This is a forward-looking release by a group still searching for reverence.

Rich and vibrant musically while raw and emotive lyrically, Ultraviolet is Kylesa's highest achievement to date.

It's a very welcoming album that will please Pastels fans, and hopefully find some new ones.

Innocence is Kinky is by turns surreal and hyper-real, a Lynch-ian underworld of avant-pop, alt-lit poetry and potent sexuality.

While Howl falls squarely into a no man's land between soul and pop, Brooks's smooth style ultimately proves refreshing.

On False Idols, Tricky steps forward with a renewed confidence, proving himself equal parts mentor and maestro.

Obsidian is a gorgeous suite of electronic pop songs that will draw you in and stay with you for days on end, and somehow it sounds like Baths more than Cerulean ever did.

Nothing is off the table, influences are blended and bounced off each other, and it's this tension between elements that makes this a very special record.

The album starts out blazing with Fogerty and the Foo Fighters doing "Fortunate Son," and that pace is largely maintained all the way through to a rousing "Proud Mary," with Jennifer Hudson, which manages to simultaneously pay tribute to the Ike & Tina version and the song's original New Orleans inspiration.

While her peers may be filling arenas with banjo anthems, Marling has long freed herself from that particular pigeonhole and presents another collection of songs that showcases her astounding talent.

It's a dynamic album, one so vibrant that listeners can easily envision themselves at the Barbican witnessing all the musicians mesh in the creation of something grand.

For those under the impression Hooded Fang subscribe to a right-note-right-time, throwaway pop formula, Gravez offers something meatier to chew on.

This is music made for dancers (and highly dextrous ones at that).

The interludes and instrumentals only serve to interrupt the flow of the record, and it becomes clear the album is a bit of a mixed bag.

For as often as Impersonator threatens to dishearten, it's anchored by an equal and opposite force: a humanity so earthbound and maternal that it washes away your petty sorrows in a birdbath of optimism.

Thomas is still a little too fond of playing around with distortion on the vocals though, almost like a call-back to his really lo-fi days, and it sounds more out of place than ever.

Fertile Crescent sees Homeboy Sandman adding another project to his growing library, and it's one worth repeated spins.

The Last Spire, their tenth and last release, combines all that the legends do well: snail-paced doom, upbeat Sabbath stoner rock and craggly sludge.

This minimal format emphasizes Hungtai's talent for setting a skin-crawling mood.

Trouble Will Find Me burns slowly, but melds together more seamlessly with each listen.

Steffi's transitions on Panorama Bar 05 sound smooth enough that they turn a mix listener's typical consideration of song blends towards the complementary selection of plunging machine sounds, naturalized in Panorama Bar 05 upon the steps of an ascendant, emotive trajectory.

It contains more successful experiments than usual, and a few moments of genuine splendour.

Vår exhibit an ambition to spiral as far as possible down into some dark abyss while maintaining a constant impression of strange beauty.

There's a striking sense of command and confidence evident on this EP.

The fascinating thing about this compilation is the range of influences the producers incorporate into their work.

Even if you appreciate Havoc's reliability, you'll miss Prodigy's unpredictable diction.

Fandango tries to revel in its excess and overreaches far too often to be considered a success.

There are songs here that could quite easily become part of anyone's perfect summer soundtrack, which was likely Kisses' plan all along.