As a whole, the album begins strong but unfortunately strays a little towards the end. Overall, Ali Barter’s follow-up to ‘A Suitable Girl’, is more than honest, more than genuine and more than just good music. However, it also has more than a fair share of missed marks.

Perhaps too slick for some, the Crowded House catalogue has never been afraid to be open. Maybe that’s a fault, but there’s certainly nothing wrong with a slice of innocence and songwriting purity in a landscape so smothered with irony.

‘Hard Cold Fire’ represents a much wanted return from the band that seem more unstoppable than ever, and quite rightly so.

Wise’s third record is a glossy-smooth addition to a stellar discography, oozing with infectious melodies, tempered production and lashes of sex appeal.

Falling Down A Mountain marks the return of a bolder spirit and, as a result, there is another truly great Tindersticks album to add to your collection.

Sheer, unabashed stadium sonics delivered with a heart of gold, ‘Imploding The Mirage’ finds The Killers providing one of the biggest – in both a sonic and emotional sense – albums of their career. It’s a propulsive achievement, pushing their songwriting to the limit in a thrilling, Devil-may-care manner.

What one quickly realises is that this is an accomplished record.

There's a lot of slightly tedious ambient wallpaper. Sure, it works to unite an otherwise diverse set of songs, but you can't help but think there's a much better play list waiting to be whittled down.

Despite being heavily influenced by the 80’s, Lost Girls has a timeless feel and is sonically pleasing.

Pleasingly self-referential, ‘Household Name’ is a joyous selection, a record that melds together its alt-rock influences to locate a distinctive voice, pitting intricate instrumentation against some killer pop hooks. Looks like we may just have found our summer soundtrack.

Despite the density of the music, Obsidian is a wholly immersive experience, setting Baths back on course.

While British Road Movies can’t quite match the shock of the new provided by The Long Blondes’ early material, it’s a strong and confident comeback, and better than we’d any right to expect from someone who hasn’t been involved in an album release for over eight years.

If Plaza doesn’t wholly satisfy from start to finish, it’s more than a mere transitional album. Call it a pathway forward that’s anything but straightforward, and is all the more beguiling because of its asymmetrical digressions.

At times grainy and abrasive it's also mischievous, melodic and, ultimately, absolutely adorable.

Irrespective of how you choose to approach it, the final installment of the trilogy that Hansen began back in 2011 fully underlines his strength, deftness and creative dexterity as a producer.

Through intensely personal storytelling, Black has created something that is undeniably relatable. Whether through shared experience or a basic recognition of the feelings on show, there is a sincere universality in his music.

bar italia unravels the sprawling and playful, yet concerted, development of their sound. Largely abandoning the sketchy, diaristic transitions and abrupt ends so characteristic of their previous sound—and World Music acts, generally—’Tracey Denim’ progresses with relative sonic coherence.

Consistently surprising, fanciful and varied, each genre flip, from pop, dub and hip-hop to rap is traversed with ease.

First Mind is captivating, full of intricacies and influences that should see it celebrated as one of the great albums of 2014.

It’s a time capsule of how Cash was feeling in the early nineties and is a reminder of his immense talents as both a singer and a songwriter and serves as a poignant and career-defining moment of the Man in Black’s enduring musical legacy.

There is an urgency heard in each song that completes ‘WE WERE JUST HERE’, as if to grasp at a fleeting emotion before it fades away.

Half the tracks see the beats surface into formed drums but for the rest the stratification and distortion takes the sound field to new places. Dangerously engaging.

III is definitely a progression for her as an artist. The more upbeat tracks are interspersed among softer, more delicate, heartfelt ones that represent the duality of her personality and also increase its replay value.

As a whole, the album seems to rally against the instant gratification which is a main feature in so much contemporary music—this was definitely not made with TikTok in mind. Instead, it encourages stillness and contemplation, rewarding deep listening with rhythmic undercurrents that lure you into a meditative state.

Bring On The Sun’s fascinating sonic tensions never make the listener feel tense. This is cure-all musical therapy for the ages.

Her very personal, almost rapper-like approach to writing and melody is at its best on the LP’s most emotional cuts.

‘History Books’ picks up exactly where the band left off, but with a renewed wind in their sails. Big guitars, anthemic singalongs and bruised and bloodied ballads are in no short supply, while Fallon’s existential lyricism reveals a renewed nuance to his songwriting.

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.