With -io she has made a work that is both devastatingly personal and beautifully generous. Around the time of Reaching For Indigo’s release, she described that record as her magnum opus and no doubt it will remain a high water mark in a remarkable career. But -io is likely to sit by its side, in cosmic grandeur.

The shifting contours of Stetson’s music make for unpredictable and challenging but frequently awe-inspiring terrain.

Laura Veirs makes an excellent case for herself as one of the most under-recognised singer-songwriters working today and the album's summery soul lingers long after first listen.

Hadreas is a staggeringly talented songwriter, with Put Your Back N 2 It showcasing an array of songs as deceptively simple as they are jaw-droppingly powerful.

Although this isn't a flawless album, it will undoubtedly be a huge hit and keep many people company through the long hot summer months ahead.

The days of Silent All These Years or songs about Cornflake Girls are long gone – but Ocean To Ocean is a moving, poignant and inspiring document of a journey most of us have had to take over the past 18 months.

Music this sparse, this abandoned and this beautiful... you can never have too much of it.

A solid album, one which, given time to explore its layers and textures, justifies investigations tenfold.

There isn't a duff track to be seen, and you get the feeling the whole thing's been meticulously planned and orchestrated, with a mindset of giving us a record to cherish, something to put on when the chips are down, and that rare thing, one that will almost certainly be loved in equal measure many years down the line.

These songs are her most heartfelt to date, reaching into the depths of her character. The influence of Björk is occasionally audible, but so are inflections from as far afield as Enya and composer Karl Jenkins. Yet Aurora is very much herself, one of the most exciting female singers around – and The Gods We Can’t Touch adds another set of strings to her generously filled bow.

Here is a songwriter effortlessly recounting his joys of youth and getting lost, and in the process finding himself through a set of subtle musical gems.

The Magic Whip succeeds splendidly in coming across as a comeback album that hasn’t been overthought, flashing a nonchalant dare to any prospective Oasis reunion project.

It is good to have The Coral back, and while Distance Inbetween may not find them consistently hitting the songwriting heights it does consistently impress with the quality of its musical delivery and the authenticity of James Skelly’s vocals.

Their debut album is a riotous cacophony of perfectly sculpted indie boisterousness.

If you've any common sense, plot a listen soon.

Major Arcana is certainly not a perfect debut and does have some flaws, but it succeeds in establishing Speedy Ortiz as a band with promise and scope to build on.

It is, more importantly, a fine record of a dynamic live performance by a hugely influential band who transcended their punk origins.

All in all, this is a more mature, deeper developed sound for the band and will help us warm the cold depths of winter through toe-tapping riffs and clever lyrics.

All in all, it's a pleasure to listen to. However, if guitar leads devoid of vocals is not your thing, then this is going to become background music very quickly.

This is a good album, even if they’re not quite great yet.

It's a mightily impressive achievement.

Theirs is an easily digestible, less angst-ridden take on grunge, with a fizzing, infectious youthfulness to it. Definitely one to keep a close eye on this year.

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

There is a hidden depth to much of 2 which belies the outwardly bright nature of many of the songs and the cheesily trad imagery.

As a tribute to Molly Drake and an effective realisation of her music’s full potential for the listener, it’s a resounding success.

It's when listening in this way [on headphones] that the nuances of the music, with its dark underbelly, open up and reveal themselves in a weird yet absorbing way.

There's a feeling that This Is My Demo is just geared too much towards the commercial audience.

A Common Turn is a questing and provocative record that’s both remarkably dynamic and audaciously exposing.

Whether All Them Witches’ fans will approve in droves is unlikely, but instead of burying their heads in the sand maybe they should embrace the bands continuing evolution because at times it’s simply spellbinding.

Williamson has never been mournful in quite the same way that he is here, nor so disappointed in what he sees around him, whether it’s politicians, musicians or just ordinary people. This comes through not only in the lyrics but in their delivery.

Of all of the guest-heavy Gorillaz albums, this is by some margin the leanest, meanest and grooviest set of the lot.

Mackenzie Scott seems to have reached that stage of her career where she’s just happy to please herself, and it’s resulted in her best album to date.

This is a good, and sometimes great album, that feels like it’s a few tracks short of being a masterpiece.

The sounds on Microcastle form a lush landscape.

It’s an album that has facets from across the spectrum of experimental electronic music but, in the hands of the masterful sonic auteur Matthew Barnes, Forest Swords’ music sounds triumphantly singular. This is a very special album.

Crack-Up is, in its way, just as exhausting a listening experience as Pure Comedy.

Micah P Hinson is a natural byproduct of his time and place, but he's also an artist with a steady hand and an unflinching eye for the gruesome details.

This is comfortably Roberts’ most colourful recording and, whilst it retains the hypnotic quality of his delivery, also takes another significant step in his development a living, breathing artist going well beyond the curation of folk traditions.

This could be the biggest revelation of the lot. It simply does not get any better than Love.

This is a confident, vital and highly uplifting record.

It’s not as immediate an album as Lost In The Dream, and a couple of quality control lapses prevent it from being a truly great record. Yet it’s still a dauntingly accomplished behemoth from a group who grow in stature with every release they put out.

Superstar doesn’t quite hit the heights of its predecessor – at times, it feels like the whole concept of the album’s theme is getting in the way of creating a fully flowing album. When it works though, there’s enough evidence that Rose is still very much a superstar herself.

If a devil-may-care attitude is the album’s strength, it also can be a weakness. Songs hit or miss by chance, the product of unmoderated experimentation which can so easily become indulgence.

FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE remains an engaging, expansive and thought-provoking album.

It makes for an excellent reintroduction to an artist who proves that her music knows no boundaries, be that linguistic or otherwise.

With its 16 tracks clocking in at 63 minutes, it’s the band’s longest album to date and, despite a smattering of classy highlights, it feels laboured and cumbersome. With that in mind, the album as a whole falls short of The National’s best work. Yet it is, in places, an admirable detour.

Mercy may have a few forgettable tracks, but an artist with John Cale’s long and varied history will always find a way to intrigue the listener.

This New View is pleasant, but a little more of the old fire would be welcome.

This duo is an increasingly masterful unit. Even with just voice and drums, it would appear that the possibilities are endless.

There is absolutely no doubting that Pastoral is a phenomenal piece of work. It’s a brilliantly informed artistic statement and a state of the nation address that cuts right through. It must also be said that it is a quite challenging and difficult listen.

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.

This is the best and most complete set of songs Spiritualized have made since Ladies And Gentlemen.

It shows more strings to his bow, with full on reckless hedonism mixing freely with cool electro. It's a heady, intoxicating brew.

He’s lived it long and hard, and with this album Bradley continues to lay out all the goodness and badness of life and love, with soul to spare.

No matter how many times you listen to Nightmare Ending, you will probably never figure out why it was given its title: sad or happy, deaths and endings are not treated on the album as nightmarish, but as natural to humanity as is emotion.

It’s compelling stuff; we need more musicians who are prepared to go nuts in this delightfully joyous way.

Tthe Icelandic trio has now adopted darker musical stylings to create a record that’s every bit as transcendental as their best work.

With A Vengeance maintains its intensity throughout, and by the time Thru The Nite’s hammering rimshots have died down we’re left with a promising collection of songs from this genre-bending artist.

In the streaming age many records are front-loaded to cater to short attention spans, so Tranquilizer deserves kudos for placing two of its most interesting tracks at the end.

When the feedback and distortion doesn’t obscure the words, it’s clear that Twelve Nudes contains some of Furman’s finest lyrics yet.

The Bravest Man In The Universe is a success. It doesn't re-invent Womack as some sort of lost beacon of soul, nor is it an ersatz look at the career trajectory of a legendary figure. Instead the album posits Womack as a restless spirit, ever expository, invigorated and emboldened by age and experience.

With The Age Of Adz, Stevens may simply be trying too hard.

The Weather is packed with ambitious moments, and many of them go over really well.

Although the majority of the songs only hang around for a minute, Dead In The Dirt are quite adept at changing tack mid song, no matter how ridiculous it might be.

Master is perhaps less dense than their previous offering, but still possesses the ability to invoke terror and occasionally, irritate. Despite these occasional forays, Master is a powerful album.

As a standalone album From Scotland With Love is good, but found wanting in areas of length and substance. As a soundtrack to a film, it’s wonderful. The context to choose is the listener’s.

Diablo is a sonically powerful record with a clear sense of identity, and this helps to push past any shortcomings as Gurnsey remains a great producer and one to watch in the alternative electronic milieu.

It shows him to be a musically omnivorous artist, should any proof beyond Field Music’s albums be required.

It does lack the melodic hooks of some of Field Music’s previous albums – there’s certainly nothing as instantly accessible as Them That Do Nothing or The Noisy Days Are Over, and some may find the somewhat ‘busy’ atmosphere of the album a bit overwhelming. However, it’s always good to hear the Brewis brothers back together, and Limits Of Language is a fine way to celebrate their 20th anniversary as a band.

By now, you know what you’re getting with Tunng – this may be an album with few surprises, but it’s one that seems to greet you like an old friend.

As with many posthumous albums, Anxious is a deeply bittersweet listen – the knowledge of what might have been casts a poignant hue over the whole experience. However, as a tribute to Smith’s talent, it works beautifully: a fitting memorial to a woman who would have, no doubt, gone onto even better and brighter things.

On the surface, The New Eve Is Rising may seem simplistic and derivative. Yet spend some time with it, and its complexity and originality soon surface.

Uh Oh may not be an album filled with instantly catchy pop hooks, but instead is heavy on atmosphere and feeling. It’s an album to live inside, and although the general tone is muted, it becomes an affirmation that even the worst thing that can happen can be channelled into something inspiring.

A little patience pays dividends which, for the first time with an Andrew Bird release, are as emotional as they are cerebral.

Part of Lopatin's considerable appeal is his apparent refusal to settle.

It is the sharpness, leanness, and absorption in detail found on Howl that combine to make it a success. It’s not impossible that it could ultimately out-shine a lot of the bigger names it has been pushed up against this year.

The wilderness and going off the map might seem like a frightening concept, but after a little exploration, there’s beauty to be found everywhere.

It's fun while it lasts, but it's easily forgotten once over.

Play Me is an album that never stops subverting expectations.

It's primal, life-affirming and powerfully personal, demanding to be heard.

There's an alertness and sense of movement within these carefully crafted soundscapes.

In their search for pop perfection though, they do actually hit the mark a couple of times; it’s just a shame that the best moments mostly appear at the album’s commencement because they far outweigh the vast majority of what follows, meaning you could be tempted to drift off in conversation before the album’s conclusion or, worse still, fall asleep.

Ultimately it proves itself to be Essaie Pas’ most purposeful and satisfying release yet.

Native Sons is a surprisingly great piece of work by a band who know how to please their fans and accidentally make new ones.

It’s a surprising, hugely satisfying trip from a transformed band.

Fans of David Sylvian will doubtless appreciate the elegant compositions and Sylvian's self-indulgent but soulful insights, but there is little to entertain the casual listener who may be better off back cataloguing Tom Waits and Nick Drake and realizing that they are not the same thing.

Everybody’s Heart Is Broken Now resolutely clings to the idea that faded memories can be given vibrant colour through song and that music preserves inner tempests and dreamed oases in amber--and for the most part it succeeds as evidence of that.

There’s barely a weak track on Surrender, and it’s a record that’s destined to appear on a lot of ‘end of year’ lists come December. The fact that this is only Maggie Rogers’ second album is astonishing, given the level of confidence and ability that shines through it.

The Ascension is a far superior and more ambitious album [than 2010 album The Age Of Adz].

Rather than make-up/break-up album, this here is a glacial evolution of sentiment, reflective of his maturity of mind and songwriting.

There are some quite beautiful and pop-infused moments to be found sprinkled across the album despite the best efforts of EMA and her co-producer Leif Shackleford to keep away from the ears of the commercial fraternity.

While most folk acts are content to simply keep churning out album after album of tried and tested traditional standards or self-penned campfire sing-alongs, The Unthanks are stretching the parameters of their genre with an ambition that’s rarely been heard before.

Entanglement is an album that needs to be considered alongside genre heavyweights like The Blue Notebooks by Max Richter or Englabörn by Jóhann Jóhannsson. It’s a timely reminder of how high modern classical music can reach.

It may not be what you expect if you’re a casual fan, but it’s another intriguing little audio experiment from Wiggs, Stanley and Cracknell.

It's eccentric, it's exhilarating, it is, in parts, absolutely insane. Yet it's never less than absolutely compelling, which is what makes The White Stripes one of the greatest bands of modern times.

While they might not be better than ever, they’re at least what they once were and what they’ve always been in the collective memory: instrumental virtuosos and sophisticated songsmiths, all the while finding a way to make it look easy.

At times, you won't hear a more beautiful album this year, and there are enough heart-stoppingly dramatic moments on here to more than justify all the excited pre-release anticipation.

Whilst not perfect, Nobody Wants To Be Here And Nobody Wants To Leave is, as the cliché goes, a return to form and the album of a band that has rediscovered what they’re good at.