Athena announces a major talent in Sudan Archives. It’s original, exhilarating and unafraid to defy genre.

Whilst it is true that Aphex Twin’s delicate and more minimalist side is neglected on Syro, save for the piano kiss-off of aisatsana (102), there are plenty of signs of James maturing and developing as an artist.

Distinguished by its wide eyed, maddeningly flamboyant mélange of ideas, these Perth psychonauts’ latest is so potent you risk getting tinnitus and/or a contact high from each monolithic twist and turn.

This is a real treat from a rapidly evolving artist and one of the year’s most purely pleasurable albums.

An album of satisfying wholeness, its range of moods power Taylor’s most successful solo outing to date. Anyone who had him pigeonholed will have to think again.

It all adds up to a very enjoyable record, one that fits in well with the current pop landscape while also working beyond it.

A rich and rewarding album from an artist who - thankfully - keeps on evolving in subtle and exciting ways.

Are You In Love? is arguably not quite as immediate as Good Advice, with some songs taking a few listens to really find their feet. It may be one for more long-term fans than one that will provide her commercial breakthrough, therefore. But anyone who devotes some time will be able to give an answer to the question that the title track poses.

Those with a more perky, fast-paced feel like Loosen Up, the lovely We Are Young, You're The Light, Show Me Your Life and the almost singalong album closer Oh No were more successful. Fortunately, these outnumbered the slower tracks; overall Lunglight is an enjoyable release.

It is a marvellous creation from a premiere talent, and deserves both your time and hard-earned money.

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.

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.

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.

Overall, Invisible Life is Helado Negro’s best album yet.

Lazaretto is an album of singles--it’s also a pretty revelatory record of healing and perseverance for White--that bounds rapidly through America’s South from the ’50s-’70s. It’s another great side to White, and another feather to stick in his pretty feathery cap.

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.

Its author remains a restless creative spirit, but Paul Simon’s music feels as relevant now as it ever has done, his work reaching the very depths of the human soul.

Anchoring the album with his own painful history and never admitting defeat, Balfe has scripted a exhilarating album that contends with unimaginable loss whilst warmly celebrating persistence.

It’s an album full of joy and vibrancy – even when it threatens to become a bit too abrasive, Sanelly’s pure pop sensibility always rears it back. Full Moon is Moonchild Sanelly’s finest album to date, and is about to introduce a brand new superstar to a whole new audience.

With a natural ebb and flow, Curve Of The Earth is both a new departure for the Mystery Jets and their most consistent and rewarding album yet.

Marshall may appear more stylish, her striking face and poker straight hair gracing many more magazine covers than it used to, but the music making is clearly totally safe in her hands, and anyone predicting a creative nosedive any time soon should be in for a very long wait.

These are expressive pieces that fit together to form one overarching musical meditation, exploring the extremes of emotion experienced in a dark and treacherous world. Because of this Songs Of Silence is not for every moment in the day, but when you listen it carries great meaning, in spite of the lack of words.

Eerie, melancholy and yet strangely soothing, The Deserters is an album to treasure, whatever the season.

Wooden Arms, on the other hand, bears the sound of something far more collaborative and just that little bit more complete. Our refound love for musical vanguards should therefore also extend to Patrick Watson.

That is a mere side note, however, for Interplay is a consistently strong piece of work, as good as anything Foxx ever wrote when striking out on his own in the early 1980s.

It has little in the way of variation, even less in the way of optimism, but feels completely whole despite that lacking.

The most impressive thing about Long Way Down is how, despite being an album based on a simple, almost naïve set of concepts--being in love, falling out of love, the raw emotion of being young and not understanding the world yet--it sounds accomplished well beyond Odell’s years.

Stories From A Rock N Roll Heart is a triumphant return, an uplifting listen and a valuable addition to her magnificent catalogue.

This is a taut, epic and well-rounded piece, dripping in atmosphere.

One of the year's early musical highlights.

Shining a searchlight on new terrains for themselves, Fly Pan Am have generously quenched our insatiable appetite for revealing non linear melodramas. Causing a staggering commotion, this sometimes inscrutable, yet eminently danceable, album is a passport to uncover alien customs and engage in orgiastic corporeal activities.

It picks the world apart in a way that evokes both horror at our present and an underlying optimism for our future, expressed in a way only music can. Here is confirmation that Suzanne Vega remains one of our musical treasures.

There are songs on N.K. Pop that stand squarely alongside some of Heaton’s best – he may have celebrated his 60th birthday earlier this year, but that famous fire of his shows no sign of being extinguished.

It's their best and most accessible work to date, while somehow not sacrificing any artistic credence.

This is a gloriously atmospheric second album from a band who will surely soon be as lauded and acclaimed as their better-known labelmates.

We Were Promised Jetpacks have pushed the bar for these bands even higher with the release of Unravelling.

Black Country, New Road are no gods, but this inventive and likeable album should earn them a million or so disciples.

The pop souls of both its creators couldn’t help but surface, and this is manifestly true of many of the tracks: the words may be dark, but the upbeat hummable melodies just keep on returning from the crypt.

Collins has created a work full of effortless songs that meld '60s pop, new wave cool and classic tunes that are uplifting and surprisingly catchy.

While debuts can often be bold and brash, Vondelpark’s alternative, understated approach is to be commended.

As a mini-EP of ‘new’ material, these musically diverse tracks are strong enough to make you yearn for the fifth album which will probably never come.

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.

Sleepy Sun treat blues the way Fleet Foxes handle traditional folk, and that can mean only one thing - an absolutely absorbing listening experience.

Sukierae is a distinctive work, and it gradually reveals itself to be enthralling.

This excellent record stands as a testament to the fascinating links and interactions between musical cultures.

Each of these tracks - the duelling-banjo Train Song; the elegiac And He Would Say - is really perfectly formed, beautifully satisfying in structure alone.

Fun, fresh and (mainly) utterly listenable, The Information is the most diverse and, at times, thrilling album you'll hear all year.

Some bands are stronger on record, while others go up a level when performing live. The Unthanks are equally compelling in both settings.

Overall this is an unpretentious and varied album of rave stompers, hands-up disco and sedate moments of beguiling ambience that combine to form probably his best and most cohesive album since "Play."

All in all Suga is a very promising work, an enjoyable snapshot of a rapper becoming a bona fide star.

If you’re hankering for a bit of masochistic pop, Mirrors The Sky will soothe the craving. And then destroy you.

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.

Cutting a path somewhere between the sonic worlds of New Order and !!! (Chk Chk Chk), Omnion runs determinedly in Butler’s own unique direction, mixing decadence and daring and making for something rather special.

Foreverland is a blissful, heartfelt and often very funny paean to love and companionship. Some will no doubt dismiss it as too twee and theatrical for today’s musical landscape, but that is to misunderstand The Divine Comedy.

Quite comfortably the duo’s best album to date, Unity is – literally – like all your favourite bands rolled up into one.

Shepherd’s work may be hyperactive at times, and is a dizzying listen when the chord progressions and rhythmic flights of fancy become congested, but it is an exhilarating ride that proves every bit as enticing as its cover.

Gracious Tide, Take Me Home is a frequently stunning and achingly earnest debut effort whose sugary gossamer moments find themselves perfectly underlined with a bitterly sad aesthetic, but it would definitely benefit from the rougher edges that the band bring to their live show.

It's a work of craft from a continually rewarding, continually American, singer-songwriter.

There may be nothing to touch Pretenders classics like Brass In Pocket or Don’t Get Me Wrong, but Relentless is an appropriately named album – the sound of a band constantly moving forward and refusing to submit to the dying of the light.

While the pudding is occasionally over-egged, in general this is a work of great individuality and poise that should increase MONEY’s currency as one of the best young British bands to emerge in recent years.

There’s the bones of at least three spin-off albums within its grooves. Yet, this constant shapeshifting means that there’s much to be discovered and loved here. Sounding different every time it’s played is the mark of a great achievement.

Warpaint appear to have found a sonic texture that befits their knack for writing elegant, sinuous songs, so for the most part the album flows perfectly.

Evans The Death have come of age and produced an album that sounds like them, only lots, lots better.

Those expecting freedom and discordance may come away disappointed, but this is, none the less, a driven and impressive album from a band in fine, but different, form.

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.

This is a definite progression from their earlier material and if this is an indication of where the band is ultimately headed, then Exploding Head is likely to be the first of some very exciting albums.

Wainwright and Ronson come together with a well-mannered tightness and proficiency that, at best, astounds.

Although Storytellers' qualities imbue it with sufficient class to shine forth from the background (in much the same way as Air's Virgin Suicides score, perhaps), its gentility and decorum are so consistent that this is an LP that needs to be sought out.

This then, is a solid album of phenomenally crafted songs.

Best of all, it’s an album that cuts all the fat – it’s just 11 tracks long and there’s barely anything that feels like filler. Even the more generic sounding rockers like Waiting For Stevie and Running have a palpable energy about them that will no doubt make them firm favourites on the band’s upcoming stadium tour.

Back to basics and back on form.

This integration of sounds and styles confirms Irreparable Parables to be a quietly powerful statement from an artist who has proved he can broaden his sound with confidence and conviction.

Assume Form finds Blake sonically in a state of equilibrium, having found two niches over the course of his career that suit him equally well. They complement each other well, and as the record ends with the soothing but wry Lullaby For My Insomniac.

It is, amazingly, surprisingly, spectacularly, their best record yet.

There’s a sprightliness and a captivating agility present throughout this album, even in its more reflective and graceful moments.

On that first listen, then, Fits is unlikely to come off well....By the third, you're clamouring for tickets to see them live.

The Moon Rang Like A Bell is a triple-jump forwards for Hundred Waters.

Lost Girls is hardly uncharted territory, yet Khan manages to embolden it with her canny narrative, some truly beautiful sonic touches and her trademark gorgeous harmonies.

Endlessly listenable and beautifully performed, Algiers is another fine entry into this dependably excellent band's catalogue.

This album feels perfectly formed as it is though.

Ultimately, First Demo is far more than a historical curio, it’s the sound of the band in a period of furious creativity and evolution.

Alive As You Are is what west-coast rock 'n' roll is supposed to sound like.

Song For Our Daughter is a return to what made her so widely admired. These are songs of undoubted depth and longevity that can provide moments of relief and solace to those in need.

The album also reflects the rebellious nature of Haiku Hands, throwing two fingers to the male establishment through a sound which is provocative and tantalising, one which sets about establishing them as a new powerful female voice in the era of explicit pop.

May well be Tempest’s most enduring work to date.

So, leaner and more focused than their free-wheeling debut, Sweet Sour is a little gem in a sea of tired guitar bands looking for "something new."

Harmonium could quite easily have been a sterile exercise in musical pastiche. What The Soundcarriers have turned the album into is a living, breathing entity that restores the listener's faith in music.

This is thrillingly visceral music that could bring Mannequin Pussy ever closer to crossover success.

An engaging and rather captivating record.

What is most impressive about Route One Or Die is the utter sense of conviction and commitment brought to every aspect of this complex, intricate music.

It showcases Bradley’s strongest talents, and is just as good as any of the records he released when he was alive.

Some might wish for more of the pounding drums and hellish vocals of old, others might hope for more of the experimental blasted patchwork of The Beggar Lover (Three), but the album succeeds best through its unwieldy, unmanageable length. They say Swans can break a man’s spirit with just two hours of unstinting grimness.

There was always a risk that Heart Tax may feel a bit stitched together. Fortunately, the opposite is the case – this is an album to dive into and luxuriate in.

Kubrick is an ambitious project, but one that works just perfectly as a showcase for the wonderful songwriting and compositional skills of Machin and Glover. It proves, as if it were ever in doubt, that their strength lies not in the skills of their collaborators, but in their music and ideas.

It’s as good an introduction as any to Sleaford Mods’ peculiar charms.

It [Die Like A Rich Boy] is a poignant conclusion to what often feels like a cathartic record; one that will take you on a wonderful rollercoaster of emotional highs and lows.

It may not have the single-minded focus of All Of Us Flames, or the striking ambition of Transangelic Exodus, but it’s another startling record from one of the most exciting songwriters around right now.

It is to Dry The River's credit, however, that they have in Shallow Bed created an album that both plays to their strengths and showcases a diversity of modes, each sculpted authentically. An outstanding effort.