She has not made Smile to impress critics, but rather as an emotional catharsis, and in some tracks this catharsis does sparkle. But it would be great if, in her next creative venture, she focused less on just her smile, as wonderful as it is, and more on the complex emotions that make up the main draw of Smile.

Bleak memories are retold here, and at times you really have to stick with Bayley with a sympathetic ear as the album extends to 16 tracks, including childhood interludes. But it’s delivered in an exuberant manner and, despite some very profound lyrics, songs such as singles Heat Waves and Your Love (Déjà Vu) would have had kids dancing at the festivals in the summer sunshine.

Quirky, idiosyncratic and unafraid to go against the grain, The Magic Gang have forged their own merry path to find success. Wide-eyed, ebullient and self assured, Death Of The Party is a welcome late summer ray of light.

While there are certainly all manner of influences on KOMPROMAT, this is an album of considerable depth and intellect that rewards careful investigation, and a well timed return from a band at the top of their game.

Nothing is overstated or overplayed and individual parts are delivered with a care and delicacy which sustains a sense of empathy and warmth. The arrangements are deft and adventurous, but never at the expense of a sense of space and a grounded quality in the music.

The deeper resonance of the piano is boosted further by judiciously deployed synth sounds and the effect is slower and more dreamlike. Quando eu era Pequenina is particularly beautiful, with its expansive piano chords and haunting synth sounds, while Os meus olhos são dois círios, rooted in electronics, is flatter but, thanks to Lina’s vocals, scarcely less beautiful.

The Front Bottoms here have underperformed with what is a tiresome collection of repetitive songs that don’t require much effort to listen to.

Girl Friday are quite clearly on their own path, and all the better for it.

It’s astonishing how much ground gets covered on Good Luck, Seeker. Sure, not every track is likely to resonate with every listener, but that’s all part of the charm: it’s a remarkable achievement that sits near, if not at, the top of the band’s entire catalogue.

If shiny, overstated hooks and operatic melodies are your thing, stick on the Twigs’ latest LP right away and you’ll have a ruddy glorious time. But for many, Songs For The General Public will be an overwhelming, even frustrating listen. The brothers wear their huge list of influences so prominently on their sleeves that it’s hard to put your finger on who they really are – and what they’re trying to say.

By the time the album’s 54 minutes have drawn to a close, you feel exhausted but in the best possible way.

What this three-hour opus does is show Matmos to still be intrepid sonic explorers, pushing the boundaries of musical orthodoxy and consolidating their unique position within the avant-garde.

This is a pleasant diversion for Whitney fans waiting for a follow-up to Forever Turned Around, and if it has the side-effect of directing people to the hitherto undiscovered treats of the likes of The Roches, Jurado and Moondog, then so much the better.

The formula is executed well, while the production and songwriting keep the Australian four-piece ahead of any imitators. ... Yes, new music is good to have and good to experience, but when the tunes become interchangeable that notion starts to feel hollow.

The album may not carry the sort of dance-fused electro-pop magnificence they’ve made before, but moving away from the more ‘expected’ type of pop song you think of when Erasure crops up in conversation seems to have worked wonders.

This is the most professional, mature, clean-sounding hit of saccharine pop the band have ever delivered, and it’s certainly their best album since Day & Age.

It never once drags or feels like a chore to listen to, for she pulls you in and keeps you enthralled for the duration. She does this across the entire album.

Schneider’s assessment of the impact of digital advances, while pessimistic, is not without nuance. ... Schneider is capable of breathtaking beauty as a writer – unafraid of exploring direct melodic communication and stirring arrangements. There is also plenty of subtlety and nuance in her writing, so this communicates honesty and sincerity more than earnestness.

Non-Secure Connection needs – and deserves – several encounters before its treasures can be fully revealed. When they are, a record to stand beside his best achievements in recent years is the result. Hornsby is a fascinating and absorbing character, and the longer his creative surge continues the better.

By the time the vocal ensemble brings Bank On It to a close, it’s clear that Twice As Tall is a novel but worthwhile fusion of disparate artists and styles.

Negrito creates a musical gallery in which each song is a well-crafted piece of folk art, bringing together fragments of genres to create something from the great unknown, something deeply provocative and enchanting. The answer to whether we’ve lost our minds yet is simple; at the end of this album, yes we have.

This band clearly has a solid vision for their sound, and with a debut this satisfying, you’ll definitely want to see where that vision takes them next – especially if that involves more experimentation.

The powerful Santiago Sunrise closes the album, confirming Even In Exile to be an undoubtedly impressive outing, both in terms of being an engaging, impactful set of songs but also as an educational exercise in shining further light on an important musician and cultural figure.

In short, it’s no puzzle to see that there’s no revolution here, and little is opposite to what you’d expect. It does, however, prove their sky remains far from blackened.

Musically it turns out to be blissful business as usual for Ernest Greene on his fourth album under the Washed Out moniker. The bittersweet sentiments remain but they are beautifully expressed and wrapped up in classy production, with a notable tension that hangs on every song.

Sex, Death & The Infinite Void resembles The Rocky Horror Picture Show if you were to watch it on a rollercoaster in the dark: it’s thrilling, coquettishly idiosyncratic, and filled to the brim with palpable pride at their lack of creative limits. If it’s one thing no critic could ever say Creeper lacks, it’s ambition, and here it really pays off.

It is inevitably an unfinished work. Studio banter is left in and some songs are mercilessly brief or feel like sketches. Nevertheless, its spacious textures, starkness and the emphasis on Molina’s understated but haunting vocal delivery mean that this music provides a window into Molina’s working process and creates a moving intimacy. It is like listening to the voices of ghosts.

At a time when mainstream house music is becoming more connected with both its past and the underground scene, ‘alternative’ interpretations like this are quickly becoming stale, and Articulation too often sounds as if it’s merely going through the motions.

Voices also feels like a celebration and validation of music itself – its capacity for profundity and to be a conduit for ideas. The world may be going through an unprecedented period of difficulty, but Voices is an album that will no doubt prove a worthy, supportive companion throughout.

Home is a groovy, infectious and deeply listenable record, recommended for all fans of repetitive electronic beats.

Welcome To Hard Times is his most magnificent album yet.

Its calmness in the face of life’s trials is truly inspiring. That something so thoughtful and positive could come from such a turbulent time is someone’s life is astounding, and showcases just what a great songwriter Alain Johannes is.

Shunning a tried-and-tested formula to focus on evolution and experimentation is always a massive risk. But by choosing to embrace their calmer, and often much darker side, the Dubliners could well have given us their masterpiece.

Like the original album, most of these songs deal with the themes of love, loss, sex and power in open, frank ways that can make for – at first – a difficult, unwieldy listen. But presented here, in a more intimate setting, the songs are more accessible, and certainly more apt for repeated listens.

Alanis Morissette has long been a rarity among her peers, more than willing to address significant, yet unsettling subject matter. Such Pretty Forks In The Road is a case in point, with inspiring lyrical touches and affecting vocal sincerity placing it among her best albums.

The Psychedelic Furs needn’t have made anything this good. Many of these songs will grow in potency in a live setting (if we ever get back to that).

Steve offers a simple, risk-free avenue to access a very deep, very meaningful cultural history that is seemingly inaccessible to newcomers at first glance. Put simply, you’d have be pretty miserable to think it wasn’t harmless fun, and if it turns one person on to the real thing, then it’s definitely worth it.

It’s the subtlest yet most powerful record of their career to date, and while it does reach far into the past, while it nods to jazz, funk and electronic music, it also feels consistent and controlled.

It is a storming electropop record taking account of the times in which we live but fighting them with positive energy. His music is as strikingly relevant now as it was in the late 1970s, the creative fires burning brightly in the relative darkness.

While not quite as immediate as its predecessor, All The Time is an enjoyable collection of bops and ditties for those who like their tunes retro and mischievous.

For deep and lasting inspiration, A Small Death is hard to beat.

The voice of Shirley Collins is blossoming again, delivering its compelling stories with the urgency of a singer who simply had to make this record. Collins is a musical key worker, her songs compelling at every turn.

Heartache has inspired countless songs and albums over the years and if nothing else Old Flowers shows how humans will continue to turn to music for comfort in times of sadness for many years to come. These songs have clearly provided solace to Andrews and it’s likely they’ll do the same for others in similar need.

What Folklore ultimately achieves in its narrative of escapism is reinforcing the notion that Swift isn’t one of the greatest twenty-first century artists because her work is autobiographical, or because she leaves cleverly crafted clues leading up to her albums (although these are all interesting elements) but rather because she is, first and foremost, a storyteller. Folklore is sad, beautiful, somewhat tragic, a little bit off the wall, but most of all it feels free.

From bow to stern The Chicks take us on a musical boat ride, with infectious top lines you’ll be humming long after the album has ended – just make sure you don’t leave your tights.

Bing & Ruth have always provided poignant and moving listening experiences, but Species takes a different turn, and fully reaps the benefits.

Hate For Sale is surely one of the best albums this legendary band has produced, vivacious in a way that could even rival fan favourite Learning To Crawl.

his is a mid-career highlight from one of the finest lyricists and sonic set-dressers this country has produced. It’s a little bit silly, a little bit raunchy and a whole lot of fun. ... Simply put, JARV IS… a winner.

In short, every song is an earworm, and Lianne La Havas’ third album is haunting in the way only inspiring music can claim to be; a beautiful ghost to soundtrack your life to. ... Truly captivating.

Side A listens more personal and vulnerable, whereas side B, named EG.0, allows the pop goddess within to let rip.

It underlines that Pottery have made a record meant for a party that never stops. Bobby’s Motel is surely a place with more to it than meets the eye.

So When You Gonna... sets Dream Wife up nicely as a radical band their day, actively engaging with the major issues at hand, progressive in their sound and statements, and making the case for re-evaluating how gender is viewed in the music industry and beyond.

A sensational album of varying degrees of pleasure and pain. ... Ultimate Success Today is their most cathartic statement to date.

Weller has found an ideal blend of experience and a quest for more that provides for an optimistic album for an English summer.

Skinner has matured remarkably over the past two decades, and None of Us Are Getting Out Of This Life Alive is a refreshing marker of his evolution from shy hopeless lad to eloquent wordsmith, and it is packed with poetic realism that tells an inconvenient truth. In all, nine years was well worth the wait to see Skinner return to form.

On the evidence of The Glow, DMA’s are more than ready to stand on their own feet, with a sell-out show at the Brixton Academy having already confirmed. Welcome to the party.

She has delivered her most soothing and assuaging set of songs to date, music to help re-establish personal harmony and emotional equilibrium.

Unfollow The Rules – the album title was inspired by a phrase used by Wainwright’s daughter – is worth the wait, and across the 12 songs here, we experience some of the finest moments of his career to date.

Overall, Feel Feelings represents the complexity of the human experience in that it’s not perfect, however the work put into this album is undeniable. It can be hoped that for her next album Soko continues to, indeed, feel her feelings through her music for us to enjoy.

Thankfully though, less worthy moments are heavily outnumbered by their more interesting peers and, for a first full collection, Bedroom is a resounding success. bdrmm have chosen a well-worn path, but there’s a freshness here nevertheless.

The tracks are brighter, bolder and more immediate than anything he’s done before and thematically they aim higher also.

In short, it’s an album that demonstrates the continuing merit of musical collaboration while also offering a hopeful counterpoint to a world all too often consumed by negativity and strife.

While it’s a consistently strong collection, with no real missteps, certain tracks on Beginners really stand out. The quality peaks with the mid-album triumvirate of Unforgivable, Northsiders and Twin Souls.

The record dazzles with its detail, beguiles with its lyrical performances and leaves a lasting impression with powerful songwriting.

While Mordechai falls just short of providing that ‘sit up and take notice’ moment many of us have been waiting for, there’s certainly a lot to admire about Khruangbin – not least their formidable crate-digging skills.

Vocals on The Vacant Lots’ albums are always an acquired taste, much like those of Newcombe’s in fact, yet this trait never seemed to hold back bands like Kraftwerk. It might prevent them from reaching heights that otherwise could be achieved with synthy brilliance such as this. ... So look past the vocals and enjoy.

The delights of Home Again is that Hayman sings about emotions that are easy to identify with but sometimes hard to articulate.

Both music and subject matter are sometimes claustrophobic, but the whole of Kitchen Sink is infused with a humour and empathy that opens the album out. It might be on point, but it never feels overly worthy; it’s a truthful account told in engrossing style.

This new album shows that they are capable of not only subverting the expectations of the audience, but subverting expectations of the music world in general.

Burial is the most important influence across Civic Jams, but while his productions, his songwriting, his structures carry a real emotional heft, Darkstar sound for the most part as if they’re playing for time.

The result is surely one of the best pop albums of 2020, and is possibly Ware’s finest to date. A sensual delight, What’s Your Pleasure? is the ultimate in post-disco gratification.

Annual feels like a one-paced, indistinctive first step into a new world and one that is begging for just the odd about-turn to maintain interest.

It is, quite simply, a staggeringly good record for an artist at this late stage of what has been a remarkable career, entirely made up of original compositions and worthy in its own way to stand alongside the masterpieces of its creator’s mid-’60s and mid-’70s halcyon periods.

Sometimes, Kinsella keeps it simple (as on the acoustic lament Headphoned) while at other times, such as On With The Show, the sound is more lush. It’s a testament to Kinsella’s abilities that he can pull off both equally well.

Punisher is funny but serious, subtle yet obtuse, familiar and somehow simultaneously entirely unique. Even if in the final analysis it’s still not massively folky.

Planet’s Mad is an intense listen, a runaway train devouring everything in its path. It’s also an absolute tour de force from an extremely talented producer who is only going from strength to strength.

It’s not a Maccabees revival, but rather a delicate, fragile document of a life-changing event – and one that will touch the heart of both parents and non-parents.

ChangesNowBowie has absolutely no right to be as good as it is, especially with the daring song selection and languid arrangements. But much like the Bowie at Glastonbury 2000 collection, ChangesNowBowie is proof (if any were needed) that when he was committed to a project – and having fun – David Bowie was the greatest musical artist that Earth has ever seen.

At times superfluous, at others explosively brilliant, it is more emotive than their previous releases and rather than shy away from this, the band jump in with both feet.

The lack of ripe new fruit is probably what makes Homegrown a slight disappointment, but judged by most standards, it’s still a very solid collection that vividly reflects a turbulent chapter in Neil Young’s long and eventful career.

Maserati are apparently attempting to encapsulate something much larger, the infinity of space and the endless depth of the mirror. With this album, they’ve achieved it.

Not only is Head Above The Water a collection of beautiful deep-psych lullabies of the heart, it’s also a tender reminder of the importance of compassion and support when life gets tough.

It seems to be a study of gender, sexuality, innocence and sin, and ultimately identity; and it feels literary, in the way it deliberately and self-consciously turns over its themes.

Good Songs for Bad People maintains a high standard almost throughout, but it does tail off a little disappointingly at the end.

Noveller is music not only for the open-minded, but for the inquisitive. It’s a joyous, enthralling sound that she makes, and it seems to be getting more enticing with each release.

At times Pick Me Up Off The Floor feels like a welcoming musical refuge. It’s an intimate, empathising support mechanism of an album, well-placed to respond to the emotional needs of listeners during these turbulent times.

It’s an undeniably pleasant background to a warm summer’s day. But, like the output of many of the chillwave notables it resembles, once Headroom has finished playing, precious few details remain lodged in the brain.

World On The Ground has an accessibility and lucidity that should see Jarosz win new fans. This is a highly accomplished outing by an artist very much in the ascendancy.

Killer Mike and El-P have been speaking out about the deep rot at the core of the USA for their whole careers, and with this album they add several more tunes to a rich canon of protest music that will galvanise an oppositional movement.

While there’s no denying that when they hit their default groove – as on To the Nth, for example – GoGo Penguin are a mightily tight, impressive unit, this album does leave you wanting more from a very talented band clearly capable of greater things.

This is an intriguing record whose rewards come slowly but which leave a lasting impression. There is a restless quality to Sam Eastgate’s songwriting that feels very much of the times in which we live, but there is a warmly soulful side to balance it.

All this amounts to, in the nicest possible way, is an album that sounds sleek, professional and (say it quietly) a little safe.

So the debut album is done, and it’s a good one.

With all the horror and terror of living in 2020 showing no signs of abating, we must turn to art for relief, to offer ourselves a steady stream of cathartic pleasures. This new Hinds album is just the thing you might be looking for, and it might offer you 30 of the most engaging minutes you’ve had in the past god knows how long.

Even though Falco, Haliechuk and their Hairpins cohorts appear to be cramming in influences from almost everywhere (acid house, new wave, funk, punk, psychedelia and more), the whole album is incredibly coherent, lucid, and most importantly it’s the of thing that might just define a summer spent outside. Assuming that’s ever going to be possible this year.

It’s nice enough. That’s the problem with Snake Oil, though: the highest bar the music reaches is being decent, and the loftiest ambition of these songs is to be simply tolerated, packed in amongst other unremarkable tunes on an Apple Music playlist called ‘Tuesday Vibes’ or something similar.

Heartbreaker Please, like much of Thompson’s output, is unshowy yet quietly effective. ... The album can sound a little too cosy, where you’re often yearning for something a bit more raw and less polished. Yet if you’re looking for some timeless, classic-sounding pop, then Thompson does a very good job.

Lightburn is on fine form throughout – vocally, he’s been compared to Morrissey for most of his career, but on Lovers Rock he’s more like a downbeat Damon Albarn.