A record that’s a hundred times more cohesive than Born to Die.

Fans will hear echoes of his best work, but for most this is a stale, uninspired outing for the legendary figure.

A tour de force of Eagulls' brash and brazen-faced formula, this is a record that’ll be ringing in your ears for days after it’s finished.

At times it gets a little too gentle, the warm soup of instruments and Pulidio’s soothing voice blending together into a indistinguishable slush, but when it holds together it’s a pleasant trip.

Kid Wave succeed the most when they go huge on the hooks and choruses.

On this debut, Jordan and pals aren’t afraid to contrast bravado with vulnerability, and it’s in the unexpected that their debut shines brightest.

Highlight ‘By Myself’ sings of relapsing after getting sober, but is set over a simply joyous ska-tinged musical romp - musical and lyrical contradictions are all over Almost Free, but it gains its power from dancing through the hard times with a massive grin on your face. The musical experimentation of the record continues throughout.

While To the Recently Found Innocent might not surprise, it’s a joyous listen.

If you’re new to Trail of Dead, this might be a good place to begin your investigations, and if you’ve lost track of them since their critical and commercial peak, then ‘Sound Of The Silk’ and IX as a whole is as good a way as you’ll find to rediscover this consistently fantastic band.

The fact that Efterklang have managed to cultivate such an effortless sounding exercise in sonic geographies is sheer testament to their skill as master artisans.

They stick to their guns, and they end up emphasising their rough-around-the-edges strengths.

Each track is a musical sketch that assembles fragments of thoughts and shadows of daily pursuits. Escaping the urgency of old, this Ultimate Painting is a picture of a disquiet melancholy.

Blue Lips isn’t perfect; it has a predilection towards being over produced. Thematically, though, her honesty about her imperfections is what makes all so irresistible.

Nodding strongly towards everything from Hall & Oates, to Justice, and Patrice Rushen, and flaunting all of Mount’s influences without a hint of irony, Summer ‘08’ is from start to finish, a back to basics, pure-pop odyssey.

As effortlessly rich as Wondrous Bughouse seems for the listener, it's evident this record took Powers to places he wishes he’d never been. Darkness has never sounded so gloriously technicolor.

While the album may look backwards musically, Gonzalez has always been particularly adept at chronicling the world around him (in this case his Hackney stomping ground) to evoke a strong sense of place and keep the record firmly rooted in the here and now.

Powers throws just enough of his own inquisitive character to find his finest moment. He does it time and time again on this record.

Ghostpoet has created a record that feels timeless in a way his scratchy bedroom productions could never have dreamed of.

An album that has no shortage of huge highs.

Whereas their earlier tracks were more simple, now their music is a multidimensional, multi-faceted affair, full of fragile introspection and meandering guitars.

While Sick Scenes is a record that questions its authors places in the world in tandem, it’s also one that shows that, for as long as they’re here, Los Campesinos! will always be able to express a certain character type better than most.

Coupling a dexterity honed over countless live shows with a wry sense of humour, with Down In Heaven the band find their own slice of paradise, primed and ready for anyone else who wants it too.

They’re always able to create something to get lost in. And, most importantly, the songs remain heartbreakingly, hauntingly beautiful.

It's simply too mired in experimentation to make for an enjoyable or enlightening experience.

It’s 28 minutes of thrashy, unadulterated skate punk and is a knockout from start to finish.

Weaves is a whole lot of fun, from the deliciously raucous standout ‘One More’ to the delicate ‘Eagle’ via the whimsical ‘Coo Coo’ and the Pixies-ish ‘Two Oceans’.

Sleek, elegant but neck deep in gory realities, Conscious is a record that deals in the very best and worst of the world but instead of getting dragged down with the weight of these realisations, Broods climb high.

Their new record showcases inner madness, characters you’d cross the street to avoid, and some of the band’s smartest pop songs to date.

‘Raising The Dead’ is a hopeful and tender ode to finding attributes of his late father in his newborn daughter. ‘Wandering Aengus’, meanwhile, is a Yeats-inspired piece of trumpet-covered beauty that sums up the record perfectly--peaceful, lush and well worth the wait.

The Anteroom is surely How To Dress Well’s most exciting work to date; it might, in time, unfurl into his most poignant and vital, too.

A couple of times they get some wind in their sails, namely ‘War Dance’ and ‘Turned to String’, but the overall feeling from this is that No Age are, ironically, starting to show their years.

Both lyrically and musically it looks backwards to move forwards, in tone adding to Evan’s beautiful and delicate melodies, and although he doesn’t quite find the light at the end of the tunnel, he certainly knows it’s been switched on.

A puzzling, and largely forgettable collection.

What’s crucial is that ‘Let the Festivities Begin!’ never feels like a case of throwing all of these different textures at the wall to see what sticks; instead, the sounds of everywhere from Turkey to Peru to Argentina are wound carefully together on the maddeningly catchy likes of ‘FFS’ and ‘Change of Heart’, before being relayed with exhilarating gusto. There will be few debuts this year that feel like such glorious exercises in musical technicolour.

‘Life Is Yours’ is the sound of the band less emerging blinking into the post-pandemic light than bounding back into the saddle.

‘MK 3.5’ is an often unwieldy and curiously warming project that sees both contributors embrace discomfort in their art.

For the most part, it’s instead a case of either too much, or not enough. By stripping the layers back and presenting the songs in a wholly straightforward manner - slick, with Julie’s voice centered as if she’s embarking on a perfect three-minute pop song - flaws appear where they shouldn’t exist.

All in all, seemingly indebted to many, this is a band equipped with new-found confidence, poise and an incredibly impressive sophomore effort.

This collection is his most fully-realised to date, with hooks as the glittering vehicle for tales of a blighted American Midwest.

His current tactic of quantity at the price of quality control does mean songs with less impact end up on record.

Too often, Disclosure find themselves playing it safe.

With this second album, they’re still offering an exciting, engaging alternative to pure chart pop, and they do it so bloody well.

Palma Violets' deliciously raggedy rock is enveloping.

On Long Way Home, she delivers these in spades.

Awash with electric guitars equally as influenced by tradition as cathartic night drives, ‘Leave The Light On’ delves into the power of loneliness. Challenging the definition through both lyrics and sound, Pillow Queens deliberately play with light and heavy.

Noisy, riotous, anthemic and bristling with excitement, INHEAVEN is an album to rage along with.

Despite the swirling joy of ‘Julie’ also making for a high point, moments like these aren’t consistent enough to propel ‘Banane Bleue’ towards its potential peaks. They do however show that, when he delivers, Frànçois can still make pure, earnest, and enduring connections.

Aside from a few great moments like the warm and accessible track ‘Beyond That Of Courtesy’, this listen does feel slightly hard to grasp due to its disjointed nature. There are enough ideas in the tank here, but ultimately it's not one to rush out and buy.

It’s as close an approximation of before as they could possibly get - the result of 12 tracks being plopped out of a Black Keys song generator - but, five years down the line, you hope that people will demand more than that.

Some of the extremes on the album feel awkward--the heavy metal too heavy, the loops of death overlooped, the calm too suddenly silent--but overall it is a deep, yawning collection of exciting musical experiments to dunk yourself into.

While Life Among the Savages lacks the absolute highs of Quever’s previous work, it also lacks any lows, except for possibly the abrupt ending which leaves you longing for more.

At its heaviest, ‘TEXIS’ is blistering, ‘Justine Go Genesis’ as mind-bendingly intense as it gets, with closer ‘Hummingbird Bomb’ and single ‘Locust Laced’ not far behind. And when synths do take centre stage, no impact is lost: ‘True Seekers’ and ‘I’m Not Down’ are akin to a more in-your-face Chvrches, Alexis’ vocal sitting juxtaposed with expansive electronics. It’s the best of both worlds.

A more pure and intense sound, less manufactured and acutely heartfelt.

An ambitious double album filled with reverb and distortion this it not, but if a new, playful kind of Biffy Clyro take your fancy, there’s more than enough of Ellipsis to dive headfirst into.

It’s reassuring to note that, now five albums in, Tunng continue to distill and refine their sound, honing their craft to create their most accomplished album yet.

Everything feels less claustrophobic than on ‘Control’ as synths soar, rather than constrict. Beats bounce and guitars are led by the groove. Throughout ‘YU’, we see a grander side of her.

It’s clear that these songs have a real and sincere heart, designed to both stir and soothe the soul in one fell swoop.

Delicate, enchanting, and altogether intangible, Memory Of A Cut Off Head is a venture into the unexpected.

Excess and saturation can only get a band so far without a knowing wink to match, and at the moment, it’s that mischievous streak of personality that feels slightly absent.

There’s little doubt that she’s not finished yet--We Slept At Last gives hints of an artist who could go on for decades, so long as she continues to transport everyday souls into different worlds.

Far from the fools of their name, Dumb are onto something pretty magnetic.

For now, it’s hard to know whether ‘…Pt. 1’ is indicative of the overall direction of ‘Fever Dreams’, or merely one facet of it. Either way, it’s the polished sound of Johnny Marr putting his best foot forward.

‘Book of Churches’ is a debut effort rich with promise.

Closer ‘Cyboogie’, the cheesy, sci-fi-inspired lead single from the LP, is by far the most tepid of the set, as if marking the roll of the end-credits and a collective sigh of relief. With that being said, do not doubt that King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard still know how to kick ass.

St. Catherine is a quasi-nostalgic LP that’s sonically soothing, while exhibiting finely-woven musical textures. It’s clever, without being intimidating or pretentious.

Buoyed by newfound feelings of hope and of anticipation, the record feels more encompassing than anything the band have released previously. This is a result of a more direct and collaborative effort, with producer Danny Reisch adding extra layers of synth and percussion to really flesh things out.

Though Weather Diaries is a solid effort from a band trying to balance their mastery of shoegaze with other, outside elements, the strongest tracks on Weather Diaries are when the band fully embrace the skeleton of the songwriting formula they’d perfected over two decades ago.

Their formula is tastefully broken up by frantic drums on ‘CRACK METAL’, unsettling synths on ‘HATEFUL’ and the twisted pop of ‘ASHAMED’ that soars with the most memorable chorus on the record. Unfortunately, that chorus is an outlier on an album that can wash past with as much staying power as candyfloss in a puddle.

Overall the album is never really present enough to make an impression, beyond a hazy silhouette in the distance.

Nature Noir' is very much Crystal Stilts sticking to their well-trodden formula, conforming as they are, essentially, to their own trademark sounds. But it's also the sound of a band retaining the best of their identity: sharp melodies, steady drum fills and discordant synth still all underpin Brad's sleepy, monotonic vocals.

It dishes out moments of pure brilliance and moments of pure laziness in equal part, which is possibly the result of Blumberg being left to his own devices a little too much.

It’s immensely enjoyable, but almost leaves a sense of guilt, because of how light-hearted it makes an attitude bordering on misanthropy seem.

1982 appears slight on first glance, but it’s packed with so many lasting melodies and shifts in tone and dynamics that it winds up being a much richer project than its 38-minute run time may initially suggest.

Daniel’s latest project is easily his most mature work. It might also be his best.

With such a joyous energy across the record, it’s easy to get lost in its layers.

The album blossoms when his delivery matches the tone of the music.

A lot of the record shows a lack of streamlining, or a singular focus. If album four sees San Fermin filtering through the bucketloads of promise on show here, there’s something really special on the horizon.

Lo Moon is a daring and complex debut album scored through with emotional tumult and a nuanced understanding of the groups that have inspired them.

Miami is a record that is hard to get a handle on at times, but it is all the more resonant for it when you eventually fall under its spell.

Full-bodied production is at the heart, though takes nothing away from the more laid back moments.

Ultimately, it feels as if she’s still waiting for her words and her sound to match up, but what we’ve got in the meantime is an intriguingly personal record.

Lyrically, it’s a scattered series of ruminations on the end of an era, with anger, guilt and sadness all permeating its fabric. Musically, though, it expands the singer’s palate, transmitting these feelings via new, punchier textures.

A stellar record. ... Which is to say, it’s bangers, bops and top-notch observational lyrics at every turn.

At Best Cuckold is so highly polished that it feels a little lacking in the kind of blindsided naivety that comes hand in hand with romance.

There are occasional flashes of brilliance and inspiration here but for the most part it feels disjointed, a victim of 'too many cooks' syndrome and disappointingly conventional for an artist with such a proven track record for forward-thinking music.

'The Tarnished Gold' is a tighter, more familiar album from a band that have always done their own thing, and it's a very well-worked compromise – this is fantastic stuff.

Rarely entering the realm of pastiche, in all, this makes for a brilliant, ageless album.

If Humanz was a reaction about a world that seemed to be heading to hell, then The Now Now is a more spaced-out affair, stripped of its star-studded collaborations and bathed in the apparent apathy of the modern age.

Human Ceremony isn’t anywhere near fault-free, but its charm arrives when the trio get ahead of themselves.

Steeped in decade-spanning traditions of pop, rock and folk, it’s an ambitious record marred only by early and apparent nonchalance.

Ultimately, ‘Man Alive!’ feels like the work of an artist in transition: a handful of stunning tracks surrounded by some backfiring experiments. It’s frustrating but there are still gems to be found amid the soul-searching.

The results are surprisingly cohesive; Sky Larkin could often be boisterous to the point of verging on bombast, but this is a record that speaks to growing measure and maturity.

On her hugely-anticipated third, there’s plenty of sun-drenched sonic optimism but not so much that’s all that radical.

An ambitious, joyous, heartfelt collection that finds him revelling in analogue instrumentation, expansive arrangements, and unashamedly retro sonic touchstones.

Without any voices swimming around the noise, the record does lack the variety that came before. Instead, this is a stubborn embracing of all the weird things that make up this unique trio.

In many ways Perpetual Surrender is the average British weather forecast; patchy, dull and cloudy with occasional sunny spells. Room for improvement.

Washed Out himself stumbled first time round, even. Here he creates a fuller piece, totally unconcerned with its context and its audience. Hence why it excels.

Even though the likes of ‘Dylan And Caitlin’ (a duet with The Anchoress on Dylan Thomas and wife Caitlin Macnamara’s tempestuous marriage) or the poignant nostalgia of ‘In Eternity’--seemingly a sentimental ode to former bandmate Richey Edwards--are thematically complex, they’re coated in unabashedly big hooks. It’s a classic Manics trick and one that still works; across 12 tracks though, you do start to crave the spray-painted antagonists of old to pop up every now and then.