Even at it’s bleakest, All At Once is sheer rock’n’roll joy from start to finish.

With its themes giving the listener the desire to actually pay attention to what being said, rather than just zoning out to the album’s ear-worming melodies, Insecure Men is no doubt one of 2018’s best debuts.

For all their feel-good, boppy charm, The Orielles have created a truly intelligent indie-pop album with Silver Dollar Moment.

With Little Dark Age, the group have perfected the balancing act between the two, and have delivered a project that should please fans on both sides.

A Humdrum Star feels like a step beyond the precious experiments of their opening records, a concise and complete statement that defies categorisation and reinforces the vitality of UK jazz at this moment.

For the most part, too, it’s an absolute joy, an urbane, witty, extremely catchy selection of three minute ditties, superbly well-written and expertly arranged.

Loma is an interesting concoction, but one that doesn't always necessarily gel. It's undoubtedly a lovingly produced set of tracks, filled with an almost tangible level of texture, but the songs often don't match their treatment.

The overriding, inescapable, and most important aspect of ‘Amen,’ though, is that it is fun. Fun to listen to, fun (it seems) to have made and no doubt fun to perform.

Ever the showman, Darcy and company have engineered a refreshing return which though softer around the edges than previous Ought releases, is no less gratifying.

the way Technology compromises on solid songwriting in favour of material that’ll evoke carnage in a live setting is detrimental to the album as a whole.

An early contender for album of the year.

Though hit and miss, Brighter Wounds is a solid addition to the group’s catalogue.

For all its best intentions, Man of the Woods often feels rushed, occasionally underproduced and at times, unfinished. Lacking the effortless polish of previous releases, it troughs more than peaks and ends up floundering in its own ambition.

Tracks like ‘Feeling Good, Feeling Great’, ‘High’ and ‘Guillotine’ feel soulless and lack the gusto that DZ Deathrays have shown through their live shows and previous releases. Albeit brief, there are glimmers in which the duo capture the visceral and angsty essence of their past through the tribal ‘Back _ Forth’ and closer ‘Witchcraft Pt. II’.

Outstanding work with the sound, abundance of catchy tunes and thoughtful, memorable lines make Rest an engaging experience for any listener, guaranteed to evoke or further develop the interest for the story of the illustrious Gainsbourg family.

Dream Wife’s self-titled debut is a satisfying and infectious trip of lo-fi indie pop that starts 2018 off with a much needed shot of adrenaline.

Lovely tunes and scrupulous attention to detail make Resolve Poppy’s best album to date, equally suitable for quiet relaxation as well as a more conscious enjoyment.

Khruangbin didn’t need to change much on this album, the sound they produce as a unit is still fresh, exciting and uniquely life-affirming.

This is really an album about empathy, and feels incredibly necessary today.

Bloody marvellous.

A beguilingly atmospheric record, this new album from Red River Dialect seems to be in perpetual transition, coming close to but never quite achieving that sense of return.

Reborn through anguish, Hookworms are alive and otherworldly as ever.

Open Here is a defiant and impassioned statement in which Field Music prove they have mastered the art of addressing the political and the personal simultaneously. It’s fun, it’s loud, it’s dense. It’s not content with wallowing in the state of things and wants to inspire positive change.

Overall, whilst Semicircle does contain obvious flaws, this chapter of The Go! Team is here to have a good time and hopes you are too. And who can knock them for that?

Lyrically, it is an album with contemporary themes, but sonically, for much of the record, it remains rooted in a style that is essentially nostalgic.

The Time Is Now hangs together relatively well, and achieves what it sets out to do.

It’s not an album made for background listening, it’s made for losing yourself in completely, and, in that, it succeeds perfectly.

Successful forays into synth-disco (‘Look At Your Hands’), slo-mo new wave (‘Coast To Coast’) and hymnal R&B (‘Home’) rescue a uniquely energetic, smart record in danger of over-saturation.