They've escaped the dirge and have now come up for air--and we're all the better for it.

Shorn of that album’s [Forever Blue] voluminous post-rock textures, Williams’ deft playing provides a delicate yet ornate framework for her voice to soar, lending new tenderness to erstwhile grandiose rockers by Deftones and Smashing Pumpkins, while squeezing even more pathos from The Cure’s mighty ‘Lovesong’.

A pleasing work of subtle evolution that taps into the group’s core values while teasing out fresh ideas.

The album seamlessly transitions through genres of music that will be influencing the next decade of sound. To achieve such fluidity is unbelievable, and Skrillex continues to be the Godfather of EDM.

A work of impish maturity, ‘Extreme Witchcraft’ is Eels at their most playful, with the band’s carefree wizardry still delivering thrills, even after all these years. While not ranking with their absolute best work, in terms of breakneck guitar-led songwriting it more than delivers.

Never one to hide his emotions previously, Rufus Wainwright offers a sparse but staggeringly heartfelt collection of songs for voice and piano, influenced, at least in part, by the long-term illness and recent passing of his mother.

I genuinely mean that as a compliment: music doesn’t always have to be hard work, and Richter’s latest offering, ‘In A Landscape’, feels like the opposite of work.

With his last album, ‘Stick Season’, Noah Kahan confirmed the reign of folk-pop in the current age, and with ‘The Great Divide’, he further proves that he’s not just a one-hit wonder.

The focus from all concerned makes the convincingly grisly fiction a lot of fun.

Nostalgic, melancholic, worrisome and finally joyful, Doom Days is a production that leaves you with optimism for a better tomorrow.

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

‘The King’s Disease’ finds Nas grappling with a raft of contradictions, contrasting the opulence of his lifestyle with the need for vitality in his message. It’s not perfect, but it’s less an end product, and more the search for creative process – by the end, you become convinced the Queens rapper has found his throne.

His wheelhouse has always been in conveying emotion, profound sincerity and of course his stellar storytelling, and ‘Look Up’ is the perfect showcase for him to do that.

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.

For the most part, the record warrants its own expansiveness as themes of self-doubt, isolation and faith slowly supernova among dazzling ambient instrumentals, careening string sections and Sufjan’s warped vocals that bring harmony, hope and futurism to the cold, dense expanse of space.

While there’s comfort in these smooth and soulful blues-rock tunes, The Black Keys could really do with a touch more grit and raucous charm to stand it out amongst their discography. Either way, a solid effort regardless.

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

On an album centring around concepts of storytelling and reflection, Iggy Pop’s voice remains phenomenal. It always will. However, an underwhelming feeling lingers throughout 'Free', one which is hard to ignore.

Tha Carter V was never going to be flawlessly executed--the odds were too stacked against it--but it certainly gives the audience the thrill we were hoping for. It’s a return to form, and a triumphant return for one of the greatest of all time.

However you approach it, Take It, It’s Yours is an enjoyable, quietly seductive collection.

‘GLORIOUS’ is a trim 15 tracks, offering 42 minutes of music. Chopping away the excess, what’s left is bold, colourful, and attention-seeking – brash, but not subtle.

It’s a theatrical 10-piece song cycle that neatly extends their work, while nodding to what came before. At its best – opener and lead single ‘I Still Have Faith In You’ for example – it comes close to reaching the transformative peaks ABBA scaled all those years ago. Yet for a piece of fan service ‘Voyage’ remains confusingly slight.

Sounding fifty years out of time and traversing genres without concern, it is unlike anything else you will hear this summer. And you really must hear it.

It’s definitely too short, but it’s worth every penny, ‘The Third Chimpanzee’ is a work of innovation and instinct.

Trap Lord is an impressive outing for Ferg and another win for A$AP Mob.

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!

Double Roses takes what worked the first time round, namely Elson’s gentle vocals and passion for the pastoral and forlorn, and amplifies the whole package with greater musicianship and composition.

‘A Complicated Woman’ is not your average pop record. Then again, Self Esteem is not your average pop star. This is an album born for the stage.