Its delicacy and sentimentality may strike a cheesy note on first listen, but Post-Tropical is a definite grower.

Total Life Forever is a massive leap forward for the band. The music writhes with a renewed ambition, capable of moving from near ambient strains of electronica to propulsive African funk in a drum break.

Though it’s slow and brooding, Impermanence is bold enough to employ silence as part of the music.

At seventeen tracks it's a purposefully meandering ride, one filled with funky instrumentals and ambient vignettes. While songs such as 'Lately', 'Insecurity' and 'Sex Emoji' show the band has not lost their ability to deliver funky floor-fillers, it's the more subdued material that really shines.

Throughout, Kirk’s hyper-literate brand of songwriting is fully captivating, thanks in part to his propensity for a real zinger.

To hear tracks like ‘Dizzy Dizzy’ or ‘Halleluwah’ hacked down to mere Can-ettes for the humble 7” format feels a little like trying to make sense of a vast painted canvass simply by focusing on, say, the top left corner. Once you get over that, with singles typically being the most accessible or marketable moments in a band’s trajectory, this collection represents a superb introduction to the Can catalogue for anyone lacking the willpower or patience to trawl their albums or the goldmine of material presented on 2012’s essential ‘The Can Tapes.’

Some of Ghetto Madness hasn’t dated well, yet elsewhere it’s upfront and out the gutter stature gives prudes and purists the finger.

Bloated at 16 tracks, it could have been a genuinely strong EP that formed a platform for Dizzee’s return to the sound he helped birth.

With Screen Memories, Maus once again welcomes all that dare enter into his all-consuming, oddball world.

It’s sometimes a little scratchy around the edges, but mostly honest, tender and wonderful.

Sleater-Kinney permit themselves a few self-satisfied experimentations – not everything comes off, such as the slightly wayward ‘Method’, for example. At its peak, however, ‘Path Of Wellness’ is a riot, one that underlines Sleater-Kinney’s hallowed status while providing a continual challenge to the idea of them as a ‘legacy’ artist.

Brilliant – if overdue – debut album. ... Welcome to Alison Goldfrapp’s paradisiacal, tempting, thrilling vision of the sublime.

Rock-hard and sloppy in equal measure, Boy King is a creature of base instinct from a band of high intellect more used to drawing their songs from their frontal lobes than their testes (even if their lyrics often suggest otherwise).

There's a wild-eyed energy that pulsates throughout Nozinja Lodge's 45-minute length and, while this may be an acquired taste, it captures shangaan electro's kaleidoscopic nature perfectly.

A bold, kaleidoscopic funnel of sound, Valet's rich return is worthy of celebration.

Equally fragile and resplendent in its execution, it's the kind of album that stays with you long after its haunting close.

Having made the record about themselves, surviving under external and internal pressure and marathoning against the grain, Maria BC has spoken for all of us.

With this new album Wallace proves himself as a complex and multifaceted producer and this makes us even more excited to see what he’ll come out with next.

Out of devastation, Loraine has pieced together an album to cherish.

Overall, 'S&M2' is a worthy successor to its predecessor, but not without its faults. ... From the outset, it’s clear the recording is sharper and punchier than its 20-year-old counterpart, but with a far less forgiving mix. While before the orchestra and band blended into one digestible wall of noise, at times, it sounds like instruments are competing for room this time around.

'Music' is an album that shines its brightest light on Sings himself. Often lending his talents to the work of others - including Rex Orange County’s ‘Loving Is Easy’ and Free Nationals’ ‘Apartment’ - Sings often had to be comfortable on the sidelines. 'Music', however, sees this prolific musician finally move centre stage.

Viagra Boys have a deep well of emotional intelligence hidden underneath their aggressively ignorant façade.

At once a relatively pragmatic re-release of already heard material and the satisfying conclusion to its previous flirtations, Joli Mai is a hybrid: part-album, part DJ-toolbox--and totally playable, in any context.

'Your Hero Is Not Dead' is essential listening for anyone at odds with themselves or the current state of society, which really should be just about everyone at this point.

In forty minutes, the band not only reminds listeners why they became scene heroes but also why they’re one of the UK’s most thrilling exports. For our money, it’s another home-run of a record.

The unconventional twists and turns of My Love Is Cool makes Wolf Alice one of the most exciting new bands around.

‘star-crossed’ demands to be listened to in one go. ... She has calcified a range of difficult, overwhelming, sometimes liberating emotions into a time capsule marking the most turbulent time of her life. This is heart on sleeve storytelling.

A thriller from start to finish, Been Stellar’s ‘Scream From New York, NY’ is one of the most assured indie rock debuts to land on our desk this year. Focussed, concise, and rippling with incredible energy, it’s an assured 10-track statement that blends visceral melody with raw power, tapping into their live prowess while embracing the clinical control of the studio environment.