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

Solidifies the Salem, Massachusetts four-piece’s continued brilliance. These 10 tracks, which clock in at a tight 31 minutes, waste not a milli-second of that sharp runtime. Every moment is calculated with ruthless precision and designed for maximum emotional impact.

Done and dusted in 35 minutes, it’s tempting to view ‘Wuthering Heights’ as a studio palette cleanser, a means for Charli xcx to fully divest herself from the ‘Brat’ era. Yet the music itself so much more rewarding than that definition allows – at times gorgeous, at others deliberately grotesque, it offers a series of dark gothic fantasies that inhabit a transformative realm.

The album is intense, emotional, energetic. It feels beautiful to be invited into Harle’s world and the way his mind works.

‘the apple tree under the sea’ isn’t just going to be one of the year’s best debuts, but one of the year’s best records, full stop.

‘The Fall-Off’ feels like his masterpiece, a classic right off the bat.

Despite being less hit-filled than previous works, ‘Piss In The Wind’ is potentially the most authentic Joji project to date, a scenic route through every facet of his sonic and auditory identity.

the duo have created a record that captures the leap from breakout buzz to real influence, marking the moment a rising act becomes a shaping force.

‘Butterfly’ doesn’t just reaffirm the endeavour’s relevance; it raises the bar. It may only be February, but this already feels like a defining electronic record of the year.

Yes, it’s also chaotic and messy, but also catchy. This is not an album, or band, to sleep on in 2026.

By Storm have come up with an engrossing quasi-debut here, one that slots them firmly into the lineage of experimental rap acts of yore (the great, somewhat unsung Dälek deserve to be mentioned again), but also feels wholly modern.

With every track, she proves she’s an artist unafraid to test the edges of her sound – and to make them entirely her own.

Joyce Manor’s latest is a very likeable and highly-charged return from a proper contemporary cult band, one that boasts an admirable ability to tap into a resonant well of impassioned feelings, in spite of one or two slightly misjudged digressions.

The unabashed experimentalism can be jarring at times, but the project ultimately refuses to play it safe, carrying a quintessential European pop sensibility throughout.

An assured work framed engrossing ideas.

With the warm, organic production allowing his songs to reach their full potential, ‘For The First Time, Again’ deserves to be a slow-burn success.

It’s the sound of someone holding a mirror up to themselves, a probing, insightful, often revelatory song cycle that revels in risk-taking.

This album embodies the 1976 punk sound 50 years on and despite the years, Buzzcocks are still as strong as ever and I can’t wait to hear what they have next in their new era.

At the heart of ‘Wormslayer’ lies an undeniable truth – Kula Shaker’s creative fire has never burned brighter.

With as many albums in this century as in the last, ‘Yeah Yeah Yeah’ finds Cast building on the momentum of the previous two years with both confidence and quality.

It’s as though these songs have that uncanny ability to shut out the outside world and speak to no one but the listener. When you achieve that, you’re usually onto something special.

‘How Did I Get Here?’ finds its strength in cohesion, shaped by an artist confident enough to sit with complexity rather than rush toward resolution, and who understands that growth can be quiet, deliberate, and deeply personal.

They know how to tackle them [cover songs], so they still sound as vibrant and exciting as the original but add that something extra so they sound, and feel, like a Xiu Xiu song.

What a thrilling and implicitly optimistic experience it’ll provide. ‘Ferrum Sidereum’ is the sound of human brains (and souls) firing in a manner that no machine ever will.

‘STAY HERE 4 LIFE’ feels like his re-commitment to the art, a high point on an album laden with anthems – ‘NO TRESPASSING’ is sheer, filthy club music, while ‘AIR FORCE (BLACK DEMARCO)’ marries Mega Drive electronics to impetuous flows. There’s subtlety, too.

This is an album that doesn’t really need any artificial bluster to draw attention. The songs are more than good enough.

Madison has taken all the strengths of 2023’s Grammy nominated ‘Silence Between Songs’ to craft an impressive album full of vulnerability and powerhouse vocals.

‘What Happened To The Streets?’ provides more questions than answers, and beneath the brash moments leaves you wondering about the rapper’s longevity.