Beautifully accomplished, ‘Weather Alive’ stands as an imposing career-high by a fine, fine songwriter.

JID’s latest release is a wonderful insight into the rapper’s formative years, and ultimately through the introspective manner allows for an enthralling listen.

He seems to explore his craft, experimenting with electronic instruments throughout each track, yet stays close to home.

Maya Hawke plays with vulnerability and honesty throughout ‘MOSS’, creating a compelling, delicate and melancholic listen.

On the surface, a hyperpop post-punk album should never work. But somehow, by some distorted miracle, Courting pulls it off – in the best way imaginable. In a landscape of so many albums regurgitating overbaked sounds, Courting have redefined guitar music. Instead of using the guitar as a songwriting tool, they use it as a weapon.

‘EBM’ is full of stadium-ready anthems and is a riveting, celebratory and bold musical odyssey that is both glorious and gritty in equal measure.

The songs have been reinterpreted and elevated by Khruangbin’s sonic retexturising and takes the listener through a technicoloured journey of Ali’s most-loved classics and B-sides from his extensive catalogue.

While the singles may be his most commercially appealing to date, he never once loses integrity or his aural signature as an artist.

A record that alternates between the playful and the emotive, ‘My Boy’ thrives on the songwriter’s restless creativity, while never truly settling into one sphere.

‘Born Pink’ gifts fans a mixture of commanding hip-hop tracks, satisfying pop tracks and affecting piano ballads.

Though the days of the jangly, innocuous Britpop they were so integral to establishing are gone, Suede haven’t lost their roots – they’ve just re-established them for a new era.

The Mars Volta have hit upon an incredibly surprising new phase in their multi-faceted evolution.

This fascinating collection of spirited hooks, and deeply heartfelt lyricism, cleverly blends high-tech energetic synths, quick wit, and trippy guitars into something you weren’t quite expecting. Arguably, the result is a much bolder record than his last solo debut ‘Twenty Twenty’.

‘SPARK’ reinvents Whitney as a contemporary syndicate of classic pop and their third album is an impressive, bold and contagious body of work that is more candid, emotional and contemplative than ever before.

This sophomore LP does a bit of everything, but this time around feels more refined, consistent and polished: exactly what a follow up should be. And on a label roster saturated with enormous amounts of talent, Rina Sawayama is making a pretty good claim to being the ruler.

Sudan Archives is proving that she is an artist who knows no bounds, and projects like this one are what is going to propel her further into acclaim and stardom.

It carries a deeply insidious atmosphere, never revealing what is coming round the corner before exploding into either a flurry of motion or into a whispering, ephemeral moment.

A successfully adventurous debut that bears countless relistens.

The soul tradition turns once more, and this evocative, moving record is leading the way.

Wanting more of something is hardly the worst criticism to be leveled at an album. With this long-awaited release, Santigold has once more shown the world she’s one of the game’s most unique, imaginative, and fun creators. It’s good to have her back.

‘Curtain Call 2’ is at its most engaging when the Detroit figure simply cuts back on the Billboard tie-ins, and reminds us all why he became such a revered rapper in the first place. ... As a project, however, ‘Curtain Call 2’ is weighed down by its flaws. There’s no ignoring the wayward path Eminem has taken over the past two decades, and the tracklisting reflects this.

The beautiful blends of genres and crisp production make ‘As Above, So Below’ an enthralling listen, and has Sampa raising the bar for herself once again.

It gels together so well that it is hard to find fault. Other than the album needs some trimming. A lot of trimming. Which is a shame as there is a fantastic album in there but navigating it can be overwhelming at times.

Pale Blue Eyes have clearly worked their socks off, and to produce something that carries integrity in putting to music the nature of reminiscence, all the while working tirelessly to fund it, is commendable. ‘Souvenirs’ is a visceral release of material that bookends the band’s formative chapter, and ushers in the next.

At times challenging, at others familiar and accessible, it demonstrates that 30 years after their debut album, Stereolab continue to surprise and reward, their unabating influence threading through every recess of left-of-centre modern music. Perhaps Stereolabesque is a fair term after all.

Punchy, peppy, and undeniably positive, ‘Keep On Smiling’ is an exuberant and life-affirming ambitious album that demonstrates that if in doubt, you have to choose happiness.

‘Yungblud’ has some of Harrison’s best tracks to date, but, as a whole, it’s not refined enough to be his magnum opus.

A record of fireworks, but few surprises. The songs kept succinct, punchy, and direct; there’s no house production about-turns, no moments of revelation, just sheer, unadulterated Khaled. It’s like being strapped in to a rollercoaster – at points its exhilarating, at others terrifying, and by the end you’re eager for it to be over.