Ultimately, Salad Days is an aural testament to the old adage that there’s a fine line between genius and insanity.

Returning from a six-year long wilderness of soundtrack work and greatest hits, ‘Heligoland’ sees the duo back at the top of their game.

While it aims to push boundaries, CLPPNG does so in a way that demonstrates a love for the music and culture that forms its source material.

While ‘Model’ might just be the fourth installment for them, it’s clear that growing up together has allowed the members to fully play in on each other’s best qualities, resulting in a no-skips record.

‘Everybody Needs A Hero ’continues Gartland’s signature storytelling style but pushes her artistry in new intriguing directions, one that is sure to leave fans satisfied.

What first seems impenetrable and maybe even pretentious reveals itself to be a rich and detailed tapestry, full of colour and emotion.

Whilst still channelling her pop song writing tendencies, there is a distinct sense of emotional depth at the heart of ‘Bouquet’, which feels as though it finds Gwen Stefani at the peak of her songwriting craft.

Back To Land won’t immediately blow you away, but that warm, overdriven sound makes the latest LP from this San Francisco quartet another compelling one.

The Mars Volta have hit upon an incredibly surprising new phase in their multi-faceted evolution.

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.

A muted gem, Joanne Robertson’s restraint sees ‘Blurrr’ reach fresh heights.

Overall, it's a glittering, multi-sensory synth-pop record that compels you to let yourself be transported through cosmic dimensions and the rich, textured under-layers of Beck’s creative psyche.

Phoenix has been four years in the making, waiting in the wings to see the light. And now that it’s finally here, Phoenix is definitely worth checking out.

Notably shorter than its predecessor, MU.ZZ.LE is just as rich and arresting, cataloguing Sumach's echoes, mumbles and stumbles through an album of lethargic trip hop and uneasy paranoia.

All of this ultimately comes together to create an utterly enchanting piece of work. A record filled with countless intricate and carefully considered elements, and yet one that never feels cluttered, or at risk of losing its pervasive emotional resonance.

With ‘Soak’ Black Honey are at their most fully fledged, brandishing a sword against the darker sides of society while still allowing time to reflect inwards in moments of raw introspection.

This an album that proves Kaytranada’s production skills to be limitless.

Emerging from a phase of growing pains and fitting perfectly into the mould of an awe- inspiring frontwoman, Baron-Gracie lays bare everything from depression and darkness to clarity and optimism with her mature songwriting.

‘Sometimes, Forever’ takes risks, embodies the freeing, ephemeral nature of life, and the joy of following your inner monologue as you follow hers.

Unsettling, certainly, on more than a few occasions. But wonderful is the descriptor that sticks after so many listens to this entirely enveloping LP.

‘Just Look At That Sky’ doesn’t presume to offer solutions; it’s an honest document of what it feels like to wade through anxiety, day by day, not a survival guide or handbook of answers none of us actually have.

‘Easier Said Than Done’ hears them at their most refined. There is a refreshing honesty told in the lives personified across the album and, in the world of each song, no story is off-limits.

This is more Ben Frost than Burzum, more interstellar overdrive than terrestrial church torching. And it’s just a bit brilliant, basically.

Content Nausea sees the band’s Andrew Savage and Austin Brown bashing out a short, pithy not-quite-an-LP while their fellow bandmates variously become parents and math graduates.

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

MSTRKRFT themselves have quit trying to mask anything about their sound or approach, electing instead to deliver the turbo-aggressive noise record they’ve always threatened to make.

If ‘Sistrionix’ was Deap Vally as a brooding teenager, Femejism is the more grown up and wiser young adult. Strong and independent, it has just realised that it doesn’t need to impress you, regardless of the immaculate construction that can’t help but bowl you over.

Overall ‘Barn’ is a solid Young and Crazy Horse album. The songs a layered with all that good stuff you want a Crazy Horse album to have. Crunching guitars. Laconic acoustic numbers. Mournful harmonicas. Catchy choruses and a sense of urgency. While this isn’t a classic Neil Young and Crazy Horse album it’s pretty close.

There’s no need to know the full context to enjoy ‘Cabin In The Sky’. As one of the most straight-forwardly enjoyable hip-hop albums 2025 has offered us, you’d be hard-pushed to top it for entertainment.

Somebody’s Knocking sees the former Screaming Trees frontman continue his foray into electronica, subtly blending ice-cool synths with dirgey guitars and doom-laden imagery to reveal a love of ‘80s English alt-rock. ... Welcome back.

Morning Phase is a return to the lovelorn introspection of 2002’s ‘Sea Change’--in style, if not substance.

Ride seem to be embrace and move past their illustrious past, resulting in one of the most finessed, intriguing albums of their career to date.

The production in songs like ‘Drive’, with its charming bass line, and ‘Silver Jubilee’, with its flirtation with 2016-electropop, are nice surprises, but overall the record can get a little repetitive with its themes and melodies. .... But her comedic and very specific style does shine through either way, and performing these songs for a crowd will probably add to the depth of future projects.

Twelve years after their formation, the East Coast five-piece have created their finest album to date.

The sparse palette - Lenker’s acoustic, incidental percussion, reassuring tape hiss - serves to isolate the quiet brilliance of the melodies, setting their winding, spontaneous beauty against angst that spans existential questioning and the nuts and bolts of severing ties with someone you care about.

All in all, ‘Liquorice’ is Hatchie at her best yet: it’s poignant, poetic, and above all else, utterly hypnotic.

Shades of light and dark ripple throughout and keep the listener guessing.

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

A 10-track wonder that is a more mature and eclectic take on her gloriously femme and thundering electro-pop.

‘Echo’ is built around band instrumentation – spanning orchestral Brit rock, jangly pop-punk, wistful country, and alternative ballads – all woven into a cohesive whole.

As a diary entry, defined by dark nights of the soul and cast in the same bluish-purple hues, ‘Midnights’ offers little of revelatory purpose to those who have yet to succumb to Swift’s charms. For those already swayed by her craft, however, it may reasonably go on to be recognised as her best album to date.

As much as this collection of instruments can so often deliver the hair-raising tricks we expect, these pieces feel more resonant, more entrenched. The surface level thrills are there, but the impact lingers.

It’s an exercise in catharsis, providing an accurate snapshot into the minds and mentality of the band certainly, but also the general public of the last year and a half.

This album as a whole is without doubt greater than the sum of its parts, but it just so happens that those parts comprise one of the most intriguing production collectives in the industry, and arguably the most unique MC that this country has to offer.

Every single song boasts a glittering chorus and light yet effective production; this is a record built on simple pop tracks that are a pleasure to dig deeper on. 'Girl' is the iceberg of 2019 pop albums; dip under the surface, and you’re awestruck by the depth of it.

Overall, the album is a tour-de-force bound to leave the listener nostalgic for warm, sunny times with an inherently groove-focused, genre-bending sound.

Though they might be mellowing in their age, that doesn’t mean to say they’ve compromised an inch, and 'Beneath The Eyrie' proves just that.

In short, though this is a completely new face to Goat, a deeper, richer exploration of their abilities, it’s not a complete departure.

The London quintet have raised their game, with something a whole lot more classy, salvaging them from the landfill indie chute.

Meek Mill has definitely earned his place as the people’s champion, and in turn has provided his best album to date.

If... is dominated by widescreen cinematic soundscapes and fabulously evocative arrangements.

It may be a tried and tested formula but inspiration as beautifully realised as this is hard to ignore.

Perhaps his strongest solo collection in some time, ‘I Love The New Sky’ holds true to an innate but rarely explicit sense of optimism. Softly uplifting in a very English way, it feels like a slow exhalation, a record that gently tugs at your sleeve. A low-key marvel.

Overall this is an album to be enjoyed in its entirety and proves a much more rewarding when doing so. Grab a comfy chair, wait for dusk and lose yourself. You won't regret it.

A luscious record bursting with ideas, technical flourishes and unexpected turns - ‘Fun House’ is Duffy’s greatest achievement yet.

Rebirth is completely captivating.

Tiny Ruins’ effortlessly stunning lyricism and creative cohesiveness mean that ‘Ceremony’ does in fact hit the mark from start to finish.

Despite the addition of new blood like Anderson .Paak on ‘Movin Backwards’ and Kendrick on ‘Conrad Tokyo’, the overall production, overseen by master cutter Ali Shaeed Muhammed, is unfiltered, choppy and distinctly reminiscent of the original Tribe sound.

Hard to ignore, her voice is glorious and rich, and her music intoxicating. ‘I Was Born Swimming’ is an intense journey to take with its creator, but it envelops entirely. You are where she is, you feel as she does.

The beautiful blends of genres and crisp production make ‘As Above, So Below’ an enthralling listen, and has Sampa raising the bar for herself once again.

With powerful juxtapositions of connection and disconnection, hope and despair, life and death, possession and loss throughout, Life After Defo is an absolute thesis on pop experimentalism.

Trend and time can’t touch them, and with ‘Senjutsu’ they’ve produced one of their best albums of the past 20 years.

‘This Is What I Mean’ is a low-key affair, downbeat and introspective. The tracks are intimate in theme as well as production, and it might just be Stormzy’s cohesive and coherent project to date.

While the pop-facing moments may not appeal to all, Tommy shows her dexterous talent and the extent of her creativity on ‘goldilocks x’.

It is the blistering irresistibility of what is achieved at that point, which makes this record striking and inescapable.

A Better Life is an entirely different beast, expanding on their debut’s vigorous garage-pop sound to create something darker, meatier and much heavier on all fronts.

Album thirteen not only acts as the best thing The Pumpkins has released in over a decade but also an exciting indicator of things hopefully to come – a welcome surprise from one of rocks most unpredictable acts.

A Seat At The Table is an expertly-curated, a near-perfect record that serves as a timely, musical manifesto on how to be black and proud.

As with most of Numero's releases to date, there are moments of gold in amongst plenty of enjoyably period music and it's best consumed in one, immersive and overwhelming sitting, accompanying book to hand.

The euphoric, floating '60s guitar sheen and carefree swagger which dominates proceedings is utterly uplifting.

Ritual Union is the rich vindication of Little Dragon's slow burning upturn.

The wonderful ‘Isn’t That Enough’ recalls Neil Young’s ‘Harvest’ – it’s followed, aptly, by ‘Heart Of Gold’ – and these songs carry within them a quietly pervasive sense of direction, as though the album itself became a means of continuation. There are moments of real melodic distinction, too.

The beautifully crafted fuzzy rock record has sonic concoctions that could have easily been taken from the best 90s and 2000s teen movies; not only does it serve its purpose of self-acceptance and healing, but it also further solidifies Laus’ place in the industry as a formidable, agenda-setting songwriter.

Clocking in at less than quarter of an hour, the ‘Perfect’ EP is another jukebox roll through the band’s quieter and louder moments, both of which are largely on target from start to finish.

Diviner is a brave album and Thorpe should be commended for it. It challenges what masculinity should be and that you don’t have to shout to get your message across.

A contemplative, decidedly indie collection that trades sonic innovation for stillness and emotional clarity.

Punchier, prettier, and more playfully perverse, ‘Moisturizer’ will undoubtedly help Wet Leg retain their place as one of Britain’s most unique bands. Expectations be damned.

He’s managed to transcend his previous efforts via the scaling up the sonics and simply maintaining the quality of this excellent record.

There’s a wonderful rawness to Porter’s vocals, confronting his troubles of the past with his blossoming musical pallet.

This is Dashboard Confessional in 2018: still as charming, still as cathartic and ultimately every bit the record you want it to be.

Eton Alive captures the self-proclaimed “Best Band in the World” as wide-awake as ever, dolloping fun all over their music like it’s Daddies Brown Sauce.

Somewhere between the elongated delivery of Joanna Newsom and the peculiarly soulful croak of Karen Dalton, this is a clear case of the voice as an additional instrument.

The radical variation on this album speaks volumes--this casting respect to yesteryear twisted with the juices of his modern imagination--and if ‘The English Riviera’ was Mount at his most accessible, then Love Letters finds him at his most inventive.

ZUU is an experience that transports the listener to a specific time and place. ZUU is further proof that Denzel Curry is one of hip-hop's most interesting and progressive MCs.

Without a doubt, ‘Only The Strong Survive’ exemplifies Springsteen’s unfaltering commitment to top-notch musicianship and production.

Mura Masa’s nuance, confidence and obvious versatility betray his relative inexperience, and it’s increasingly clear that he is already a musical force to be reckoned with.

Elegant, understated, Chastity Belt is the sound of a band matured, and it’s all the better for it.

Family life and a well-earned break have given this one-time Gothfather new tricks that pure despair could never provide.

A work of dancefloor renewal, ‘Ambiguous Desire’ is explicit in its aims – to move your body, and move your soul.

Healey has delivered the ideal summer album, but it feels as much a gift to himself as his listeners.

Burna is at his best either holding it down for his lineage pushing traditional sounds forward or tracing African influence beyond its shores.

Zaba is blessed with musical facets that will blind you with their splendour.

The folk troubadour's sixth studio release has been presented as his "defining statement" and it's true, the Wessex boy has delivered something truly wonderful.

SBTRKT’s signature sound, which defies genre boundaries and pushes the boundaries of popular music, continues to shine on ‘The Rat Road’.

Art Angels is boundary pushing, it’s listenable and it’s Boucher’s most ambitious and most consistent work to date.

By considering themes such as love, social injustice and all round perseverance, it is both mature and engaging. The Big Moon are constantly breathing new life into a genre which sometimes runs stale. For that we should be eternally grateful.

More. Again. Forever shows a band who insist on exploring, learning and get closer to the truth about life and human existence, and there is just no way that this can ever, ever, be a bad thing.

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