A singular experience, ‘Island Family’ is unsettling at first, until the listener begins to relax into the world Pictish Trail has prepared. An attempt to discuss familiar experiences in an unfamiliar way, it’s a rewarding, groundbreaking insight into his life, one that retains a playfully experimental edge in the process.

The music is stark and abrasive but there is a feeling of hope. Lurking underneath it all themes of gender and insecurity litter ‘The Great Regression’.

Although ‘Present Tense’ leans on the cumulative distance between its collaborators as its primary subject matter, it generates a distinct vacuity within the record.

At times brooding, at times impossibly bubbling with light joy, this is a release that highlight Mattiel’s musical abilities - easily able to drop one sound for another at a moment’s notice, and doing it all with absolute class.

‘MOTOMAMI’ blows away the lingering strictures of lockdown, and finds a true modern icon bathing in personal freedoms.

A hugely effective partnership, Curren$y’s raps – weed, women, the trappings of fame – don’t dwell on subtlety, but it’s the manner in which they are presented that affords ‘Continuance’ its depth.

Duchampian yet danceable and nothing short of essential.

Thanks to Black Milk’s production this is their most accomplished album since 1995's ‘Temple Of Boom’.

Even when she’s not at her best, she displays enough nous and melody to stand head and shoulders above practically all her rivals.

The album really feels like it was years in the making. Somehow the neo-soul-leaning cuts (‘Anywhere’) complement the heavier-set tracks (‘Pusher Man: BWI’) with genius levels of curation.

In classic Alex Cameron form, ‘Oxy Music’ is full of true lyrical artistry in the most to-the-point way possible.

'Great American Painting' is a record that is strongest for its instrumentation, featuring The Districts' typical cross-streams of guitars that amply lamenting vocals, intriguing listeners by making reference to social issues within America.

To take influences from so many places, whilst still being as focused as 'Skin' is no mean feat and while it can be hard to define the line between the worlds the band traverse, no one else out there is walking that line right now as well as they do.

With 'Broken Equipment' BODEGA has transformed from a band to watch to something truly exciting indeed. Any early album of the year contender for those who like their music as sharp as a knife.

The album not only delivers O’Connor's signature use of bubbly synths, electric pianos and programmed beats that instantly make you feel good, but it also serves as a lesson on learning how to heal and move on.

With 'Diplo', listeners can raise their hands to the sky and sink into undulating house, dancing safely under the watchful production of a ten-time Grammy nominee.

‘Year of Love’ opens the record with a palm-muted guitar riff, unexpectedly, and from there ‘Classic Objects’ blossoms into classic Jenny Hval, ‘Cemetery of Splendour’ and ‘Jupiter’ forming its plain, heavenly, skyscraping highlights.

Multitude is the perfect return for such a formidable musical talent, serving not only as a reminder of his innovative talents, but also highlighting how much richer his soundscaping and storytelling has grown over his hiatus.

As they create their most on-their-terms album to date, Band of Horses manage to lift a weight from your shoulders you perhaps didn’t know was there.

A noble experiment, ‘Digital Roses Don’t Die’ displays an artist willing to stretch, willing to take risks. He never names the source of his adoration, but the real winners here are Big K.R.I.T.’s fans.

Throughout a collection of moving gems that have the potential to evoke heartbreak, ‘Nobody’s Home’ also houses contagious jams that speak to Bakar’s take on the infectious nature of indie rock.

Effervescent, exuberant, wry, but always appealing, ‘Run Rose Run’ displays Dolly’s evergreen storytelling prowess and is a vibrant and compelling body of work.

A song cycle that touches on identity, loss, and the path through it all, it’s one marked by maturity and a growing awareness of the potency of her own talents.

A record that thrives on subtlety, ‘Screen Time’ is engaging but never simple, its quiet complexities taking time to truly unfurl amid Thurston Moore's painterly landscapes.

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.

With ‘23’ Cench truly puts his name at the top of the leaderboard. The ear for production, vulnerability, braggadocio, and likability make him one of the UK’s premier artists, not just in drill or rap but UK music as a whole.

‘God Don’t Make Mistakes’ is a stunning, multi-faceted achievement.

A project driven by a focussed, finessed sense of purpose, ‘The Tipping Point’ is an excellent song cycle, one that touches on their innermost feelings.