The clear direction and production of the album means that while those who enjoyed The Staves’ debut will not be disappointed, there is arguably less of a initial folk sound that was more apparent on their first record.

While single ‘Angel’ uses the simplest, scrappiest riffs and Beth’s sonorous tones to make something more than the sum of its parts. Du Blonde continues to be one of UK guitar music’s best kept secrets.

Despite an overall likeability and affable sheen--it’s a little flatter than that.

Small Mercies is not a complete success, but Pixx’s creative voice remains unique.

It’s a record you have to give the space it deserves, rather than dip in and out of. That said, there are still some tracks that are especially sumptuous (‘Healing Hurts’, ‘Out Of This World’), that call attention to the fact that this is her musical cosmos, aware of its own self-indulgences, and no worse for it.

‘SongBook’ is a debut that suggests The Lazy Eyes have the guile to forge their own roads in a genre not currently experiencing a dearth of talent.

‘Abomination’ is a singular debut and quintessential cultural capsule - of both post-post-punk and gay modernity - from one of the UK’s most fearless off-piste queer acts.

It doesn’t rest on what has come before, landing somewhere between the ‘80s new wave of their debut and mainstream pop, now with the self-expression of a far more confident songwriter.

An album that only even begins to click after about the tenth listen, Arctic Monkeys’ sixth is the kind of eyebrow-raising curveball that could still yet lead to brilliance.

Ruminations feels like a comedown as such. His first solo album since 2014 ‘Upside Down Mountain’ features only Oberst, a piano, an acoustic guitar and the occasional flash of harmonica. It’s possibly his most reflective, nostalgic work yet.

In an age where any era of music is within a second’s grasp, The Lemon Twigs’ reliance on nostalgia is at best dated; at worst, pure laziness.

Gone the mangled Nuggets riffs and LSD infected yelps, replaced instead by slide guitars and deranged yee-haws. It shouldn’t really work, but it does.

While ‘V’ has the tendency to revisit some familiar ground, it achieves what the best double albums do - plants solid gems along the road, envelops the listener with clever sequencing tricks and builds a whole world to roam.

Fine Line is a compelling document of an artist coming to life.

“How many years are we gonna last?”, she asks on standout ‘Stop Me Now’, over glitchy guitars and drums that suggest the breakdown of a machine: a pleasing synchronicity between form and content.

With ‘Blindness’, The Murder Capital have crafted an album that feels both urgent and timeless. Simply put, it’s nothing short of a triumph.

Love Songs for Robots is a thoroughly accomplished album that oozes musicality from every reverb-soaked pore.

One of the consistently brilliant musicians working today hasn't let us down yet.

There are a couple of sweet spots on ‘Ice Melt’ in the form of the shimmering ‘Balloon’ and the creamy ending title-track, but not enough to warrant a whole album’s worth of material from what could have easily been shaved down to an EP.

Nevertheless for all the mature restraint and consummate mastery it can be hard not to miss the sheer energy and fury of previous albums, the restless experimentation.

In astrology, Jupiter is usually said to represent growth, healing and good fortune, and here, Nao’s fourth more than lives up to its moniker.

2019 has a pleasing feel no doubt, there are some gems nestled in the 7-track run that are well worth a look, but it feels like a release that is there to keep the wheels turning ahead of a new album.

Anyone hoping for 'The Eraser' to fledge further results will be similarly dumbfounded. But taken at token value, Amok is a very fine work indeed.

Echo Lake have managed to take a slew of barely-original touch points and make something genuinely intriguing about them.

They don’t often get the time to build a song from nothingness to explosion quite as well as they mastered on their debut. It’s a powerplay that largely works, yet still takes enough rests to showcase a frantically beating heart and a definite intelligence underneath.

Backed up by powerful guitars and soaring vocals, their brand of intense but atmospheric rock feels rejuvenating - and is perhaps even a tonic.

‘Found Heaven’ does, at times, feel a bit like you could play ‘iconic ‘80s songs’ bingo. .... But, when his influences are worn as heart-on-sleeve as they are here – and, crucially, are executed as well – the overall effect is one of knowing homage rather than tribute act.

For the most part, Honeyblood’s second outing is a delicious face-punch of a record, running amok in the best way possible with everything they’ve learned since first time around.