More than once, in fact, the album surprises with moments of rock gusto. Wilson’s trademark balladry is still in full force, but musically this is a much rawer affair than anything previous album ‘There Are No Saints’ could have foretold.

High doses of intricacy and complexity are contained on Reward. It is a record that signals an attempt to find and hold on to meaning in life. Intimate and personal, it is also one where mumbling is the order of the day, and where a lack of clarity is desired, intended and legit.

Amyl and the Sniffers is a thumping, screaming, wailing magnet for misfits, losers, and outcasts, a clarion call for rejects and mis-shapes that is also an obscenely, outrageously good time.

Flamagra reminds us just how good Flying Lotus sounds when soundtracking transcendence.

An odd but beautiful and often remarkable album, Atlanta Millionaires Club has a depth of feeling that is difficult to shake off. Material that evidently emerged from a dark point in her life, this should represent the point Faye Webster steps out into the light.

Rammstein have resurrected to bring us their seventh studio album. And boy is it the record we’ve all been waiting for.

Third Avenue feels like a transitional project for Fredo, from his grittier street mixtapes to hopefully something more expansive. His inability to escape from his street-focused comfort zone is sometimes frustrating, especially when the project improves after he opens up later on in the album. But he gives us glimpses of a great project further down the line.

This compelling and provocative record is a haunting echo of a seemingly hopeless vignette of Britain today, where slowthai offers the slightest glimmer of optimism for a potentially brighter future.

The trademark visceral beats, scathing lyrics and the general feeling of anger and aggression that peppered his previous albums have been replaced with slower beats and irresistible soul hooks. At first this change in tone, and pace, is jarring and you are waiting for it to kick off, but as the album progresses you get into it and dig this new Tyler.

With new voices, new avenues of exploration and new lyrical viewpoints, The National, alongside producer-director Mike Mills, once again show their ability to reinvent themselves to produce something that is more than just an album.

The album has immense scale, wonderfully indulgent soundscapes and limitless sing-alongs.

Dedicated is a joyride of anthemic melodies and fist-pumping bangers that see Jepsen at the top of her game. Revolving in a shimmering cloud of ‘80s synth, bouncy bass and progressive percussion, she has certified herself as a serious contender in the pop arena.

The album is full of anticipation. At times it’s ugly and overblown. But it’s a collective vision, one that reflects back on our own inputs into the dataset as well as at our folk stories of survival and resistance.

Through seeking comfort in the analogue, HÆLOS are breaking rich, new ground.

At first listen the slower pace may not appeal to everybody, and that’s fine, but at a time where everything seems so unsettled, it works great as a listenable stress ball.

Emotion and passion are apparent in every word, key and chord throughout this project, boldly asserting Jamila’s second offering as a brilliant new addition to her own legacy, rather than a mere follow up to 2016’s ‘HEAVN’.

YU is a swagger drenched, masterful treatise from a woman with a new perspective, new weapons, and the confidence to use them.

As a whole Hurts 2B Human is not perfect. It is full of emotion and passion in certain parts, and yet devoid of it in others.

An absorbing, mystical voyage that lingers in the memory long after morning has broken and the celestial observer has vanished.

His lyrics are blunt yet honest, taking personal demons and harnessing them to stadium-ready anthems like ‘Anxiety’ and ‘Angel Wings’, all the while avoiding self-parody.

As a collection, Father of the Bride holds together remarkably well. This is not some grand tome where these indie vets try and break new sonic territory every track for better or worse. Here we see a bunch of thirty-somethings letting go of some past anxieties and leaning into newfound securities. It's a relaxed record happily borrowing from the modern American songbook, a little Fleetwood Mac here, a little Paul Simon there.

Designer is a striking return, pursuing solitary aesthetic goals in a fashion both unrelenting and admirable. It perhaps lacks a little of the indefinable magic that made 2017’s ‘Party’ such a gripping experience, but in its ability to conjure bold, riveting songwriting it underlines Aldous Harding’s position as a truly remarkable artist.

Love is where the album falls short of delivering--containing most of the pre-release singles and the mainstream Clean Bandit collaboration ‘Baby’--there are few moments where it feels like the signature Marina. ... The Fear half of the album is riddled with concern and confusion about life itself and the darker emotions that come with it. Opener ‘Believe In Love’ sits near the top of Marina’s most captivating songs.

The heart of the matter on this record carries so much weight and substance, but it is presented in light playful ways and therein lies its appeal and beauty. It has light and shade.

The most impressive thing about In League With Dragons is that it’s the 17th Mountain Goats album, and Darnielle shows no signs of running on empty. This is an album that should excite existing fans of the band. ... It also works well as a gateway for new fans as the songs are catchy, the music is well balanced and when the band hit that sweet groove its glorious.

In an age of hostile austerity manufactured by moral panic-inducing powers, Ezra Collective’s debut effort is a polyrhythmic balm for disillusioned youth seeking a dose of musical dopamine.

Oh My God is Kevin Morby’s attempt at crafting his own post-modern American Songbook. The sound of a succinct vision--executed precisely as intended.

Allowing each artist to dominate the tracks in their own way, Girl Unit has curated a project so personal and progressive it’s no wonder he’s made us wait so long.