While ‘Reflection Of Youth’ delved into intimate soul searching and destructive introspection, ‘Speak’ casts a macroscopic lens on the human experience, delicately documenting Anna’s rising confidence and newfound acceptance in her sense of self.

This is an irresistibly likeable album, very much in the mould of its creator’s affable, mellow personality.

PUP leap and bound through fields of melancholy, finding balance between bittersweet lyrical tales, upbeat pop-punk foundations, and lingering emo influences. Tracks like ‘Hallways’ and ‘Best Revenge’ play with atypical nuances where elements of pop and indie rock make the genre - which can often feel stale - fresh.

It’s still animated and dimensional, all existing under a warm ‘70s-to-’80s, folk-meets-synth-pop lens, which feels to be a natural direction for her sound to have taken

For the most part, ‘The World Is Not Good Enough’ is, yes, as wholly pleasant as its colourful, cute-adjacent cover would suggest.

Disjointed rather than bad; there's undoubtedly a cross-section for which the not-quite-post-punk, not-quite-shoegaze combination works. Let's hope they find it.

Whether figuratively (say, the disjointed delivery and post-punk rhythms of The Slits and the fearlessness of Kathleen Hanna) or literally (that Spice Girls riff in ‘F.U.U’), Dream Wife have taken all they’ve absorbed from decades of iconic women and created, well, a dream of a record.

There’s a constant feeling that instead of edging towards going one bigger, this band have embraced their calling. And if Foals didn’t already have enough songs in their arsenal to top festival bills, they’ve just added ten more.

The Britain of 2013 may be a place full of dread in Primal Scream’s world but that sense of anger has prompted them to deliver an extremely impressive return that’s brash, bold and often brilliant.

Mazes confirm themselves as one of the most exciting British bands currently around. This is the result of what happens when three unique and brilliant minds are given the right facilities they need to make their vision happen.

The Los Angeles natives are more cautious in their ecstasy, in equal parts as celebratory, uplifting and outright horny as they are aware and angry, yet as affirmed on the brilliantly rousing ‘So What’, there’s more than enough love to go around.

‘How To Let Go’ is an album of two halves, where at times she seamlessly slides back into the laid-back persona of old.

This collection allows his masterful lyrics and song-craft to shone through unfiltered.

At a succinct length, the album does exactly what it needs to do without a second to spare.

There’s a sense that nobody’s heart was quite in it which sometimes means proceedings drag on, refusing to invent, refusing to accept that Granddady can be a band who make it. It’s heart-breaking and at times powerfully so, but it also shuns the listener, forcing them to a place where Grandaddy risk drifting once more into obscurity.

Why Love Now truly comes to life when the band uses their punishing sound to explore the absurdity of modern masculinity.

Given that the various members of Hot Chip have various side-hustles and secondary creative outlets, it’s a little surprising how much of ‘Freakout / Release’ sounds quite this forced.

Dan is increasingly using Daphni as a tool with which to broaden the horizons of his own understanding of dance music; to simply to take it at face value, though, it might already be the most relentlessly feel-good album of 2026.

This is an album designed to move people, and Payola manages to do so in so very many ways.

Rave Tapes may not see them moving too far from their widescreen template but it’s an assured record that sees them draw from right across their rich palette of textures.

Something is like a grand, multi-branched, ageing tree of 80s synth-pop, encompassing every variance of style and genre and recreating each classic movement with honour and aplomb.

Tearing its way through nine songs of heady, humid, pop music in quick, effortless succession, La Roux is quickly establishing herself as a formidable force of pop, and it will be interesting to see where Elly Jackson goes from here.

Although the British summer is a mixed bag of rain and more rain, ‘Alchemy’ could convince anyone there’s sun outside.

'Shrines' is a joy from start to finish, with a sticking power that so many others seem to lack.... It would be no surprise to see Purity Ring top the end of year round-ups.

‘Ultra Mono’’s step towards a more neoliberalistic message of positivity does serve to take some of the wind out of IDLES’ sails. If ‘Ultra Mono’ is their attempt to critique their own pedestal, it might not read as radical as they would have liked.

Hayden Thorpe is still feeling out the next leg of his musical journey, but has the distinct advantage of making every left turn he takes sound assured.

There’s a minimalism in places here that even ardent fans might find a touch disappointing given how predisposed she normally is to extrapolating on her ideas. In fairness, though, the whole point of Documents is to capture the sound of a band, still hot from the road, bringing that energy to the studio. In the Same Room delivers.

For some, this might be too tame. An album full of ‘Bluish’ rather than ‘Fireworks’. But for others, that means it’s the most accessible.