This is Suede right near their very best. They remain incurable, helpless romantics, barely able to control their wildest musical thoughts, and Brett Anderson sounds like he depends on them more than ever.

While there may not be anything to rival their breakout hit The Night We Met for ubiquity, much of the band’s fourth album sounds like the sort of warm hug that many people are desperately searching out for right now.

Bigger, bolder but still retaining an engaging charm, it is a highly impressive melodic triumph.

Not all of the tracks are wholly successful, and on occasion the vocal clarity is hidden from view. Yet that barely matters, for the fierce spirit remains. Spirituals is both old and new at the same time – drawing on the human spirit, but using cutting edge electronics to do it. Playing to Santigold’s strengths through inventive beats and melodies, it is a fine return.

To write it off too early would be criminal, as Embryonic represents The Flaming Lips at their most awkward, most engaging, and most creative.

On first listen it feels understated, the low-slung rhythms an easy listen with many melodic and textural high points. Yet as you spend more time with them the frank admissions of the band take on a reassuring quality, sharing our own highs and lows with everyday life and offering a calmly assertive way of dealing with them.

At just 36 minutes, Every Loser never outstays its welcome – instead, it’s a short, sharp blast of energy that sounds impossibly refreshing.

Jurado is still ultimately concerned with tales of transience and woe, but he and Swift temper Saint Bartlett with such rich benevolence--from the generous, autumnal arrangements to its thoughtful, crafted lyrics--it is impossible not to be heartened by the whole affair.

There is pain, frustration, beauty and love whistling away in every crevice of this album.

Although Yawning Abyss is a tad more conventional than Mr Dynamite, it’d be fair to assume Creep Show will remain an acquired taste for some. But for those who have no qualms about stepping into their sometimes oppressive, sometimes sleazy-sounding world, you may not want to step back.

Both foreground and background listening are equally rewarded.

On Love’s Crushing Diamond, Lee offers seven immaculately composed tracks, all of which feature his refreshingly optimistic ruminations on love and life in today’s world.

The follow-up does just what Human Ceremony did, but more so. And better.

Chilly is on to something here, with a collection of small-scale musical postcards ready to charm anyone lucky enough to receive them.

Heaven is a tantalising glimpse at just how brilliantly amazing Rebecca can be when she wants to be.

Simon’s voice, as anybody who saw him on his farewell tour will attest to, is still remarkably strong, and he’s rearranged these songs so that they suit his timbre.

The first great album of a new decade is one that promises to inspire a new generation of clubbers and hedonists with the joy of some of the most perfect pop you could ever hope to hear.

The album has been patiently developed and refined over the last few years and it shows.

No Selfish Heart is something to cherish all year round, no matter what’s in or out of fashion musically; something to keep coming back to when you’re unimpressed by everything else.

They’re experimental while making for a cohesive whole, exemplary of a band which has been slowly but clearly refining its sound for 15 years, all to the benefit of listeners who prefer to listen with the lights off.

As long as you come in solely expecting to be treated to top-notch instrumentation and heartened by the (sometimes-vague) familiarity of your favorite tunes, Walking Shadows will prove to be one of the year’s most satisfying jazz listens.

With Below The Waste, Goat Girl proves they can keep their high standards while trying out new things, and actually manage to pull them off.

An album that playfully veers all over the place and leaves you feeling as heady and confused as a first time stoner.

Whilst most die-hard fans are likely to be put off by some of the tracks on offer, this is the sound of a band settling into comfortable maturity.

Oh Fortune is a luscious wall of sound, one that should see the criminally underrated Canadian featured more regularly alongside the heavyweights.

All in all, an accomplished return, and a welcome and relatable one for these dismal times.

After a couple of listens it reveals itself as Goldfrapp's most subtle, affecting and rewarding album to date.

Divorce have served quite a calling card with this debut, and it’s fair to say that, by the sounds of it, they’re in it for the long haul.

A showcase for Keita’s skills as a musician beyond his lauded voice they present.

Her songs are similarly sparse and fragile, with some astonishingly mature lyrics framed by beautifully pretty melodies.

Another excellent album from a band who know how to play to their strengths.

This all may be too intense and striking for some people (the last 70 seconds of closing track Magic Dealer are simply ambient noise), and those who were pulled in by the warm sound of Saddle Creek on the band’s first two albums may find this switch to 4AD to be too jarring. Yet, for most Big Thief fans, UFOF is a natural, welcome progression, and one that you likely won’t want to tear yourself away from.

Creep On Creepin' On is a richly textured, intriguing piece of work that bears up well to repeated listens.

By this point, she’s probably preaching to the converted, and won’t attract anyone previously immune to the Del Rey charm – yet this is probably her finest record since Born To Die, and this new partnership with Antonoff ensures that her next move will much anticipated.

Creative and fascinating.

Despite these occasional moments of divergence and experimentation, fans will be pleased to hear that the album is still peppered with quintessential Field Music bangers.

All in all, Put The Shine On is a stunning update of the classic CocoRosie sound.

Many previous fans may be slightly put off by the lack of wild abandon and experimentation, but there is a newfound lucidity here that is ultimately more rewarding.

There’s no doubt that Pile have made a bruising record, but it’s also one that is rich with off-kilter melodies, roaring guitars and moments of variety.

Lyrically and stylistically our protagonist spreads her wings much further than before, making a statement of intent that confirms Sampa The Great is in this for the long haul. The sky really is the limit on this evidence.

Primrose Green may not be the most original of statements, but it definitely amounts to more than the sum of its parts and there is the lingering impression that Walker is only just getting started.

It may not be up there with the best of The National, but Get Sunk is definitely a new avenue for Berninger to explore. That closing choral shout of “Get sunk! Get drunk!” on the final track Times Of Difficulty feels both playful and emotional, as the best of Berninger’s work can do.

There’s a distinct absence of envelope-pushing on Until In Excess… – but frankly, when the result is this beautiful, who can really bring themselves to care?

Year Of The Snitch feels totally alien. It is an exhilarating release that doesn’t let up, and proves that six years on the group are still a force to be reckoned with.

The Instrumentals album is naturally a looser, less magnified affair, consisting of collages of the exploratory, freeform acoustic guitar improvisations that each day of the recording sessions would begin with. They showcase a different side to her creative process, but it’s undoubtedly on Songs where the emotional impact is located.

Following some recent setbacks in his personal life, Luke Abbott has got round to making, for all intensive purposes, his impression of a breakup record, and damn, if it isn’t a total knockout.

Commercial considerations aside, this is a finely crafted and lovingly realised album that Halstead should be proud of, and which deserves to finds its way into more homes than the usual coterie of 4AD fans.

With each album, Gibson develops these techniques, and Empire Builder sees her building these details to a new peak.

The result is a debut full-length that energises, empathises and excites with every step of the way.

English Electric--both melodically and artistically--stands as a rich, dignified entry in OMD’s catalogue.

Fans of either Calexico or Iron And Wine should be pleased with this full-length collaboration, which feels very much like a joining of two halves to make a larger, rather special whole.

Lovely stuff.

There's more emphasis on guitars, and they appear to have ingested a whole load of pharmaceuticals, but at heart they're a great pop band, and their ability to write a heart-rending tune certainly hasn't been hampered.

I Speak Because I Can is, without doubt, an album to really delve into, and one to lose yourself in for hours. Added to that, it asserts Marling as one of this country's most talented young songwriters; our Conor Oberst or our David Berman.

Off Off On captures something of how the world is right now. It has moments that encourage us to turn off and seek escape, but at the same time also provides energy to help us to re-engage with the world. In short, it’s a perfect soundtrack to help us through these pandemic-dominated times.

The intricate lines are admirably realised, but now and then a more solid drum beat or hook wouldn't go amiss.

I’m A Dreamer is never going to set the world alight with innovative new sounds, but these songs are perfect little gems that possess a timeless quality.

The results are often fascinating. Matmos clearly revel in exploring and manipulating sound, however unlikely the source, and there’s a variety here.

It all adds up to another fascinating entry in the ever-evolving Lambchop spectrum, all slow texture, repurposed approaches and augmented familiarity. Showtunes then, but for an alternative world where unhurried immersion and quiet advancement are key.

A satisfyingly down and dirty album that works up a sweat reeking of the Big Apple.

Because 24 7 Rock Star Shit is just a great record. The requisite acoustic number (Sticks And Twigs) is heartfelt and pretty, there’s a sleek poppiness which can’t help but shine.

Sartain’s songwriting (and choice of covers) is superb throughout, and the album is immaculately sequenced. But that’s not really the main appeal of this record--the appeal is that it’s eclectic, and that it’s funny.

An album for repeated plays, this is an exhilarating, bittersweet addition to the Joyce Manor canon that easily stands alongside their best work.

Just when you think things are getting a bit too glossy and radio-friendly, there's a reminder of the edge that makes her such a good listen.

Processed vocals are a huge presence on Nurture, and the record is infused with a songwriting sensibility that’s cutesy but massively endearing.

The narrative may be light and oft charted, but what an impressive and impassioned debut album from Sigrid Sucker Punch is. She and a world of adulation are unlikely to be Strangers for much longer.

Those familiar with the older Årabrot will find much to admire here, and this is far from a crossover album, but in terms of scope both sonically, lyrically and artistically, it’s perhaps the defining moment of the band so far.

If there's one thing it proves, it's this: Goldfrapp are an exceptional singles band.

This may be Toth's strongest and most immediately engaging work so far. As ever with an artist as untamed as Toth, it's far from a complete picture.

Expert In A Dying Field is the sound of a band going from strength to strength.

Love Letters is great. There’s potential here, and it feels like it had the ability to be a nigh-on perfect record, but for reasons obscured--probably the brick-subtle lo-fi-ness--it feels unfinished. It’s like a final draft.

Over the past eight years a strong case has been made for Tyler being the most interesting figure in modern rap music, and despite the low-stakes presentation Don’t Tap The Glass furthers this case with its inventive arrangements, fiery verses and club-ready production.

As with each album in the quartet’s canon, Re-Animator requires (and deserves) repeated listening. Once that is achieved then the dividends start to pay, and this darkly shaded album is revealed as a very different string to be added to the Everything Everything bow. The band continue to sound like nothing else around.

If anything they're more powerful this time.

Utterly everyday yet utterly recognisable and distinctive, Celebration Rock is pounding, lithe and youthful.

So from no albums in 13 years to two high quality long players in the space of six months - the star of Gil Scott-Heron is very much in the ascendency again, his influence on today's culture thrown into ever greater relevance by one of its finest new producers. It's that rare thing--a properly fine remix album.

Listening to the music in the knowledge of its back story makes for a poignant experience, a reminder of how music can be an incredibly cathartic means of expression for both listener and artist.

Like its predecessor, every single element on The Midnight Sun appears to have been carefully and painstakingly thought out, but serene closer Window is a perfect demonstration of just how effortless it all sounds.

The conventional instrumentation and song forms might lead some to consider it a conservative work--but its uniquely personal dimensions suggest otherwise.

The layered and intricate soundscapes that embody Isles are testament to the vast and diverse musical influences that Ferguson and McBriar have explored and savoured over the years. Bittersweet and introspective, yet hopeful and spellbinding.

It is also a daunting record--when is an hour and a quarter of ambience not?--but a thoroughly rewarding one.

There's enough talent here to suggest that the hype around The View at the moment is thoroughly justified - hats off to them indeed.

The more collaborative approach this time around has led to a more fleshed-out sound than his early, more minimal work, but it still contains the usual Oldham magic.

It may be the antithesis of Shiny Happy People, but this Beat Poetry is never anything less than compelling.

An unremittingly sad record, one that almost suffocates the listener with its own melancholia; and yet there's also something strangely inspirational in its 10 piano-led hymns to failing and trying again.

It’s a strong and pressing example of how musical elements from different geographical sources can be integrated successfully and portrayed in cohesive, striking style.

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.

There may not be a big crossover hit on the album, but that doesn’t stop Moonshine Freeze sounding like the best record of Kate Stables’ career so far.

Fatima’s Hand is another evolution for McPhee’s singular playing style, and a characteristically immersive, absorbing experience.

It’s a testament to Broderick’s talent that even on an endlessly intriguing and clever record like this, he can still play straight to the heart.

This is the most consistently impressive Beirut record yet, proving its creator is now able to harness his occasional excesses and directly engage with his audience without losing the invention and flair that make him such a rare talent.

An album that showcases the development of an artist who seems to get better and better as the years roll by.

There’s more than sentimentality to these songs; they resonate at a more fundamental level.

The Rat Road does indeed become an accurate reflection of modern life, but it lifts far above the routine, providing an insightful and emotive soundtrack for many who cross its path.

The band may not have moved on musically but with the results this strong it feels much more than just a lazy trip down memory lane.

Birding is a well-crafted album that draws you into a world you’re more than happy to get lost in. That this is deary’s debut is genuinely impressive; few bands arrive with such a clear aesthetic and sense of control.

Even the less successful tracks have something interesting about them, and they never flatten the feel-good mode of the album. It’s been a while in coming, but Bunny could be a case of third time lucky for Willie J Healey.

The Granite Way is the perfect demonstration of how he still stands as one of the leading figures of English folk music – nobody can quite tell a story like he can.