unexpected. Similarly, the timbre of ‘Mountains’ sees Wilson’s vocal blend like a true instrument. A woman strong in her practise, with little room for improvement. 'ALPHA' is Charlotte Day Wilson in 360.

Sure, few will love everything on here but the hubris, yet the sprawling mess that is More Light can’t help but impress.

A synth heavy, angst ridden, paranoia-fuelled musical monolith filled with catchy hooks, heavy drums and nods of the cap towards Dubstep.

Even with 30 tracks, there is rarely an uninteresting moment across three LPs. Fans of Wilco and Tweedy will lap this up no doubt, and far from being throwaway, there is a sense of urgency and purpose throughout.

A stunning effort all-around, it is a pleasure to have Temples back, the prospect of where they can go from here is one of excitement and thrill.

‘Fir Wave’ is a subtle triumph, a record whose innate beauty dissipates to reveal complex aesthetic machinery, while never fully revealing its secrets.

Produced by man of the moment, Danger Mouse, the sound remains unmistakably Black Keys but adds further dimensions to what is already a winning mix.

Vivid, colourful, and distinct, 21st century ennui has scarcely sounded so intoxicating.

Five ravishing down tempo moments, ‘Life On Earth’ is a pivotal transmission from the R&B artist, one that is heavy on aesthetic sensuality and lyrical emotion, which dipping into varied points of inspiration.

It’s not always entirely successful and moments of cliché are peppered across this album, but the moments of success are plentiful and Ali Shea’s distinctive voice ensures that Daydream is an endearing statement of intent.

A record that lands with such hazy panache, transporting its listener into a nocturnal wilderness where dreams are limitless. The record is undoubtedly a strong return to form for the folktronica vanguards and potentially the signalling of a second coming for the band.

Bring On The Sun’s fascinating sonic tensions never make the listener feel tense. This is cure-all musical therapy for the ages.

I Love You But I Don't Know What To Say perfectly concludes a haunting album that truly reveals Adams' bruised soul.

A focussed, unified return, ‘Volcano’ doffs its cap to some supreme influences, while also allowing Jungle to expand, and evolve. Soulful songwriting with a thirst for house and disco, it finds the production duo amplifying their ambitions, and finessing their techniques across a cycle of exceptionally strong songwriting.

A more immersive, majestic and ultimately engaging release than album one.

Not everything on All Nerve works. But then, perfection was never the aim for Breeders; instead, they’ve provided something vital, visceral, completely modern. In never once looking back they’ve re-captured the incessant energy that drove ‘Last Splash’, and given us something to take its place.

The impressive chemistry the trio displayed on their earlier work continues here.

Everything about the record restores the belief that Stereophonics can remain relevant in a world of troubadours and try-hard indie bands.

‘A Beautiful Revolution Pt. 2’ stares down the traumas that proliferate our lives, offering hope, creativity, and soul filtered through Common’s profound hip-hop vision.

In some ways, this record feels like an impressive painting that charms you from the very first glance – without a cause, connecting with your mind on a subconscious level.

It’s cinematic and magical and stands as some of Fionn’s most captivating and compelling work to date.

As a body of music Exai lividly pulses, possessed by a half-life of disturbing magnitude.

This fascinating collection of spirited hooks, and deeply heartfelt lyricism, cleverly blends high-tech energetic synths, quick wit, and trippy guitars into something you weren’t quite expecting. Arguably, the result is a much bolder record than his last solo debut ‘Twenty Twenty’.

Previously it felt like as though these two sides have been difficult to reconcile on record; the abrasive would often be at odds with the tranquil, particularly on last studio album ‘Cherry Bomb’. On Flower Boy, though, Tyler has perfected his marriage of the two.

The LP’s home stretch is up there with Blake’s best, not just in the tense penultimate title track and wet-cheeked closer ‘If I’m Insecure’, but on the lead single. ‘Say What You Will’ shows off the magic trick Blake’s perfected by now. Vocally, he’s unsettlingly beautiful.

The Foo Fighters return in defiant fashion with an album that refuses to let up from start to finish.

‘How Do You Sleep At Night?’ is a solid debut, a multifaceted foundation that Teezo Touchdown is sure to spring from. The record boasts some great production and a genre-less style that for some may lack cohesion, but on a debut record like this it allows Teezo to follow any sonic path he desires in the future.

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.

As The Last Shadow Puppets, Kane and Turner have served up an exquisite offering that is melodically rich, diverse, and more complex than its predecessor, centred around a collection of undeniably terrific tunes.

This is a photocopy of the original Britpop blueprint.

‘Escape Room’ reverberates with cinematic flair and curatorial focus, but its true strength lies in Taylor’s understanding of the RnB rhapsody through time; the love song that is most effective when it’s spare and submerged. For this reason, ‘Escape Room’ is as necessary as anything Teyana Taylor has ever recorded.

The first 11 tracks are an exhilarating dip into some of J. Cole’s core tropes, a finessed exploration of where US rap is situated in 2024. .... Stylistically the production [on"7 Minute Drill"] is slightly out-of-step with the tape as a whole, but it taps into some of the project’s over-arching themes – self-worth, separating talent from hype – and feels more ingrained, really, than Kendrick’s own bars on the hit ‘n’ miss Metro Boomin and Future tape.

Marrying a bewildering array of influences, Shaker Notes presents a probing, unified voice on what could well be White’s finest album to date.

A hodgepodge LP bound skillfully by the starry-eyed aestheticism he's become so fond of lately.

Taking his time, as much of the album does, is no bad thing when the melodies are this compelling.

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

Driven by demons and fired by fury, 'Blunderbuss' is a turbulent insight into one man's wrath - but it rocks. Hard.

An album that's completely beguiling.

Unfailingly imaginative, her return offers another vital chapter in her unfailingly riveting career.

IDLES' fourth record in just as many years is their most ambitious, most introspective, and most powerful to date.

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

Sonic Citadel towers over its surroundings as one of the best albums of Lightning Bolt’s career to date.

The future, past and present is Enter Shikari’s, restructuring the sheer meaning of creativity with another commanding album.

The oscillation between moods is deafening, but effortless as Scott’s come-ons and teardowns are a poetic masterclass.

Beach Slang play with the kind of heartfelt abandon that you could imagine translating to wider audiences in a similar vein to The Gaslight Anthem or, going back even further, The Goo Goo Dolls. For now, the no-hopers have a voice, but you get the feeling that it won't be theirs alone for much longer.

What Peck provides on Pony is music framed in that mould, and in doing so offers a brilliant palate cleanser to the vast majority of overblown, raucous and vapid compositions that have taken over the genre over the course of the last three decades or so.

It goes in constantly engaging directions and challenges what we expect from her as an artist and writer. It should please long-term fans and offer a fine jumping-on point for those who’ve not explored her work before.

‘Good Lies’ displays the strength of brotherhood, solidifying their position within the scene by cherishing childhood’s sweetness.