A strong project from Fredo who shows how to be successful by sticking to your own sound. The production of this album is perfect with the choice of beats getting better as the album progresses.

The answers aren’t as easily obtained as on its Grammy-winning forebear, but ‘King’s Disease II’ dares to ask questions of its maker, and its audience.

Independently released, ‘shame’ is raw and expressive, the result of infinite creative freedom after leaving their label.

Twenty years in, and Liars are no easier to comprehend – but that’s makes their version of the truth so compelling.

He sounds freer than ever. ‘The House Is Burning’ subverts expectations. ... Rashad’s music is like a sonic encyclopaedia of Southern rap reference points.

It’s immersive and ambiguous, these tales belong to you as much as they do the person next to you on the train.

Patiently moving into a new era, ‘Happier Than Ever’ is shrouded in a transformative darkness.

Remaining difficult to pin down even after several listens, it platforms a true artist whose creativity isn’t about to be hemmed by the marketplace – he’s got higher goals.

Eleven years on from her debut, TORRES’ songwriting remains as infatuating as ever.

A reinvigorated set, it’s the sound of a band resurgent.

Whether in love, experience or pain. This album supplies much-needed evidence for those experiencing heartache that their tale is not solitary, but there’s no right answer, and there’s comfort in that.

Playful yet packed with feeling, ‘For Free’ suggests that this is one music legend whose story is far from complete.

While it features some surging highs, it doesn’t quite dispel notions that Anne-Marie has yet to nail down a singular sound she can call her own.

Self-consciously designed to echo a transformative lysergic experience, ‘Yellow’ comes to embody everything Emma-Jean Thackray strives towards, and describes: you emerge in a quite different space than the one you entered in, the world around you subtly transfigured.

He draws on the many splintered facets of UK rap – and other sonic traits besides – while somehow transcending them. Literate, wise, and emotionally devastating, ‘We’re All Alone In This Together’ places Dave at the absolute pinnacle of British music.

The “highs” are as potent and heady as ever but ultimately, they’re ephemeral.

‘Gold-Diggers Sound’ is an effortless and easy listen thanks to the high production value, Bridges’ velvety-smooth vocals, and the strength of his songwriting, it’s set to be one of the albums of the year.

‘All Over The Place’ swaps the focussed UK rap of his debut for something broader, balancing soulful guests and slick production in the process. While not everything here excels, it’s a bold record and cements KSI’s place as a key player in UK music.

A dazzling display of technical and emotional virtuosity, ‘Busy Guy’ is an incredible experience, a work of true intimacy from a songwriter whose return is long overdue. Magical.

A transitional work that finds the songwriter operating with a subtle sense of evolution, it’s the sound of a supremely gifted young artist finding space to stop, and ask: what not…?

‘Faith’ succeeds by offering not ony an elegiac portrait of Pop Smoke, but also a vision of what he could have become.

It doesn’t disappoint. Unapologetically heavy, with some spell-binding riffs and addictive hooks, ‘Below’ takes us across twelve gritty tunes all reflective of the turbulence of fourteen months spent in isolation.

Clairo is clearer now on who she is and who she wants to be. On ‘Sling’ there is the sense that Clairo is in flight, except this time she isn’t running away from her little ghosts. On this record she runs towards them, even dances with them a little.

The album’s 14-tracks takes the listener on a mystical journey of hope, realism, racism and, eventually, the bright stars above. Unfortunately, with every shot of adrenaline and excitement that comes through tracks such as 'Obrigado', 'Mirrors' (featuring SnoH Aalegra and Cam O’bi) and 'Skip To My Lou', there are other that slam on the brakes just as forcefully, just as momentum and energy were building.

It sometimes feels a bit too quick, with most of its tracks coming in at or around three minutes in length. Overall though, hardly anything is forced and it all feels well presented and devilishly melodic.

Wilson has a fantastic ear for the unexpected. Similarly, the timbre of ‘Mountains’ sees Wilson’s vocal blend like a true instrument. A woman strong in her practise, with little room for improvement. 'ALPHA' is Charlotte Day Wilson in 360.

‘It Won’t Always Be Like This’ distills an optimism we can just about taste, but can’t quite feel. The sound of a band coming into their own, it finds INHALER taking a deep breath, and making the most important step forwards of their career.

It’s not easy to write an album about yourself without seeming egotistical, and it’s also not easy to write one which touches on themes of gang violence and poverty without falling into braggadocio or morbidity. On this album, Vince Staples has pulled off both. It may be a short album, but it’s an incredibly deep one.