Life-changing? Perhaps not. Life-affirming, on the other hand? You betcha.

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.

On ‘FEVEREATEN’, Witch Fever are relentless in their pursuit of textural and sonic intricacies, dancing through eerie, Midsommar-esque soundscapes to vividly paint their sonic vision.


Never overstaying its welcome, and always intriguingly structured, the lights might have come up, but the Belfast duo want to remind us that the memories and communities aren’t going anywhere.

Pulling together synth, strings and warped melodies, the love song [‘Winter Is Hopeful’] is tender yet distant, disarming yet comforting, discordant yet oddly harmonious - the way this album sounds.

It's loveable, thrilling and properly innovative.

Their ambition is never in doubt though, and Everything Now brings some of their most sky-reaching moments yet.

Underlining everything is a sense that he’s playing to his musical strengths, both in terms of the way he incorporates so many aspects of his sonic calling card; droll lyricism, field recordings, off-kilter melodies, and a general sense that he’s having the analog and the electronic meet at deliberately awkward junctures - making it all the more impressive when, counterintuitively, the kind of clashes that define ‘Nightmare Scenario’ or ‘Starlight’ actually work strikingly well.

And while, perhaps, this more reflective musing on American life wasn’t quite what we’d come to expect from The Killers, ‘Pressure Machine’ does prove that not all escapism arrives with a hook-laden chorus. This is an album which invites you to dig a little deeper.

With it, The Beths find their most focused sound yet in the midst of uncertainty.

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.

On their third LP, Two Vines, the band continues to make glossy retro-futurist pop, creating a world of synthesizers and keyboards that feels both primeval and modern at once.

This record still feels raw, it still feels intimate, but a little more bold in its sentiments. It’s in those moments of bravery and risk that Rice still stands worthy of his heart-wrenching troubadour title.

Big Grrrl Small World is an intentionally intense listen – Lizzo’s physical presence (a black woman,“statuesque and big as hell”) is placed meticulously front and centre.

They continue to create and deliver captivatingly unique songs, further cementing themselves as one of the most exciting bands in British alternative rock.

It was already clear from his near-decade of huge DJ sets around the world, but this album cements Daniel Avery as one of the best.

Despite what the album’s plain, monochromatic cover art might suggest, this is a warm, textured collection of songs that breathes life at every corner. A real triumph.

Reinvigorated after a so-so initial comeback in 2012, and with their notorious fire burning once again, ‘in•ter a•li•a’ sees At The Drive In returning with an album that’s worthy of standing shoulder to shoulder alongside their revered back catalogue.

Familiars may not be as obviously fervently intense as their previous work but the truth is its emotional weapons have just been wrapped in a beautiful bow.

As you’d expect, there are bleeps and bloops aplenty, but underneath it all is a sexy, if slightly bizarre, groove.

Permission to sprinkle Big Sounds over their insta-recognisable songwriting might not have been something they’d allow themselves in the past, but here it transforms what could’ve easily been ‘churning out more of the same’ into 21st Century alt-pop bangers.

sity. Dayve Hawke has created a record that's as graceful (sorry) as it is mighty.

This is the first Hot Snakes record since 2004 and it sounds every inch as if it was formed in the same mould as the last three, despite all of the work that John and Rick have done together and apart since then.

The result is a deeply personal album, at once beautiful and mournful, and rarely straightforward.

Trick manages to blend melancholy and unsettling weirdness with a strange, uplifting sense of hope.

There is a lot to take in here but certainly a lot of fun to be had in the process as well.

It’s everything you wouldn’t expect and more.

Star-spangled and confident AF he may be second time around, the Declan of yore isn’t quite lost in a sea of sequins. ‘Zeros’ is a lot of fun.