A record that perfectly shows her growth as an artist - and a collaborator - ‘Belong’ proves to be more than worth the wait.


Rocket wear their influences firmly on their sleeve and there are moments, particularly during the album’s back half, where the sheer poise and polish of the songs can have them veering dangerously close to being one-note; happily, the title track, with its noisy crescendo, rounds things off stylishly. There is much promise here.


Throughout the album, hidden instrumental flourishes surface with repeat plays, though some stay too buried. Elsewhere, the decadent production swallows her breathy voice (‘The Answer’, ‘Hold Fire’).

This fourth album is undoubtedly a return to something: full of raw, barely restrained bite, it’s as if they’ve taken all the sparky, unself-conscious vigour of their 2018 debut and, in their relative maturity, learned to wield it even more potently. Ever the rabble-rousing ringleader, Charlie Steen is on vintage lyrical form.

It paints a picture of a leading songwriter with even more to come, one that can piece together exceptional art from personal turbulence and insecurity, effortlessly reaffirming her position at the top of UK pop… if we can even call it that.

We may have seen Taylor on far better songwriting form than with ‘The Life Of A Showgirl’, but perhaps now, more than ever, she is making music for herself over anyone else.

Gone is some of the clinical coldness of their early work; instead, there’s a warm, embracing quality to their fully formed, imaginary universe where vulnerability and hope collide.

It’s comprehensive in its variations of electronica, dance, Scandi-pop and R&B, creating a colourful body of work. Its forward-thinking, lush alive-ness cements Zara as a largely-overlooked genre VIP.

Knowing one’s self-worth. ‘The Art Of Loving’ is all of these lessons; from the need for independence (‘Man I Need’) to the art of letting go (‘Let Alone The One You Love’), Olivia manages to convey all wisely, without becoming preachy.

The anger remains palpable, the lyrics ever relatable, and ‘All That Is Over’ injects enough ingenuity to keep Sprints right at the top of the class.

A carefully crafted and expansive release from a group of young musicians truly coming of age.

‘Juniper’ is an album that reflects growth, is a testament to Joy’s inner strength, and one which places her lyrical prowess centre stage.

‘Futique’ is a bold album that - much like its overarching concept of ‘future antique’ - filters through Biffy’s past, all with the aim of protecting their future.

At its core, ‘Girl Violence’ is a portrayal of melodramatic love and its overwhelming possession that’s as earnest, self-indulgent and womanising as expected from the King Princess demeanour.

On ‘Soak’, Black Honey have finessed their trademark cinematic sound, alongside a renewed sense of clarity.

There’s also the disappointing ‘Sinking Kind Of Feeling’ and opener ‘Other Side’, the latter’s slow build at odds with the overall tone of the record. Still, it’s a great stride forwards with some tracks that’ll likely go down as some of the band’s best.

This slight maladroit as Wednesday’s styles jostle for attention doesn’t affect the record – and in fact, the ‘what we know now’ adds to the emotional heft Karly has already displayed a knack for conveying.

‘Essex Honey’ isn’t about convention or the norm; as Dev continues to push against these boundaries, surrounded by acclaimed like-minded contemporaries, he delivers something far from easy but certainly entrancing.

“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.

This third outing is so impeccably paced, with its twists and turns and frequent 180-degree sonic shifts, that it somehow makes the outfit’s already fiery flame burn yet brighter.

A dizzying journey through genre, era, and Jekyll and Hyde dynamic shifts that more than lives up to the vitality of its previews.

An affecting - albeit somewhat terrifying - portrait of how life could shift in the not-so-distant future, ‘No On Was…’ is perhaps the stark reminder we all need to hear.

A typically playful, often infectious pop record.

The fact that Hayley Williams is an eloquent, evocative songwriter has never been in doubt, but with ‘EDAABP’ in all its sprawling scale, she proves just how far-reaching and all-encompassing her talents really are.

Overall, ‘Antidepressants’ is a solid, pleasantly dense record from a band who’ve been solid for decades yet.

‘Double Infinity’ is a gloriously satisfying record on which it feels like everything is in its right place; an album that on some songs features up to twelve players, but feels consistently intimate and laid-back.

The experimentation is there, yes, but this sees Nova Twins pushing themselves even further, incorporating even more, and doing anything to see what will fit. While the record’s highlights - ‘Soprano’, ‘Glory’, ‘Sandman’, and ‘Hummingbird’ - are attention-grabbing shooting stars, some songs here feel less dynamic.

Every element is knowingly referential, cheekily self-aware, and impeccably judged, incorporating all the language - musical, visual, thematic - established by her first two albums into a fluent thesis on national identity, fame, and womanhood.