As after parties go, ‘brat and it’s completely different but also still brat’ is one for the books.

With ‘Sometimes I Might Be Introvert’, the answer seems to be found in widening that scope and ambition in a way we’ve never seen before. The cinematic flourishes are cranked up and Simz is more confessional than ever, pondering what defines her as both Little Simz the artist and Simbi the person. It makes for addictive listening.

If anything, 'Proof' provides context to K-pop’s infiltration into the Western industry and gives reasoning to BTS’ dominance.

Put together, the disparate elements that make up ‘My Light, My Destroyer’ may betray the occasional influence, but combine to produce a singular world – one that is, at points, both deadly serious and funny, but always habitable.

‘GOLLIWOG’ is an abrasive, demanding album. woods’ afro-pessimist vision of a world fundamentally hostile to every facet of black existence (family, history, spirituality) is a hell of a lot to chew on. However, it’s also a beautifully singular vision, one that’s delivered with thrilling intelligence and visceral, gripping force.

This is a record that showcases Tyler, the Creator’s continued refusal to be caged in by any set sound or genre, with references to his earlier style alongside tracks that sound completely new. Defying expectations, Tyler, the Creator continues to rise.

Half of the time Barnett, sounds like she isn't even trying, shrugging out moments of brilliance with ease and nonchalance. Whether she sits and thinks or sits and does nothing, it would appear the results are still golden.

By the time the more politically minded triptych of ‘Don’t Get Captured’, ‘Thieves!’ and ‘2100’ roll round you’ve almost forgotten just what El and Mike are capable of when they drag their eyes away from their own navels. Thankfully there’s enough gold at hand to excuse Run The Jewels for getting a little bit carried away with their own runaway success.

Cinematic in scope and delicately constructed, the album grows from warm, organic techno (‘Persona’) through ambient electronica (‘Dreamer’s Wake’) to the insistent synths, drums and drones of ‘Hidden’. Lovely stuff.

What is disarming about ‘ICONOCLASTS’ then is this level of earnestness, von Hausswolff’s cutting self-exploration. Here, she doesn’t hide behind imposing aural architecture or bookish mythology (though, there’s still plenty of both). Instead, she wrestles with loss, faith, and love – mature, deeply universal themes that her earlier oeuvre sometimes obscured.

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 so heart-rending you could keep yourself wrapped inside its comfort for hours and not come out. To all those troubled minds and torn hearts clinging to the past, this is utterly heavenly.

‘Alfredo’ excels on every front, a record that fuses a thirst for fresh innovation with a depth of love for hip-hop and rap music that is almost unparalleled. Pretty much an instant classic, it’s the sound of Freddie Gibbs finally bursting free, working with tour de force production to surge past expectations and claim his place at the absolute pinnacle.

'Big Time' is a focused record that contains stunning examples of vulnerability, almost too exposed to watch. Her ability to shed layers artistically and emotionally, over and over, leaves you excited to see where her next destination may be.

While each of the band's EPs were like short, sharp gut-shots, Vile Child feels diluted in comparison, and as such is a record that shows plenty of promise, but not one that will change lives.

Designer is a striking return, pursuing solitary aesthetic goals in a fashion both unrelenting and admirable. It perhaps lacks a little of the indefinable magic that made 2017’s ‘Party’ such a gripping experience, but in its ability to conjure bold, riveting songwriting it underlines Aldous Harding’s position as a truly remarkable artist.

Almost every track on ‘Magdalene’ is built upwards from a simple piano line, hammering home the impression of someone delicately yet decisively knitting themselves back together after coming undone.

As a whole, ‘Letter To You’ is a wonderfully warm experience, perhaps Springsteen’s most human for some time.

‘Jubilee’ sees Zauner fully unshackled for the first time, keeping the emotive core of her songwriting and marrying it with boundless energy and ambition. It’s truly a triumph.

Masterful in its softness of touch, Sault know when to apply and relieve pressure; at moments it can be intense, yet others are bathed in a beatific R&B halo.

While familair touchstones remain in place, they are thouroughly eroded and inverted by Doctor L's production adding subtle,a dn not so subtle, layers of noise and distortion along with a throbbing bass presense and post punk reverb.

Blurring the lines between inner and outer worlds, ‘Manning Fireworks’ is a powerful achievement, one that deserves to last.

‘Euro-Country’ is impeccably timed, but it’s also a weighty release, with the gorgeous Nashville-tinged songwriting allied to some fantastic polemic. This is a fantastic release – CMAT in excelsis.

‘Only God Is Above Us’ is an elegant summation of the band’s journey and strengths – of joy, sincerity and a feeling of believing in and offering calm amongst the chaos.

While it may be hard to place genre-wise, it’s not hard to see its quality and sense of ambition.

Hypno-grooving at its best.

A fantastically consistent, perpetually illuminating full-length, it shows Nas to retain a hunger, and sheer fire that so many of his peers have lost. Recalling former glories while remaining fixed on the future, ‘The King’s Disease III’ underlines the rapper’s current creative streak.

The new album presents songs of confession, reflection, wit, heartache and true crime in a new yet distinctive way.