It's always drifting, skilfully, from challenging noise to fragmented affection in the most beguiling way possible.

The record smartly connects sound with weight and movement without ever having to coerce the listener with heavy guitars or mountains of feedback.

A winning debut jam-packed with raucous outlaw energy.

Sol Invictus isn't perfect, and it's not their best work, but Faith No More creaking with a little rust and blinking cobwebs is still a glorious thing.

Loyalty is undeniably a folk album, underpinned by Lindeman's finger-picked guitar, spacious piano and banjo, her husky, timeless voice having taken on a new maturity, every word now clearly articulated.

On its own, this album is a solid addition to an impressive back catalogue, but the fact that it's part of a triple-run of releases only adds weight to it.

An arresting song cycle that reveals a three-dimensional version of the modern folk singer.

The album starts off relatively strong, with hard-hitting choruses in "Narrow Mouth" and upbeat, catchy verse lines in "Magnolia," but lose momentum quickly thereafter.

These rapid shifts and experimental flourishes can make for a jarring listen, but they also keep Love Songs For Robots unpredictable and exciting.

With this album, Superheaven have outdone themselves, writing a tight set of perfectly balanced songs that create a refreshing, unified whole.

Oddisee challenges uninitiated music lovers to engage with his ideas and his formidable body of work.

Power manages to keep Dumb Flesh sounding uniform and digestible, a great feat for an artist hell-bent on dissecting his craft.

Braxton truly has created his own sonic alphabet here, and has employed it to draft a manuscript that is as sincere as it is creative.

Ba Power is a contemporary ngoni masterclass.

It's a bleak listen, but there's something comforting about hearing three musicians playing punishing music as a complete unit, knowing there are few that could do it like them.

Non-Believers is an easy record to enjoy, but there isn't much more going on.

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.

The fiercely independent musical spirit that animated her two most recent, deeply personal full-lengths is still strong.

Choose Your Weapon is a solid groove.

As it stands, the album is a half-baked effort that resembles a collection of demos rather than a high-stakes sophomore album.

It's the discomfort, the restlessness, and inability to settle that makes Anxiety's Kiss hang together, and while it's a hard way to think and live, Coliseum do it exceptionally well.

The focused California Nights nevertheless cements Best Coast as one of the few bands capable of straddling the line between intimacy and mass appeal.

Between its laid-back vocals, surf guitar and stomping percussion, Born Under Saturn makes a strong claim to being your ideal beach or road trip companion this summer.

The Waterfall changes that trend. If you like your rock records weird, funny, epic, sad and hazily spiritual, this is one you won't want to miss.

The three long years since Get Disowned gifted Hop Along the chance to take their sonic sheet lightning and bottle it, giving Painted Shut a razor-sharp focus and economy that doesn't give an inch.

Although Sprinter is a singular vision, it won't help rid her of the PJ Harvey comparisons, proving Torres to be musician unafraid of comparison, but even less afraid of compromise.

Hypnophobia is a beautiful, and sometimes tragic, look into the mind of a talented and tortured artist.

It's a feat of musical arrangement and of lyricism, sure, but in essence, it's the songwriting on MCIII that really makes it such an achievement.