If you are approaching Souleyman’s music from the Modeselektor direction then this is a great place to start. If you’ve followed his career for years you may feel the electronic dressing smooths off a few of the appealingly rougher edges of his and Sa’id’s sound--but if anything they show just how far ahead he remains stylistically.

This is a characteristically strong, uncharacteristically sloppy (in a good way!), album by one of the few remaining shining lights of rock music. Greatness is almost a given at this stage.

Another reassuringly exceptional album.

This is easily the most satisfying and rewarding set of songs that Cox has written in any of his projects and it'll be a tough ask to top it.

A great comeback from an artist who's been away for far too long.

Boys Inside is Mason's best work since his Beta Band days - a rich, dark slice of mournful, glacial electronica with a heart. Richard X has smoothed away the edges, yet lets Mason stamp his personality on proceedings.

Lust Lust Lust is a record that explains why sometimes guitars need to be turned up to their max and faced into amps, and why humans need to get down and dirty.

Attack On Memory is a short, sharp shock to breathe life into the currently rather lifeless genre of indie-rock.

Now Only occasionally treads a fine line between soul bearing catharsis and a vividness so acute it feels disconcertingly intrusive.

At times, you do miss Romy providing the balance to Sim’s vocals, but this is, in its own way, as successful an xx side-project as the In Colour album has been. As an antidote to the long wait until the next album by the full band, this is a must listen.

Big production bombast in the latter half of the record--especially on 'Africa,' the English-language 'I Follow You' and the title track--could happily be skipped over, but there's at least half a record here that's as indispensible as it is likeable.

Temple Beautiful is a wonderfully eloquent depiction of, and dedication to, the wildness of his adopted city, a bittersweet ode to the feral nature of urban living amongst the greats and the not-so-greats, the wannabes and the has-beens.

A short, sweet ride, and one worth taking again and again.

It is most satisfying, then, to report a welcome return to form for Rival Consoles, delivering a strong album that only gets better as repeated plays unlock its twists, turns and multi-level vistas.

There is no radical change from their first four albums, but anyone familiar with MGMT knows that means plenty of musical exploration, a refreshing flick of the fingers up to the norm. There are many lyrical gems, too, VanWyngarden and Goldwasser maintaining their happy knack of writing songs that connect, songs that their listeners will want to hear on repeat.

Realism showcases how effective it can be when it is allied to a dry sense of humour, a flair for melody and an ability to engage with more than a narcissistic world view.

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.

The yearning title track brings to a close an album that is quite probably Harcourt’s best since Here Be Monsters.

This is a dreamy, sometimes queasy synth pop record with a good amount of bite beneath the wash of keyboard calm.

A hugely enjoyable, relaxing warm bath of a record that easily surpasses the recent work of both its two main protagonists.

In Perfect View, Lust For Youth have immersed fuzzed-up ’80s synthpop in an unnerving ambience, infused the whole thing with shades of house and come up with an album that’s a challenge, but a completely mesmerising one.

The faithful will lap up every eccentric note, of course, but there's much here for the uninitiated to delight in as well.

Occasionally the sparkly pop stylings and dependably profound poetic musings give the record an air of interchangeability, but this minor parlour trick merely invites an opportunity to explore the contents further at a pace comfortable to the listener.

This relentlessly positive outlook may not suit those searching for a bit more angst in their pop music, but it suits Real Estate just fine.

This is possibly not an album for those wanting immediate hooks and satisfaction, but it's a remarkable achievement and more proof - if any were needed - that Albarn is one of the most innovative and talented songwriters of his generation.

Thankfully, the songs are varied and powerful enough to sustain the album, and their balls-to-the-wall approach is both refreshing and entertaining.

There will be parts of this album’s roots that those outside Mali can never fully comprehend, but regardless of your entry level, you’ll be certain that those roots are still strong and bearing exquisite fruit.

There is much to admire here the more you listen, the more it will grow on you.

It is not very often that an artist comes along that is so strikingly unique and hugely talented and with Yours Truly, Cellophane Nose Beth Jeans Houghton has made a beguilingly lovely debut album that shows immense promise.

It is unashamedly cerebral music, but this is a band now finding that they have a powerful beating heart as well as a head.

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

The fact that Nastasia has documented this period with such honesty, empathy and beauty makes Riderless Horse feel like a small, healing triumph of sorts, a quiet personal victory against overwhelming adversity.

This is a band that don't sound like anything else around at the moment, who aren't afraid to experiment with hip-busting funk, rock and power pop all jumping into bed together.

It’s their shortest album to date – just eight tracks, with a little over 30 minutes for a running time – and, as with Mosquito, there’s less emphasis on Zinner’s incendiary solos now, in favour of a smoother, synth led sheen. When it kicks into gear though, they still sound magnificent.

It's a challenging but ultimately very rewarding listening experience.

Most importantly, Sadier succeeds in her aim, offering a genuine musical antidote to the cultural scars and traumas we carry from recent years.

The tracks all flow into each other, giving the album the feel of a particularly eclectic DJ mix, and overall it proves to be a fascinating, varied, atmospheric release that was thoroughly worth the wait.

Listening to Meshes Of Voice is somewhere between a terrifying hallucination and a relaxing daydream. It makes it a memorable, and strangely enjoyable, experience.

It might have been largely inspired by events that took place in the past but this is a forward-looking album by a band that has rediscovered their place in the world.

In The Seams sees her settle down into a recognisable sound--a more minimal, stripped down approach than previously for sure, but one that accentuates her voice perfectly.

Blends much that has gone before, and serves up a freshly defined new act that has potential for popular success.

Rossi has worked well with producer Steve Albini to clean up the tracks, and pick up the pace, making them sparse and wonderful, like intricate machines.

There's a breathtaking array of bleeps, quirks, bits and bobs popping up to keep the boogie busy and the mind attentive.

Snoop blends the old rap feel with the new style and adds some things to the mix along the way.

While catharsis never comes, there are glimpses of light coming through at the edges, and a sense of perfect order among the chaos.

A very satisfying addition to an already impressive Efterklang discography, then--and it would be interesting to see if the band writes faster music on their next album.

The folk elements lend Sylvan Esso a calm, and a daytime splendour, but Sanborn’s dance-oriented production, especially on the more electronic tracks, are set to be perfect 2am jams. This LP is the complete package.

Memory Streams is both recognisable as a piece of work from the authors of their first four albums, but manages not to sound exactly like any of them. Instead it confirms them as increasingly assured musicians, carrying forward their first principles and playing like their lives depend on it.

For a debut album, there’s remarkably little filler to be found, and you can’t help thinking that this is just the beginning, and that’s there’s an awful lot more to come from Wishy.

This all feels like authentic Little Dragon, the album they have been threatening to make for years.

Like all of Hval’s work, this isn’t an album to listen to as background music, or pick and choose what tracks to listen to. It’s an album to immerse yourself in (a real ‘headphones listen’) and just surrender to for 42 minutes.

The production on Sugar Mountain is not as polished as Live At Massey Hall, which was recorded three years later as Young's career trajectory was reaching superstar status. As a result the atmosphere is electrically intimate, making the listener feel like they are actually at the gig - the true marker of a great live album.

HEALTH's musical talent can be heard during every song on this album, but there is also some room to grow--another good sign of a promising new band.

A collaboration enrichingly beneficial to both sides - and to the listener.

While it doesn’t quite have the instantly addictive quality that Pupul’s work with Charlotte Adigéry does, this is still a rich, multi-layered work that serves as both a fine tribute to Pupul’s mother and a compelling journey of grief, loss and the effects of ancestry.

Spellbinding debut album, its vivid subject matter dealing with depression, sexuality, prejudice and matters of the heart with an uplifting old-school feel complemented by celestial vocals.

While far from immaculate, Cookie Mountain is the logical progression from Desperate Youth, with its conception fruit enough for those who appreciate musical innovation.

If a classic pop album is something that defines the moment, is rammed with ideas and necessarily crammed with singles, then Lady Sov's cracked it first time out.

Björk's mind remains artistically open to just about anything, and on this album she sounds like she's enjoying recharging it with another tranche of skewed new ideas.

The evolution and maturation of The Shins might continue at its steady pace with this record, but it’s all the better for the sense of nostalgia that pervades it, seeping from both its music and its lyrics.

If there's a bundle of stereotypes preceding any singer-songwriter of Scandinavian extraction, it surely includes the following: glacial beauty, whispery vocals, tenderly picked guitars and perhaps a touch of glockenspiel or synth. Silje Nes's second album Opticks delivers all of the above, but that doesn't diminish its thoughtful loveliness.

The Joy Of Sects is exhilarating, witty and addictive, which blends perfect pop melodies with raw punk energy. It may not appeal to everyone, but it’s the perfect album to dance into the apocalypse with.

The reality that Vanishing Point is such a vibrant and quintessential Mudhoney album makes it a real triumph.

What makes this the best Beabeadoobee record to date is its willingness to explore whatever musical direction takes her fancy. So there’s a delightful little waltz-time on Coming Home, while A Cruel Affair revisits Laus’ love of bossa-nova and embroiders it with some slide guitar

Glitch Princess certainly isn’t an easy record to listen to, yet neither is it wilfully difficult or unwelcoming. It’s perfectly emblematic of the pop period we’re living in, with a new generation of artists changing the meaning of what it is to make pop music on their own terms.

The music can be deadpan and serious at times, but Magazine 1 gives the running impression that it was a huge amount of fun in the making.

For the most part, it is an assured collection of songs that exudes the confidence of an artist at the peak of her powers.

Yo La Tengo have nothing left to prove and this allows them the room and scope to simply showcase their talents, which are many and admirable as well as being both under-exposed and under-appreciated.

Listeners with open minds are strongly recommended to give Pageant Material a try. It’s brimming with wit and wisdom, and it really should have featured on more end-of-year lists.

[Cursed is] a rare misstep in an assured record that brings out the best of both collaborators.

Autechre albums have been famously challenging in the past, but Quaristice is an easier way in, and impresses with its structure, its continued innovation in texture and in the way every sound remains vital, even in the course of a seventy minute album.

While Street Horrrsing may never scratch the surface of the mainstream, it is going to make an indelible mark on all those interested in ground-breaking underground music

Second Love pays off most of all on those repeated listens--it’s not her most immediate collection of songs, but over time they reveal themselves to be her most rewarding.

You don’t see the whole way through it, you get a glimpse of shadows on the other side, but in the end it is the colours and the craftsmanship that keep you looking, or in this case listening.

Be Your Own King, is above all things, a fun record.

As gross as The Body set out to make No One Deserves Happiness, it is Wolpert’s presence that actually provides it with an element of hope. She’s like a flower in a bomb crater, and in a weird way, The Body might just have made one of the most hopeful pop albums ever.

The ingredients, and the musical personalities, combine to make a very intriguing and invigorating listen.

Yummy adds itself to the James canon as an album both for fans and newcomers, a triumph over prejudice and anxiety. Everyone is welcome here.

It is clear from her latest opus that Marissa Nadler is at the peak of her powers, giving us a work whose intensity burns brightly. Here is a set of songs that keep their head while all around are losing theirs. The more you listen, the more you fall under their spell, just as you would want from your next box set craze.

Certainly, though, Deradoorian has demonstrated here that she is a confident, mature and distinctive artist.

The Demise Of Planet X feels like the most refined statement Sleaford Mods have made so far. Its production is tighter, its ideas clearer, and its impact sharper – it’s an album that gleams technically while documenting a world that very clearly does not.

Scalping have produced 35 minutes of vehemence and vigour that has enough depth to repay repeat listens. If Slavestate was an industrial-dance crossover, this is more like a metal-techno crucifixion.

Mascis' ear-bleeding guitar soloing is ever prevalent, but there's a dynamism in the music here that was missing in previous efforts.

Overall, A Humdrum Star is GoGo Penguin’s most cohesive, pleasing record to date.

Generationals are far from the only band making chirpy, world-influenced indie-pop at the moment--but it has so much genuine charm, so expertly executed, that it’s impossible not to fall for.

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

In Talahomi Way The High Llamas have produced another album far greater than the sum of its component parts. It is unlikely to create any major impact on the current musical landscape but it augments and improves it in its own special little way.

In an age where musicians are constantly looking toward a more futuristic sound to portray their craft, The Greenhornes are living proof that looking back is sometimes the best bet.

Overall Wake Up The Nation is an impressive achievement which sees Weller's brand of psychedelic soul-rock revitalized. Retro has rarely sounded this fresh.

The vibe is overwhelmingly positive, not to mention a bit woozy - ideal to take the edge off a hard day and turn it into a good evening.

Expect The Best is the most akin to Mazzy Star so far.

Rateliff has managed to succeed in breathing life into the classic soul sound by opening himself up and remembering that it is possible to dance your blues away.

There’s a lot to be said for Fucked Up keeping it simple, they really inject their songs with palpable passion that simply pours out of the speakers.

Ten tracks which are probably the distillation of what Japandroids are all about. It’s a noisy yet tuneful swansong, full of fierce guitar chords, pummelling drums and songs about seedy downtown bars and hard-partying women.

Its genesis was borne of urgency, and that’s a feeling that permeates every aspect of an album that positively twitches with energy.

More melancholic than mechanical, Severant is a testament to the strength of the human imagination.

Schneider TM invites the listener to project their own meanings and sense on these intrusive sounds made beautiful.

It makes for a decent companion record to Fear Of The Dawn but also works perfectly well as a standalone album in its own right. Two decades on, Jack White’s creative fire shows no sign of dimming.