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.

The ambition behind Apollo XXI was already easily perceptible on singles like ‘Playground’, whose energy could best be termed ‘Yung Prince’, and becomes clearer still over the course of its other 11 songs.

Stella Donnelly has an unwavering ability to execute a subtly empowering and relevant record with derisive humour and mischievous wit.

The real issue is that in a genre filled with imitators, many whom Deerhunter no doubt inspired, we need a bit more bang for our buck. When the oddities on this album ride so high they should have let complete weirdness take over.

This preference for impulsiveness and reaction off of one another when making their music comes through in the warm, emotive feel of the whole record.

Over its twelve tracks, the listener is taken down the proverbial rabbit hole as Grzegorz Kwiatkowski's hypnotic and repetitive lyrical attack lulls you along. This isn't an album that grabs you by the collar, but rather builds tension and release as it lures you through the dark thickets of your mind.

The band expertly place seemingly clashing sounds side by side, but with their lyrical deft and technical prowess are able to make it work effortlessly. Similarly, they consistently bring club-pop energy while employing conventional rock instrumentation, all the while having a level of lyrical honesty and wit others rarely achieve.

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

It isn't just the narratives that feel more mature however, the entire composition does. Something which stems from its two individual halves.

‘God Don’t Make Mistakes’ is a stunning, multi-faceted achievement.

‘10,000 gecs’ is a sub-thirty-minute blast of the duo at their best, creating some truly bonkers music and refusing to ever conform.

Although fans are nostalgically pining for the innocent, youthful sound of her voice from her early albums, there’s no questioning that she has a more controlled and comfortable vocal ability now.

It’s a fully realised, sprightly rocking album that proves that sometimes musicians are best left alone to do what they do best.

The land may not currently be fertile in terms of crops but it certainly is in artistry, as there is a wild eclecticism and experimentalism here that touches the soul.

‘Not Your Muse’ is not a revolutionary album, but every track is a more than enjoyable listen.

The album is bold, eccentric and proudly rooted in classical South Asian traditions, whilst sounding fresh and accessible at the same time.

To take influences from so many places, whilst still being as focused as 'Skin' is no mean feat and while it can be hard to define the line between the worlds the band traverse, no one else out there is walking that line right now as well as they do.

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.

King Princess’ work is arrestingly transgressive because of how comfortable she is with her sexuality. Now she’s releasing full-length projects, we’d all better get just as comfortable with it, and fast.

Jazmine Sullivan makes her Everest-like task look deceptively simple. A woman speaking her truth in poetic, soulful fashion, ‘Heaux Tales’ could be her defining chapter.

There’s a lot to like about this summer soundtrack packed to the left of your luggage.

A slow burn of an album, Broken Politics artfully cuts through a turbulent, noisy world.

'R.I.P.' is both an update on the bass explorations of restless Britain and perhaps a timeless thesaurus of blistered tones and ideas that younger producers will beg, borrow and steal from for years to come.

This is music that’s meticulous and expansive without ever falling into the trap of being boring or self-indulgent.

It’s a lengthy, beautiful work, and undoubtedly a late career high from one of the most important, courageous songwriters in the country.

An odd but beautiful and often remarkable album, Atlanta Millionaires Club has a depth of feeling that is difficult to shake off. Material that evidently emerged from a dark point in her life, this should represent the point Faye Webster steps out into the light.

Loss, regret and shame are wound up in this album’s DNA, but they are balanced out by a generous dose of hope, a solemn promise that someone can go through the darkest of times and come out stronger, steadier and more complete than ever before.

Antonoff, enhances his co-collaborator’s foundations here: take the humming on ‘Sober’ which comes accompanied with subtle, minimal keys – the perfect backdrop to Bartees’ candid songwriting.