If you relish a challenge, and like music to brace you as much as entertain you, then this should fit the bill. Like no-one else very much, but very much herself, it is one woman's raw, open and compelling testament.

Four square club rhythms are jettisoned in favour of a series of weirdly compelling sound collages, in which percussion and electronics combine together in natural and seemingly effortless improvisations.

The 2 Bears possess charm aplenty in their music making, and with its sheer love of light comic touches, Be Strong is certainly not short on that.

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

There is a great deal of music here that showcases Ahmed Gallab's musical dexterity and skills as an arranger, however it is slightly unsatisfying as a cohesive and lucid album.

The vocals retain the Eastern feel that pervades much of the album, but there’s more space here than elsewhere on Dalmak. There’s no bustling cities or wild parties spiralling out of control; instead it’s far more peaceful and elegant.

It’s a wonderful and slightly surreal pop album, fascinating for its charming concept, yes, but also pretty damn enjoyable.

Ultimate Painting is certainly no big hitting, all powerful heavyweight champion of the world, it’s far more of a flower waving pacifist.

For an album that started out from just a very simple phrase, it is remarkable just how complete it is.

With Garden Of Ashes he secures his position as not just a musician’s musician, but one who looks set to grow a wider following.

It’s their strongest album to date, and while Speedy Ortiz are probably never going to make that giant leap into the mainstream--they’ll always be a bit too abrasive and lo-fi for mass acceptance--Twerp Verse is the sound of a band standing on the verge of great things.

It’s a remarkably assured album that shines light on Hayes as an artist of note while further enhancing Brewis’ reputation as an irrepressible source of creativity. It might only be January but this is an album that will bring joy right up to the end of the year and beyond.

It’s amazing how true auteurs constantly shift their attention, shift their style, but always retain a razor-sharp focus on the artistic integrity of their projects. Kevin Parker is a true auteur, an artist who has moulded pop music to match his incredible vision.

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.

All in all, Shadow Of Fear is a well-rounded release.

Expansive and unified in its character, Future Times is a considered album, actively concerned with the spontaneous expansion of boundaries, be they geographical or psychological.

It’s their strongest record in years. ... A group working at the height of their considerable powers.

A startlingly confident and welcome comeback for Rose.

Nathan Fake is technically skilled, and on tracks like Hawk his creative verve really shines, but some kinks could be ironed out on this rose-tinted trek.

Overall, The Border is an exquisite collection of tracks that not only emphasises Nelson’s artistic longevity (he’s 91) but also demonstrates his enduring ability to craft or convey profound and relatable narratives through song.

There may be only five tracks, five calling points on the journey, but Lagos Paris London is a compelling travelogue and a fascinating meeting of musical minds. Sparks fly throughout its music-making, which provides genuine thrills and spills.

While it may lack the instant hooks of her earlier work, and take a bit more time to sink in, once it has its emotional hooks in you, you’ll be hard pressed to stop listening to it.

In the end, what really matters is that the superior Nothing Was The Same brings back the excitement of So Far Gone.

There’s the feeling that, behind her mask of the anthropomorphic goddess of climate change, maybe, just maybe, this is Grimes’ most honest and reflective album yet.

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.

AC/DC do their thing, and it works.

As a document of its time, then, Stainless Style is remarkably successful. Taken on the base level of being an enjoyable pop album, it also triumphs handsomely.

The real glory of this record resides in the way in which Lekman blends his bottled sunshine melodies with droll and romantic word play.

There's no 'difficult second album' syndrome here - Show Your Bones is the sound of a bang irretrievably, irresistibly and deservedly hurtling towards the big time.

Everything is ordered, nothing is left to chance, and with a clear path of progression. For the chilly yet soothing soundworld it conjures, it is endlessly replayable. Medicine never tasted this good.

Music For Psychedelic Therapy is a real accomplishment, otherwordly escapism that’s irresistible for the mind, body and soul.

It’s an album that may not crack the Top 10, but to those who succumb to it’s beguiling atmosphere, this is a record that will live with you for some time to come.

Love them or loathe them, it is hard to ignore the brash confidence with which the band take another giant stride towards stadium dominance.

Perhaps National Ransom is less a randomly selected almanac, and more a series of vignettes that could potentially have relevance to any particular time and space. Costello is, inventively, trying to make musical antiquarianism a radical pursuit.

Prisoner is an album that must have been tough for Adams to write and record, but ends up sounding like one of the great break-up albums of recent times.

It is a well constructed, fulfilling work in its own right but what remains most impressive is how, despite never quite crossing over to major popularity, Teenage Fanclub are still able to exist in these challenging times.

It's a bold, inventive record that bristles with energy and passion.

There are moments of beauty here that others will struggle to touch this year.

It is a very human experience, and if you can work past the occasional awkwardness of the vocal by spending more time with it then listening treasures await.

In his second album, The Wild Hunt, Matsson has made a stunningly genuine folk record that compares favourably to staples of the genre dating back to Bob Dylan's The Times They Are A-Changin'.

It’s not the sort of album you can ever relax while listening to, as you’re not entirely sure what’s coming next at any given point. It’s an album full of invention and creativity that never rests on its laurels – maybe not one for everybody, but those who delve into Shook will find so much to explore.

Not once does a song sound ripped off or unoriginal. What Hot Chip have done is to create a new landscape of electronica.

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

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.

Yet another indication that Ty is going from strength to strength.

Clark takes creating this soundtrack to monumental forms, letting the components get weathered and scarred through his manipulation to create a landscape of history, emotion and musical depth.

Overall Dear Annie is pleasant, with other highlights including Mon Amour, Pink Lemonade (mostly for its gorgeously woozy production) and Egyptian Luvr, but it could have benefitted from losing some filler and gaining just a little more dynamism from Rejjie himself.

On Head Of Roses Wasner still manages to deliver an album that feels both highly individual and effective in what it tries to do. It also subtly extends the sense of musical reinvention which has been ongoing since the direction-pivoting Shriek.

This is a fine album and certainly Feist's best yet.

There’s neither swag nor swagger here, just talent and a single-minded creative vision worth every gasping breath it takes to keep up with.

Plum does little to rock an established boat. Going forward, consistency is the key Widowspeak must aim for, because if you took their top moments from across all five albums then you would have an absolute classic on your hands. Plum needed a larger smattering of their best capabilities to warrant repeated listens.

Compared variously to The Flaming Lips and Grandaddy, Midlake's take on '70s soft rock is actually better than both.

This is music that has gloriously outgrown its unfamiliar origins and deserves to be embraced wholeheartedly.

On the whole this is a significant artistic leap, a progressive album of dazzling stylistic pluralities that demands attention.

A dense, intelligent and rewarding album.

Black Hole Superette also has some surprisingly pretty instrumentation, such as the shimmering synth leads that open Checkers and the descending chord sequence of Black Plums, subtly embellished by harmonies as the track progresses. It’s elements like this, along with Aesop’s wordplay, which make a lengthy album consistently engaging.

Add in the highly personal genesis of its composition, easily audible in both lyrics and melodies, and the listener's satisfaction is complete.

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.

Adulkt Life prove middle aged doesn’t mean middle of the road.

This is such a great, great record for so many reasons.

This is an adrenaline rush of an album, an electric shock in a world of flabby gas. Proof, if any were needed, that it’s possible to reinvent the wheel if you’re committed enough to the spin.

Those who were endeared by Rose’s debut may be surprised, hopefully pleasantly, by the change in tone and attitude shown on The Stand-In. Nevertheless, it is a delightful record.

It's a curious, rather than classic, record - with the hooks to make the leap to the mainstream, but with enough residual oddness to maintain Goldfrapp's air of mystery a while longer.

There could be an argument that a couple of edits to make the track listing shorter would have resulted in an even more effective album. However, this is easily one of the best pop albums of the year as it is: one that’s unlikely to be bettered unless a certain Ms Swift really pulls it out of the bag.

The final few tracks have an appealing sense of character to them, harnessing the potential of organic and programmed elements intertwining. The rest of Eyeroll is so abrasive that it’s hard to love, but fans of experimental electronica could certainly do worse than give it a listen.

Although there’s some filler on Endless Summer Vacation – Wildcard and the rather flat closing piano ballad Wonder Woman fall into this category – it probably ends up as her most consistent album to date. This is one former teen idol who’s negotiating the path to a more adult audience just fine.

It's an overheard confessional, or an electronic diary entry from a very sad masked man, and an artistically impressive and musically satisfying one at that.

This is a brave and hugely ambitious record, projecting far beyond the limits of most bands in their early twenties today.

Petals Have Fallen is one of the most original hip-hop releases of the year thus far, having a solid awareness for what moves the body while retaining the introspective attributes that characterise the best of British urban music.

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.

Tunng presents Dead Club may be their darkest album to date but it is arguably their finest too. ... A creative peak even for a band with more than 15 years’ experience together.

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.

Aside from several unwanted bumps in the road that fail to impress at all, he has at least managed to produce something that resembles an echo of past glories in a few places.

With The Dream, we see a maturing band dip deep into their emotions, immersing us not only in art and culture but in their dreams, and it is utterly brilliant.

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.

By the time we reach the end, Doyle has nailed his musical remedy for the pace and relentless demand on the senses this digital life can make. Ironically he does so with a pleasing amount of analogue input, the music spring-like in the upward looking way it saunters down the street.

The Monkees have made an album which stands readily among the best of their career and of the year so far.

These are songs that can sashay straight past you if you're not careful, but producer Stuart Matthewman (whose work with Maxwell sounds equally poured over) slips in subtle moments such as the twinkling percussion on Morning Bird and the slow-burn backing on opener The Moon And The Sky.

This is a fine second volume... serving further notice of DFA's production talent.

Crash, while not a perfect record and not entirely free from external pressures, sees the singer in a completely different space, making joyous music that flits between normativity and hall-of-mirrors-style subversion in a manner reminiscent of The Weeknd’s Dawn FM.

Their music loves to have a good time and get a sweat on, but can’t help flashing a thought or two in the direction of life outside the club. Add a healthy sense of humour and you have a tried and tested album right up there with their best work.

Coupling the stark lyrical honesty with the understated beauty of the melodies and instrumentation produces an album that that will stay with you for a very long time indeed.

If this is the type of work Kaytranada can produce with no lyrical contributors, then this reviewer would happily have three more albums in this format.

The two records are essentially similar in their mood and effect, and the snag with this album is that it follows the formula set by its predecessor uncomfortably closely.

At the centre of all of this, always, are Leschper’s remarkable vocals: brittle and quivering at one moment, bold and unfaltering the next, with an occasional folkish twang of Joanna Newsom or Jessica Pratt, her manner of occasionally over-reaching or stopping short of notes well within her range, her voice cracking at the edges, emphasises the fragility at the emotional core of her songs.... A beautiful album.

Ultimately, The Eternal acts as a fitting and timeless aide-memoire of everything this mighty band has ever achieved.

The album’s initial momentum is not quite there by the three quarter distance, but Woman is an album that more than merits time.

Heterosexuality is in many ways bold, both stylistically and in terms of message, but what goes missing in its weaker moments is akin to the ghost in the machine: that compositional spark which would elevate the record beyond the sum of its parts.

While there is clearly some cathartic work going on here the rhythms in particular can be too clinical and processed, creating a tension against the expansive orchestral arrangements that in sound too rigid and processed. Yet this is nonetheless a strong and often stirring album, and the voice sounds fantastic.

Stretched to album length, Haim’s shtick grows repetitive and the music is too frequently solid rather than inspired.

It adds up to one of his most vital offerings since those heady days of old.

There’s the archetypical vulnerability lurking beneath each track, but their sound suggests something everyone from that mid-2000s period has (hopefully) done--matured and become more assured. With it, indie pop mk II has as well. Excellent, this.

This is a splendid and rather accomplished debut album: one senses we haven’t heard the last from Louise, Sophie and Gemma.

If the album spent more time doing what it’s good at we would have a classic on the level that Stormzy seems to be aiming for.

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

Endless Arcade might be an album of recalibration and evolution, but it’s also one that more than holds its own against the lofty peaks scaled earlier in their career.

While some may find the almost gossamer light touch a bit insubstantial, repeated plays will find Radiate Like This weaving its way into your heart. Despite it being a long time in the making, it almost feels like Warpaint have never been away.

With Cry Sugar we get a scrapbook of interesting ideas, diversions and pastiches from a producer with little to prove at this stage – it helps that Mohawke’s imagination and skill make the record great fun to listen to.