ARTPOP is a dynamic, memorable album that, while it fails to unveil the girl behind the aura, reveals a performer who finally sounds as invested in her art as she is in her image.

Like anyone enjoying the early rush of romance, this kind of music can feel silly with hindsight. But if you're willing to have yourself transported back to a time when you felt similarly, Pale Waves will do all the heavy lifting.

Metawar will not only please current fans, but will likely win them scores of new blood, simply due to their noticeable growth. This is the most realized and accessible the band have been to date.

As an appetizer to hold over fans until his album drops this summer, Dark Lane Demo Tapes serves its purpose. There's nothing groundbreaking here, but that doesn't matter. This album is a hit, whether you like it or not.

It's another album of Neil being Neil, and that's a good thing.

It comes as no surprise then that Megadeth, like so many of those latter-day albums, is an uneven affair, front-loaded with its best material in the time-honoured tradition — but when it's good, it's good.

The 20/20 Experience 2 of 2 includes a few pop gems, but as an album, it pales in comparison to its older sibling.

Eight months on, Unknown Mortal Orchestra return with Blue Record, a chilled acoustic EP that grooves down and quietly electrifies.

He's Got the Whole This Land Is Your Land in His Hands is a minor gem in the Joan of Arc discography, as Kinsella gives listeners more simply by pulling back.

CLB is a serviceable enough Drake album, but he has a number of prior projects that showcase his dynamic rap abilities and frenemy quarrels at a much higher calibre.

That's part of what makes Sorry 2 so much fun: it's inconsistent, flailing and completely unpredictable.

By the end of the project, Quavo Huncho begins to feel more like a mixtape, with Quavo popping out to add a few unenergetic verses and repetitive adlibs rather than a strong solo debut. Quavo Huncho's individual features provide more of a draw than every solo track combined, proving that Quavo still needs some time to grow and develop as a solo artist.

Six Cups is a "fun" record, sounding less serious in melody and experimentation than Lindstrøm's previous work, but it was undoubtedly crafted with the intentions of being taken equally seriously

Innocents contains some great vocal performances and catchy hooks, and despite the tent ropes being held down by the weight of mediocrity, it'll please many Play-era Moby fans and radio listeners as ideal background music for patio conversations about how their stocks are performing.

The narrative isn't particularly groundbreaking; it tells the story of escaping a bad relationship, falling in love with someone else and then torpedoing it with his libido. Ne-Yo's MJ-indebted falsetto does deliver some highlights on the album.

Essentially, Yukon Blonde sound like a new band, and they may just be your new favourite because of it.

A Pill for Loneliness is another strong effort from City and Colour. It finds Green continuing to play to his strengths and continuing to move City and Colour's sound into new territory at an assured, steady pace.

When he calls the 92-piece orchestra in, the results are mixed.

While not every track bangs, the three managed to create a fairly strong record.

Satellite Flight: The Journey to the Mother Moon occupies a space between what is and what's coming, but Kid Cudi's admired originality falls short and is almost lackluster here in comparison to his previous works.

Thematic and cohesive, Supermoon eschews the scattered folk of his LPs for an attentive, intimate perspective on some old tracks that should tide fans of Carey over until his next proper record.

Jackie is unlikely to vault Ciara into the stratosphere, but it's a solidly produced effort that features an artist comfortable with who she is both privately and as an artist.

A Better Tomorrow never really coalesces into a satisfying whole.

An immersive and atmospheric sonic experience, one made all the better by the group's much-improved songwriting chops.

For fans of Animal Collective's trippier inclinations, Tangerine Reef is a pleasant bit of oceanic escapism. For new listeners or anyone looking for the next "My Girls," this is decidedly inessential.

Love is the Great Rebellion shows more of Ben Lee's spiritual growth than musical growth, so fans who were attached to the more adventurous departures of his recent work may be disappointed here, but those still clapping along to "Catch My Disease" and "Begin" will surely find comfort in the album.

If the record's volume number wasn't enough to suggest that Lil Wayne's long-running Dedication mixtape series was getting a little stale, a few short verses into this repetitive and lyrically lazy affair should definitely set those thoughts in motion.

Jay-Z co-opts and redefines current trends to reassert his ongoing cultural potency.