‘Escape Room’ reverberates with cinematic flair and curatorial focus, but its true strength lies in Taylor’s understanding of the RnB rhapsody through time; the love song that is most effective when it’s spare and submerged. For this reason, ‘Escape Room’ is as necessary as anything Teyana Taylor has ever recorded.

Dream Wife’s self-titled debut is a satisfying and infectious trip of lo-fi indie pop that starts 2018 off with a much needed shot of adrenaline.

Ultimately, as a standalone record, Nothing feels somewhat incomplete.

Ultimately, the Achilles heel of the whole project is how invested, how much fans will truly believe in this. To some, it’s a meme stretched to breaking point, the elasticity of his flute-playing hauled out to become an opaque sheet, void of detail. To others, it’s an excellent – almost unclassifiable – mood piece. Whether it’s the meanderings of an internet-savvy millionaire or the crucial work of a modern day ambient auteur is perhaps in the eye of the beholder.

Unlike their first three albums, What Went Down arrives without any obvious standout singles and is a far cry from Foals' early energetic indie sound. On the other hand, it's impossible to deny that the overall album is a hugely accomplished effort from one of Britain's best surviving bands.

Sure, few will love everything on here but the hubris, yet the sprawling mess that is More Light can’t help but impress.

An album that plays true to who MUNA are: inquisitive, bright, and ever-defiant.

The darker, lilting tones of Oreja De Arena work better, but this album still sounds confused. As a result, its overall impact is diminished.

An ever present Gang of Four musical demeanor, and the untiring pace of Fugazi makes 'The Chaos' quite aptly relentless.

The Eel Pie Islanders' sees the band mature as songwriters, which should attract the mainstream attention that's so overdue them.

Though hit and miss, Brighter Wounds is a solid addition to the group’s catalogue.

The Scandinavian chanteuse has returned with more anthemic contenders in the shape of her sophomore album 'How To Let Go'.

A solid return, there’s a lot to recommend here – for those familiar with Slow Pulp’s influences, or otherwise. Engaging songwriting with a real punch, we’re already looking forward to catching them live.

Last Place is an occasionally misty-eyed but very welcome return. A broken but pretty mess.

There will be plenty of people who opt to be snobby about the fact that this record is so commercial, so polished and so brazen, but those people are all, to a man, idiots. If you can't love these songs, you are incapable of experiencing joy itself.

Why Love Now is a brash ballache of an album that will make you hate yourself as much as it makes you hate the world. Rest assured lads, the bar is now slightly higher than it was a week ago.

Shelter is a haven that tugs you out of your comfort zone.

Alexis Taylor’s vocals are always worth experiencing, blessed as he is with one of his generation’s most striking pop instruments, yet ‘Freakout / Release’ doesn’t tug at the heartstrings in the same fashion as ‘Flutes’, say.

‘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.

Other than final track ‘A Certain Spirit’, the clearest crossover of irked techno and David Byrne-d, samba deconstruction, the melting pot (remember those aforementioned ingredients) that has gestated for five years ends up being served cold as gazpacho.

An apt step forward, Rave Tapes finds its makers matching grace and irreverence, noise and beauty with the don’t-give-a-f*ck bravado of people who can only know better.

This polished set is pure aural candy from front-to-back and firmly re-establishes Jackson as one of Britain’s premier pop talents.

I Love You But I Don't Know What To Say perfectly concludes a haunting album that truly reveals Adams' bruised soul.

If you don't like vocal dance music, if you're going off funky or you don't like a bloke playing live behind a faux-Polynesian tribal mask then avoid. Otherwise SBTRKT will delight the droves of bass fanatics that want something a little more sophisticated.

Azari and III are good clean honest fun, but not the future of music.

Davidson has easily transitioned between dim clubs and big festivals and learned to balance her acerbic ‘existential pop’ with hard-nosed techno. Drawing on the former, ‘Renegade Breakdown’’s appeal is in some ways broader, but she also risks putting off some of the initiated. On the whole, it functions as a reminder of the virtues of going against the grain and not playing it safe.

There’s enough here to make even the most discerning New Rap playlist – but as a body of work it doesn’t land in the effortless fashion that made EARTHGANG such a pivotal pairing.

The Canadian boy-girl duo's debut is a whirl of delicate dream pop.