This debut feels far too uncoordinated, un-moderated and incoherent to do more than dazzle and confuse in equal proportions before leaving the listener to make sense of what just happened.

Sitting somewhere between say Beyoncé’s auteur-like use of collaborators on ‘Lemonade’ and how Grimes’ ‘Art Angels’ saw the contrary Canadian flex shimmering, glossy pop nous, ‘Caprisongs’ has twigs throwing out hooks left, right and centre.

There are songs here that will stand with some of Ezra Furman’s best work (“I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend” and “Calm Down”) but sometimes its rapid-fire pace makes you wish for that little bit more space.

The Weather still has their fundamentals at its core - out-there psych-rock, Nicholas Allbrook’s urgent wails, mind-boggling lyrics that take several listens to comprehend--but it’s given them a polish and an upgrade into something new and improved.

A record which triumphs whether you’re a Scot or not, casting a very golden glow on the culture and traditions of such a vibrant country.

Katy J Pearson’s debut manage to make the oldest sound of musical heartbreak somehow seem, if not fully modern, then at least fairly timeless.

Jacob’s tender touch on themes of fantasy, dreams and love feels earned across ‘In Limerence’, as if repairing themself via songwriting rather than declaring experiences from a distance. This transparency, in turn, is worth its weight in gold.

From rich biblical imagery and warped pastoral scenes (‘Cow Song’) to screeching, string-led tension (‘Highway Man’) and howling invocations (‘Circles’; ‘Mary’), its nine tracks somehow encode a considerable might without ever feeling heavy.

The Wilderness, though, is Explosions hitting autopilot when they enter uncharted airspace, rather than exploring the potentially limitless universe beyond.

Here, Kim Gordon effectively reflects the absurdity of the times, without claiming to offer a solution.

Loaded with more jingles than a sleigh at Christmas, Brilliant Sanity is synth pop at it’s most intentionally addictive.

Notes may be reached, riffs rinsed, stop-start moments choreographed, but nothing’s being reached for, on appearance, at least--it’s all so brilliantly effortless.

‘Surrender’ proves Maggie can use motifs from the past to build worlds and stimulate memories while always looking forward.

Surpassing the hour mark with some space yet to go, the record provides an expansive canvas for Sufjan to critique the flaws of humanity, at the same time finding room for the inward focus that made his previous offering so compelling.

The album is an obvious step-up right from the start.

A innovative, inventive joy, Crawl Space is a bold first album from an artist likely to stick around for the long haul.

Bringing together two parallel creative paths, the result is an irresistible tautness that shapes their entire first full-length, angular lines competing with Trilling’s diary scribble writing; her vulnerable admissions bolstered by a serious punch.

It’s stripped back and assured in its simplicity, yet operatic and beautifully composed. Oh, and it really is truly miserable.

It’s taken him the best part of 20 years, but with ‘Traditional Techniques’ Stephen Malkmus has finally come up with the blueprint for slacker escape.

Suede deserve some credit for being one of the few reunited bands to actually risk their reputation by recording a new album and whilst there is nothing on 'Bloodsports' as gloriously epic as 'Stay Together' or as bat-shit crazy as 'Introducing The Band', it should be viewed as a partial success.

Tender without being twee, this debut LP ultimately captures a moment that is both genuine and touching.

His outlook on the world is no happier than it was before, but the lack of a bigger band brings out a fresher sound in the Destroyer canon. It loses some energy in that regard, especially compared to the magnificent ‘Kaputt’, but it does show that, with 13 albums under his belt, Bejar still has plenty to say and even more fantastical ways to say it.

In a year that’s seen the heavyweights of the industry fannying about with abstract release plans and bickering over streaming services, Shamir has swept through and delivered a record that schools every one of them in the art of purest pop.

We’d never want CHAI to lose their pep, but there’s something pleasing about watching them grow into something new.

His third album is an engrossing, deeply atmospheric trip, helmed by seven-minute monster ‘A Boat To An Island On The Wall’, that serves as a repositioning as well as a new highlight.

Musically, it’s the ‘Lips at their most fully-realised. It may not get your feet moving but it’ll tug at the heartstrings. Each track builds up slowly like a rising tide that eventually envelops you. Compelling stuff.

It is often difficult for dance producers to go from making one off tracks and remixes to producing a full coherent and lucid album, but it is a jump that John Talabot has made effortlessly.

At times, the record is a grower. Off the bat, the singles sell the release but other numbers require additional listens to click. Having said that, once you hear that click this record is completely blinding.

They may have deserved the montages to move along their story, but this time round there's no denying it. Wake up, world--eight years in, Sky Larkin are demanding your attention. Deny them at your own risk.

Bleeds bends and twists genres into more combinations than are possible on a Rubix cube; splicing hip-hop, techno and even classical in ways that make it one of the most original and emotionally charged British albums of the year.

They’ve created a huge, rich, brilliant documentation of youth, one which will last for years.

‘For Those That Wish to Exist’ is both furious in spirit and epic in scope. A sprawling fifteen-track opus that runs just shy of an hour, it tackles the weighty issues of the day head on.

Soothing to the extreme, but still with enough variation not to lose attention, he’s on to a winner.

His identity is in constant flux, making for a revealing and honest listen from one of the most-hyped artists of 2022 so far.

‘CHAOS NOW*’ might not have much of ‘80s Mancunian misery in its toolbox, but there’s an exhilarating meeting of grunge, pop-punk and indie with hip hop rhythms: Beck if he’d used a palette of early ‘00s MTV2.

The band remain successful at finding lush nuances in their well-established formula and ‘Formal Growth in the Desert’ packs more hooks than any of their albums since 2015’s ‘The Agent Intellect’.

Lime Garden offer a reassuring hand to warm shoulders and a candied melody or ten to sweeten ears. Not only this, but as an album indebted as much to Charli XCX or Bon Iver as it is to The Strokes, as equally comfortable with cello-bowing ballads or auto-tuned pop anthemia as it is with the guitar-chugging banger, it confirms Lime Garden as a band with potential to achieve even higher artistic greatness.

slowthai’s newest is the work of an artist clearly more excited than ever about what he himself can do now he’s booted his own doors wide open. ‘UGLY’ is a beautiful thing to behold.

While it’s not always the easiest of listens, the raw emotional honesty and potency of her arrangements makes it truly a pleasure to have Leslie Feist back.

That’s definitely not to say that the more languorous tracks don’t have their beautiful moments, with the likes of ‘Lonely Blue’ and ‘Sublunary’ providing an emotional apex to the album. As it draws on though, it gets easier to think that a bit of brutality on the cutting room floor might only have been of benefit to The Ooz.

Charming, tender and admirably vulnerable, ‘Build A Problem’ is a profoundly freeing reflection on the struggles of youth, growth and identity.

Ever cathartic, this third full-length from Will Westerman is an elegant, mood-filled wonder from the off.

This is a messy, disorderly but beautifully blissful and idiosyncratic record--and that seems like the statement he’d like to make.

Seven albums in, and with a formula that’s kept its core elements largely the same, it’s largely Beach House by-numbers, but the pair have a gravitational pull that looks like it will never run dry.

This isn’t easy listening. But for those wishing to metaphorically slay an army of deities in the shadowland of the damned? It’s right up your street.

Although the execution of ‘Masquerade’ sometimes feels uneven, there is plenty to be excited about. Whether Cardinals become the next big band to come out of Ireland, only time will tell, but as of now, they’re certainly making a strong case for it.

This fourth album sees Wolf Alice fully embrace all facets of themselves, and through this newfound acceptance and confidence, they’ve produced their boldest, most striking record yet. One for the history books.

Ultimately, on ‘Leon’, Bridges crafts an album that is at once deeply personal, and yet expansive and shared.

Musically you always know where you stand--the sound of a Death Grips record is unmistakable--powerful, aggressive and confrontational. Which leads us on to Bottomless Pit--very much more of the same, while pushing their sound forward.

‘Heaven knows’ pushes PinkPantheress into new realms of utter brilliance.

It’s the sound of a band breaking the reunion mould, making firm strides forward and leaving their legacy in the dust.

'Mutual Friends' is an album that just gets better and better with every listen.

This is an album that sounds like it could've been recorded at any point in the last thirty-odd years.

Reasons To Believe is a worthy, if overtly reverent, addition to the steady stream of Hardin covers.... But some of these covers are overtly reverent because they fail to acknowledge this schism in the dark soul of the man.

The Incessant marks a turning point, as Meat Wave tackle their demons head on.

I Love You Like My Brother builds all sorts of these clean bridges, and though Alex Lahey’s world springs from small images and clean sentences, it says a lot with very little.

1, 2, Kung Fu! is a fun, beautiful, and accomplished reminder of the joy of discovery. It’s the kind of record that encourages you to keep a close ear to its many layers, peeling each one back to reveal a Krautrock pulse here, a soul groove there.

The most important aspect of Future Ruins and Swervedriver is it shows that the band still have something to say and prove. They’re in it for the long haul and, hopefully, back for good to document all our future ruins.

Despite this fervent distancing of themselves from party politics, Dog Whistle is a brutal, impassioned flag-in-the-ground for the disillusioned in New York and beyond.

Wire have proven that it’s possible to stretch possibilities through the introduction of outside influence. Youngsters take note, the past can be your friend.

Nothing quite comes close to ‘Cars In Space’ for desk-slapping earwormery, but with three singer-guitarists at play, the music chops and weaves with an impressive intricacy, always stopping itself short of self-indulgence. If you’re looking for a modern, uplifting celebration of all things riff, these boys have got your back.

Pairing this with sincere lyricism and soaring musicianship, ‘A Quickening’ emerges as Orlando Weeks’ most personal record by far, and is nothing short of stunning.

After such a long time away, ‘Good Woman’ finds The Staves rejuvenated and inspired, treading new ground while retaining the identity that made them so loveable in the first place. For all the trials bestowed upon the trio in the past few years, they emerge positive and victorious, changing and creating music on their own terms as echoed on closer ‘Waiting On Me To Change.’

Not only are many of the tracks here vocal driven, there are some single-worthy hooks too.

‘The Kick’ doesn’t try to run or distract from feelings of loss and loneliness, instead it faces them head-on while celebrating the joy of being with others through it all.

[Pa Salieu] The Ghanaian-British rapper is one of a handful of guests here, each of whom allow Ibeyi to reflect the past and present simultaneously.

A record of warm and soaring pop-rock that still manages to both delight and intrigue, ‘Palomino’ is the sound of a duo still roaming new territory, but feeling more confident than ever.

‘Aperture’ stays true to its title, Hannah adjusting her lens with ease and darting nimbly between styles. The album bridges the gap between adolescence and adulthood; Hannah Jadagu jumps high between the two and lands firmly on her feet.

All dials are turned up to eleven for PVRIS’ fourth album. .... Sometimes it means they possess a heaviness not found since the outfit’s rockier days of old, such as in the industrial clatter of ‘HYPE ZOMBIES’, but it may be an acquired taste, and occasional moments feel overcooked, such as on the juddering early single ‘ANIMAL’. Elsewhere, however, are a plethora of cast-iron, genreless bangers, some of which are the catchiest tracks Lynn Gunn has put her name to.

Perhaps her most personal, but also her most diverse.

Effortlessly jumping between belted choruses and wistful pauses for vulnerability, she orients herself around the conflicting forces of uncertainty and longing.

A huge step forward musically, as it would appear to be personally.

Whilst it's a shame we've had to wait the best part of a decade for this collection of songs there is rejoicing in the fact these have been released to the musical world. There is little that will trouble MTV playlist compilers but much to satisfy soul-deprived purists.

‘Children of the Sky’ and ‘Gravity’ both prove that its possible for the duo to summon up genuine atmosphere without bogging down the songs with overcooked compositions. There’s still the odd experimental misstep - the meandering ‘Eyes of the Overworld’ in particular - but for the most part, ‘X…’ is endearingly light on its feet in a manner that suggests a real rejuvenation in Conrad and Jason’s creative partnership.

Tell Me How You Really Feel is a more mature record, and lyrically the most direct and honest Courtney has been to date.

On ‘Utopian Ashes’, Bobby Gillespie and Jehnny Beth breathe new life into an old formula, and surface triumphant.

You're Nothing is the magnificent transition from teens powered by punk angst to men mastering aggressive rock songs.

With lyrics that simmer with self-awareness serving as the record’s backbone, the obvious points of comparison are Parquet Courts and Car Seat Headrest, but the idiosyncrasies that really make ‘Collector’ tick feel as if they’re all Disq’s own, from the subtle subversions of pop and rock tropes to the wry-beyond-their-years witticisms at every turn.

Hazy and forlorn but peaceful record, one that reaffirms their stake in the genre.

‘High Risk Behaviour’ is a record that’s bound to solidify The Chats’ name as a truly unique proposition.

The shifts are subtle but notable, providing another brilliant backdrop for Jeremy’s largely pained candour.

‘Beginners’ and ‘Radio Tokyo’ lead the way in the clout department, and increasingly, Hookworms sound like a band comfortable with being immediate as well as complex.

It’s the fuller pieces that really make you want to keep coming back.

As surefire a bet for bigger things as there’ll ever be, for the most part it’s a resounding success.

The elements needed to make Katie Crutchfield one of the greatest songwriters in indie rock have always been present, just not slotted together perfectly. When they do so on large amounts of Out In The Storm, the record provides of the most satisfying pinnacles of the year.

With fourth album Reflektor, their past is documented in vivid detail, delivered with such urgency and bombast it's difficult to look ahead. But look ahead they do, arriving with their fullest and most ambitious record to date.

Distractions is a highly intelligent, subtle and thoroughly immersive record. Each hook and strained vocal witholds a considered approach that is testament to the brittle nature of the music that Sauna Youth create.

It’s a record that’s well-travelled, that’s absorbed a whole myriad of influence and taken two years to digest it into something cohesive. But, impressively, it’s a record that still holds its identity despite all the ideas it’s binding together.

Records like this always sound deceptively simple when done properly; if it were as easy as Adult Mom makes it sound to write pop gems this endearing in their honesty, everybody would be doing it.

We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace And Magic is a great full-length debut that is far more than a nostalgia trip.

Everything Everything have sculpted a masterpiece.

Whilst Heems’ verses amble along with wry humour and charmingly lazy wordplay (“Inshallah, mashallah, hopefully no martial law”), Riz MC’s (actor Riz Ahmed) are typified by a razor-sharp flow, as fast as it is furious, and breathlessly references the refugee crisis, Aeneas from The Iliad, Trump and his film career in short order, before throwing down that he “run[s] the city like my name’s Sadiq”.

An understated kaleidoscope of beautiful arrangements, raw emotion and literate songwriting that is nothing less than moving.

‘Hideous Bastard’ sees Oliver take on both these past and present realities with a candour that surprises even him.

Self-aware but undaunted, every moment sees the band pushing at the walls, daring to take it bigger, promising to make it more open.

This is a record that stands up well against the high bar set by her debut in both scope and ambition.

Liverpool duo King Hannah fling themselves into sweltering dust-bowl deserts on startling debut ‘I’m Not Sorry, I Was Just Being Me’ - a narcotic, seductive adventure of squelchy Mazzy Star psych-blues, Portishead-ing trip hop and rainy-day folkishness.

Distinct, crooning and softly beautiful, ‘Running With The Hurricane’ captures a snapshot of intimacy, thriving friendships and a profound understanding of the human condition.