It’s a record which will make a fine introduction to Stars for any newcomers, while long-term fans will hail it as their finest work since Set Yourself On Fire. At its essence, From Capelton Hill is a distillation of what makes Stars so great.

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

They do make thoroughly exciting music that becomes quickly airborne, able to move the listener to a different plane with disarming ease.

Dreamers Are Waiting is a very welcome return for a band who have been away for far too long.

A well crafted album that takes a fascinating journey through the history of American rock music, geography and pharmaceuticals.

Throughout this eventful record Flohio keeps a clear sense of lyrical and stylistic integrity, and by the time Against The Grain’s glitchy percussion cuts out to reveal solitary reverbed chords we’re left with one of the standout rap albums of the year.

As frenetic as it is instant, melodic and catchy.

Unusually for a debut album, there's not a dud track here, and even the less immediate tracks such as February Snow work their way into your brain after a few plays.

Here We Go Magic have made a fantastic album that is at once inseparable from its Brooklyn beginnings and transcendental of its place in time and space.

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.

Breezy pop structures are undercut by experimental sound design, a playful spirit buoying up the record throughout.

‘Flicted is one of the more positive responses you will hear to the pandemic, and it continues Bruce Hornsby’s rich vein of form in recent years. ... It is giving Hornsby some of the best music of his career.

Neither John nor Carlile overshadow the other – when one’s on lead, the other is always ready to back up with some harmonies. They really do work extraordinarily well together. As you would expect, the sound is very much middle of the road. .... It also means there’s a warm familiarity to many of the songs.

This adds up to a solid album that presents as an immediate difference to what went before, even if it does not roam too far from the grounds of its creator’s past. That certainly doesn’t mean it can’t be enjoyed. Electric Light is a thoroughly immersive ride that shows James Bay has plenty of ideas brimming in that now hatless head.

Orla Gartland recognises this and knows she’s just like the rest of us, embracing our imperfections and focusing on self care and emotional transparency. If you’re feeling the same way then this is a smart and considered alt pop record that cuts deep and promises a bright future for a new star.

Non-Secure Connection needs – and deserves – several encounters before its treasures can be fully revealed. When they are, a record to stand beside his best achievements in recent years is the result. Hornsby is a fascinating and absorbing character, and the longer his creative surge continues the better.

As delicate as these songs are in terms of construction (simple guitar parts, barely-there percussion and Hayman’s vocals--it’s the first album he’s done as a truly solo artist) they really pack a punch.

There’s a spirit of collaboration that is largely new, a genuine and warm-hearted celebration of past members’ contributions and a celebration of the rowdy, uplifting storm cooked up by the 18-strong modern incarnation of the group.

Despite its gloomy subject matter, it's really quite a fun listen.

A return to form, then.

There is much to admire here, and much to cherish.

Just occasionally the music gets over-produced, with the beefed-up strings on Retreat smothering the Bach-like arpeggios of its piano, but mostly we breathe the outdoor air in a meditative state. For this is Moby at his most effective, with no need to play to his audience, simply offering private musical ambience to soothe and console.

Highway To Heavenly is a triumphant return for a band whose values of tolerance, empathy and quiet determination, in the uncertain political landscape of 2026, seem more important and vital than ever.

Over the course of a full album, Potter’s vocals sometimes veer towards being a bit too mannered, and it’s true that some of the arrangements can feel a bit one-note at times. Yet, considering this is a debut album from an artist best known for a totally different medium, Pink Bikini is an often extraordinary change of direction for Sally Potter.

Joan Wasser has shown herself to be an assured torch singer and original artist. To Survive is a challenge at times, but ultimately rewarding.

Fuelled by more than a decade of experience, Conduit sees Funeral For A Friend unleash an excitingly fresh attitude resulting in a record that could so easily be mistaken for an LP released by a band over a decade their junior.

Throughout Your Queen Is A Reptile, thundering drum solos and rapid tempos are tempered by Caribbean beats and carefully constrained composition. The result is an highly listenable album with an audibly beating heart, which deserves to be played so loudly that the neighbours complain.

This is an adventurous and beguiling record that eschews the abrasiveness of Björk's more esoteric albums in favour of inviting the listener to explore its deeper reaches alongside the artist.

I/O marks the return of one of this country’s premier musicians and, as befits a project with this long a gestation period, contains songs that stand alongside Peter Gabriel’s finest.

Orbital are right back on form, sounding assured and instinctive, ready to seize the moment once again and take their music to another level.

Though it’s hardly a full-blown reinvention, The Getaway shows that even after more than 30 years in the business Red Hot Chili Peppers still have something new to offer.

This album provides ample proof that Ash’s embers still fizzle away and look likely so to do for some time yet.

Basic Volume is a strong, distinctive debut from a promising artist whose maturity and versatility are already apparent, highly recommended for fans of electronic music and dancehall.

Atari Teenage Riot in 2011 are as raw and self indulgent as they ever were, and while their comeback record won't seal their place in history, those who loved them the first time around will lap it up.

At best, When You See Yourself is the finest collection Kings Of Leon have put out since their peak years, and at worst a collection of good tunes to listen to this spring and never hear again. That’s a win-win, no matter how you look at it.

Qualities like intelligence, eclecticism and imagination sometimes seem to be in short supply in the music industry - Candylion encapsulates all these qualities and more and deserves a far wider audience than the cult status it will undoubtedly settle into.

Faust have produced 12 tracks that perfectly encapsulate what they can do so well: to create catchy, bizarre sounds. It’s Popmusik/subversive all over again.

Yet far from being miserable, this is a record substantially more alive than its eponymous predecessor.

An album that seems full of ideas and creativity. Liverpool has, of course, produced a lengthy list of bands over the last few decades. It looks like Courting can be added to that rich musical heritage as well.

In Boarding House Reach White gives himself a free hand, and the result is a more experimental and surprising work.

Musically, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is a nice blend of Kanye's older and newer styles.

Stornoway have boldly struck out and in doing so have navigated the often choppy waters of the second album with panache.

Minus boasts a melding of styles and influences, underlining that Blumberg is at his best when he’s most experimental. This is a recalibrating album that sets him up well for even more leftfield musical forays ahead.

It’s been one hell of a journey for Sleater-Kinney, but Little Rope is a fierce demonstration of a band back on track.

A thoroughly decent album from start to finish.

Best listened to in one sitting, the story draws you in with its characterisation and humour, at times outdated but always tuneful. As is the way with Squeeze, there are fistfuls of memorable lyrical vignettes.

The trip-hop stylings have been toned down to a murmur as traditional Latino structures and devices come waltzing gloriously to the fore.

Vulnicura Strings probably isn’t an album you’d want to listen to much on a regular basis, despite its undeniable excellence. It does, however, make for a beautiful and fascinating companion album to one of the year’s very best records.

With Carnage, Cave and Ellis have successfully balanced introspection and self reflection with the tumult and confusion of the wider world. It’s a hugely powerful statement.

Palomino isn’t a perfect album by any means. A few tracks feel a little rock by numbers, and for all the excellence on show Treetop Flyers do lack that streak of originality and cosmic weirdness that elevate American contemporaries such as Father John Misty or My Morning Jacket. Yet these are small criticisms of a band who have built upon the promise of their début very impressively indeed.

Pay no attention to the hype--after all, it didn't do Vampire Weekend any harm--and sit back and listen to one of the most purely enjoyable albums of this year.

Gwenno is doing important work here, and for those willing to open their minds and step into the mythical land of Le Kov will find that they may not want to leave.

Clocking in at 41 minutes, Speak Your Mind is a slick, well-produced offering that delivers on Anne-Marie’s potential without overstaying its welcome, the best British pop debut in a while.

The Cribs have always been a cut above their Yorkshire contemporaries, and Ignore The Ignorant demonstrates exactly why.

The entire album was recorded in just five days flat. It may have been knocked off in a spare moment between Guillemots albums, but in Fly Yellow Moon Fyfe Dangerfield has made a very early contender for one of the best albums of 2010.

Jehnny Beth and Johnny Hostile have crafted a great record, which is more than capable of carrying the Savages legacy on its shoulders.

The joyfully unabashed massiveness of it all is what makes Big Black Delta such a promising prospect.

One Day I'm Going To Soar still feels like a triumph, in spite of its transparent flaws.

It is refreshing to hear Sandoval’s stunning vocals once again coupled with Roback’s guitars. The world is a better place for it.

Avid listeners have known all long just how funky, playful and revolutionary she’s been, a genuine musical magpie, but sat barefoot on the cover in the centre of a tenement of abstract coloured birdhouses, her eyes closed, on this record this Liver bird’s calling any stragglers back to the roost.

With Blackbirds poignantly beautiful in many places, it may just be the one to do so.

On paper the sound palette on Scramblers is bracingly limited, drum machines pushed to their limits and bare-bones accompaniment, and in the hands of a lesser producer the record could well become irritating and tedious. But the sound design, sparse and abrasive though it is, is playful enough to keep energy and verve pulsating through the album’s brief run-time.

As such, those looking for an eerily familiar--and often brilliant--throwback to the sounds of 1972, please enquire within.

Overall, this is a highly enjoyable work packed with infectious licks and proves to be an easy album to get along with from the get-go.

Supermigration may lack some of the euphoric moments of their debut album but these have been supplanted by a more rewarding, substantial set of attributes.

The Love Invention wades into territory more mainstream than even Supernature, slotting merrily between Murphy’s recent output and Kylie Minogue‘s return to her Disco best, and succeeds very well in creating stylish, louche, mature bops. In so doing, it unquestionably establishes Alison Goldfrapp as a solo force.

Where Do You Start is, in addition to being a superb showcase of these musicians' technical flair and expressive confidence, a typically thoughtful, informed and intuitive statement.

When We Stay Alive is an illusion of a record but, once explored, an apparently endless labyrinth unfurls.

Big Music sees them come out fighting with their best album in decades. Rather than appearing musically tired or bereft of ideas, they have real stomach for the fight, a resilience that looks set to see their star continue to shine.

All of these tracks are elevated considerably by Lattimore’s production chops, as the skilled performances are turned into vast ambient soundscapes and she proves herself to be her best accompanist. If anyone in the alternative electronic world has been unaware of Mary Lattimore up until now, this album is a perfect insight into her creative abilities.

Far from being a band at a crossroads, as might have been implicated around the release of "Funf," they reaffirm themselves here as one of our unsung independent music gems.

Soberish marks the welcome return of an artist at last comfortable with her legacy and ready to celebrate it.

In each of the 21 songs there is something to draw from, an instrumental colour to enjoy or a sentiment with which to relate.

With all the ingredients for success laid bare, Sempiternal comes as the lightbulb moment--the clicking into place of every cog and spring, Bring Me The Horizon more than ready to accept the gauntlet thrown to them.

There are enough moments on here to convince that Woon is a very special talent.

For the inexperienced deterred by Fela's 30 minute jams, Seun Kuti offers a more digestible approach to the afrobeat form, without sacrificing any of the clarity and energy of the original brand. For the already initiated, it's a crisper, more modern approach--unlikely to offer much that is truly new or unexpected, but insanely inspiring nonetheless.

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.

Euphoric, danceable and smile inducing, this strong work is one of the purest and sweetest albums in a while, and from a band at the top of their game.

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

Chvrches are in a comfy place at the minute: their sound isn’t all that new or exciting anymore, but it’s still as enjoyable as ever, with more anthemic lyrics and shiny synths than you can shake a memory stick at.

All The Things That I Did… takes a little time to truly unfurl, but over time it opens out into a wonderful, if occasionally heartbreaking gem.

The Aussie portion of the band bring a ray of sunshine that will soundtrack your summer, but its sharp lyrics and occasional down-beat moments mean it's not sickly sweet. Expect them to grab the indie-pop baton and run with it.

There are few laughs here - but there are plenty of thrills, the hug of the band's name now delivered of a tighter chest and noticeably sharper nails in the back.

Silver Bleeds The Black Sun… is not just the next entry in their incredible evolutionary cycle, it genuinely feels like the culmination of what the band have been trying to do for over a decade.

Some may say it doesn't move Depeche Mode forward a great deal; I say I don't give a damn, it's a real treat and I'll have some more, please.

Very occasionally there is an element of mediocrity and you do feel that they could easily raise themselves to the next level, but for now this is another delicious helping of Apple Pie. Tuck in.

The Orb and Lee "Scratch" Perry recording in Berlin could have been a disaster but this is anything but.

The record she has delivered to kickstart a new decade is a career defining release, and from a pop star who is firmly back on top of her game.

Whether it be the sunny jangle of No Exit or the pop sensibilities of the likes of Stars Around Your Heart or Walking Away From Love, there’s enough here to demonstrate that this is Mason’s finest record of his solo career to date.

Concise, even at 17 tracks, it’s a superb trolley-dash through Lawrence’s obsessions, both of the moment--listed among these in the sleevenotes are the twisted synthpop of SOPHIE, Japanese girl-group Perfume and “Side 1 only” of Dollar’s 1979 debut--and longstanding.

All Eternals Deck sees The Mountain Goats deliver their most assured sound and Darnielle his most profound poetry.

The debut is by no means a hit-packed record, pop is firmly on the backburner here and thrillingly it's precisely this lack of obvious choruses and instead the bizarre little instrumental interludes, spooky stripped down ballads which build and build and attacking grooves that will have you coming back time and time again to it.

It's far from self-indulgent; their song choices and clever arrangements make Rant a real, if unexpected, delight.

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.

Bleak memories are retold here, and at times you really have to stick with Bayley with a sympathetic ear as the album extends to 16 tracks, including childhood interludes. But it’s delivered in an exuberant manner and, despite some very profound lyrics, songs such as singles Heat Waves and Your Love (Déjà Vu) would have had kids dancing at the festivals in the summer sunshine.

None of this could be called pushing boundaries, but each production is a striking piece of craftsmanship.

Some people may find the intensity a bit too much, and it’s fair to say that this is an album that you can only listen to if you’re in a particular mood. Yet the beauty to be found in Henson’s bleakness is undeniable, and in Kindly Now he’s created what could well stand as one of the best albums of 2016.

All in all, Sequel To The Prequel is a consistent and accomplished return from Babyshambles.