A deeply mixed return, then, and perhaps not advisable as your first entry point to his solo work. We all know that Ian Brown can make waves; today he has chosen to make Ripples.

From the very first note Encore is superb, a joyous, addictive experience. Remarkably, it’s everything we’d want from a Specials album in 2019 and more.

Tracks like ‘Swamp and Bay’ bring us punchy indie rock, and ‘Hoax and the Shrine’ give us woeful nursery rhyme acoustics befitting to a reflective train ride in a coming-of-age film. A development for Girlpool, and one of sheer enigmatic bliss.

It’s not a particularly groundbreaking Beirut album, but it is certainly a beautiful Beirut album.

An album which altogether represents a welcome change of direction.

Why You So Crazy? is a mixed bag, but the scales are tipped too far towards the underwhelming. Too much is poorly executed and feels incomplete, with an air of self-indulgence.

There is so much right about this album that it’s hard to criticise: Swindle’s vision to blend different worlds of underground music, together with his choice of features--as well as intriguing changes in pace--are what makes this album great.

While it lacks the untethered aggression of past efforts, there’s a mean underbelly to tracks like ‘Beverly’ and ‘Howl’ that makes up for this.

If you like your music heavy with feels, story and a tangible sense of nostalgia, this is for you. Oberst and Bridgers have created one of those rare collaborative albums that rank with the best efforts of the respective artists.

Collaboration with Rancid’s Tim Armstrong, huh? Sounds right up plenty of people’s streets. But that “sweet spot” (in the main) seems to boil down to some cheesy scratching in amongst the ska pop (see ‘My Name Is Rat Boy’) and Jamie T-style vocals. But all is not lost. The keys of ‘Follow Your Heart’ are dreamy and unexpected.

This album captures an occasionally combustible but largely uncomfortable sound of a previously fearless and pioneering band caught in a crisis of confidence, overriding their own musical instincts to pursue an idealised version of themselves they picture in their own heads.

The world of hip-hop and rap is changing and, while Future’s pattern works well, it becomes slightly repetitive with every listen.

Assume Form isn’t a radical reinvention, but more a refinement. Live strings, for example, bring an organic warmth missing in some of his formative work.

It is so unmistakably Deerhunter without sacrificing any of their mythos or crucial genetic makeup. And we sure can't find any fault with that.

It sticks in the mind for a good while after and just keeps bringing you back in with fantastic production, brilliant pop songwriting and a central personality as easy to like and support as any on the current music scene.

The moments of nu-disco are superb, yet are weighed down by the sometimes-cringey segments of auto-crooning.

Just bask in The Unseen in Between enigmatic glory.

Mason is going from strength to strength, and new album Above the Light is quite possibly the most grandiose thing he has released to date.

A more concise LP that continues LUH's mythos, whilst also branching out sonically, Love Hates What You Become reinforces their necessary purpose. Fearless, life-affirming and without compromise, Lost Under Heaven's future blues have the potential to be a soundtrack of a generation.

While the opening moog throbs of ‘No-One’s Easy To Love’ and ‘Comeback Kid’ are initially distracting coming from an artist once known for her sparse compositions, they quickly blend in to become just another part of the atmospheric scenery that add colour to her widescreen laments.

Nili Hadida’s first foray into solo music is fearless and successfully breaks away from her band dynamic, as it showcases her evolution and experimentation in developing a unique palette of brilliant sounds.

There's clearly a lot of promise here, but drenching everything in reverb and letting blast on the arpeggios doesn't equal a fully realised record. The band's musicianship is certainly accomplished, but the listener occasionally needs a reprieve from its sheer wall of jangle.

Megadoze is a singular and esoteric collection of songs. It works equally well when played at an obscene volume to people giddy with excitement or when you are mooching about town and want to get lost in something to take you mind of the mundanity of urban living, or for that quiet and reflective cup of tea when you get in after a big night out.

While there isn't always a tonne sonically to separate this from Tonra's day job, it must be applauded for its brutal honesty and moments of pure poetry.

The story of Icarus is one of tragedy, but there’s only signs of success within this offering as ZAYN begins the journey to realising his full potential.

It’s the Gaviscon after the turkey dinner; the strategic nap to escape the family. Like the best sort of present, I didn’t know I needed it until it arrived.

This feels like an important record, one that opens up a conversation that has largely been excluded from the mainstream for much too long. Above all this, though, is the sheer marvel of the musicianship, the endless innovation, the continual improvisation that makes My East Is Your West such a surprising, and truly enjoyable listen.

Yes Patti Scialfa joins him for ‘Tougher Than The Rest’ and ‘Brilliant Disguise’, but other than that it’s just The Boss doing what he does best, “To provide an entertaining evening and to communicate something of value”. And in all honesty that’s all we could ask for.