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

Dan’s Boogie is reckless, euphoric, relentless. Over the course of Bejar’s wonderful career, he’s made several surprising records, and this may be the most surprising of all.

West End Girl is an extraordinary album, one that not only belongs in the long list of great break-up albums, but also in the best pop albums of the year list. It’s often an uncomfortable listen, but it’s also one you can’t stop yourself listening to.

They create a mood and atmosphere that's certainly unique, but one in which very few songs stand out, despite some fine moments.

Crooked Wing is another accomplished, thought-provoking instalment from a duo operating from a highly distinctive position.

A whirling dervish of an album, and a culmination of all their previous hard work, Nonagon Infinity is the sound of a band at their wigged out best.

A varied and largely successful meeting of minds, this is peer-review done right, and the prospect of it influencing future solo outings from Case, lang and Veirs is golden.

To come back after over two decades and casually produce an album that sounds like it could have been made in the band’s heyday is quite some achievement.

Gargoyle is yet another fantastic album from Mark Lanegan, and one that points to a new path.

In a decade dominated by rappers who obsess about their cars, clothes and women, it's nice to be reminded that MCA, Mike D and Ad-Rock are still out there, keeping it fun despite all the haters.

Ill Manors is visionary, it's bold, but most importantly it's very good.

Ultimately, there is no getting away from the fact that WMABMT is a remarkable album. In fact, it is hard to think of anything else quite like it.

Unflesh is at times a disturbing and upsetting listen, but it is also a triumph of will over circumstance.

There’s not one dud track on it, and each listen unveils something new to hear. Most pleasingly though, in these dark times, is that it’s a whole heap of fun. 2018 may be only a few months old, but we may have its album of the year already.

Skying feels like a watershed of sorts for the band, because if they now want to be seen as more than creators of masterful records, the whole package will need to reflect that brilliance and artistry.

An album that’s up there with their best, one of their most powerful and cohesive statements to date.

A moody yet romantic triumph, The Defenestration Of Saint Martin is far better than anyone could hope to expect from a long-dormant Britpop survivor.

This album is the full realisation of his talent as a bass player, musician and, most importantly, a songwriter. Apocalypse is, in short, a supreme triumph.

Their incongruence makes neither any less brilliant. So powerful is its imagery, and so timeless is its presentation, Lisbon is sure to join High Violet on any shortlist of the most memorable albums of 2010.

This is some of the most welcoming music Gang Gang Dance have ever pieced together – less diffuse but still rewardingly complex, without any of the clutter that could occasionally overwhelm less patient parties.

At times Pick Me Up Off The Floor feels like a welcoming musical refuge. It’s an intimate, empathising support mechanism of an album, well-placed to respond to the emotional needs of listeners during these turbulent times.

This is as close to the spirit of punk as you’re likely to hear this year (or any year).

It’s not an easy listen and will send hipsters scurrying for their bobble hats and fake specs, but this is the sound of a band pushing themselves, challenging their audience and making something to be proud of.

It probably won’t break her out of the cult status in which she’s often resided, but for those who seek it out, it will prove an immensely rewarding listen.

There are moments here that can stand shoulder to shoulder with Mould’s considerable back catalogue – and while Here We Go Crazy won’t, in all probability, gain Mould any new fans, there’s plenty to satisfy anyone who’s come under his considerable spell over the last few decades.

Too big in their influences and scope to fit in even the biggest pigeonhole imaginable, The Besnard Lakes thankfully produce music chock-full of tunes and spine-tingly loveliness not seen since The Beach Boys or more recently the sheer joy and ridiculous grandeur of The Polyphonic Spree.

For what it sets out to do, it's damn near perfect, and what higher praise is there than that?

Pretentious? Undoubtedly. Overblown? Yes, of course it is, but we expected nothing less.

Whelm is a confident and well-defined musical statement that shows Douglas Dare has taken little time to hit the standard we’ve come to expect from Erased Tapes.

Esmerine has once again created an album full of depth, wonder and flights of fancy.

This is a talent to watch, The Return laying down an impressive statement of intent, a marker of Sampa The Great’s potential. This will surely grow with subsequent releases, and it is exciting to think of where she could go next.

Flying Dream 1 is, in many respects, a typical Elbow album – warm, comforting and sincere. It’s also a record that many of us need after the last two years.

Even if you don’t buy the concept though, that hardly matters – this is a startling record that, even at its considerable length, never collapses under the weight of its own ambition. It also serves to formally introduce Lava La Rue as one of the country’s most foremost talents.

Floating Points continues to create striking, original electronic music, and with this album comfortably achieves his aim of creating a set of bangers rich in colour and content. Harnessing his electronic orchestra for wholly uplifting means, Sam Shepherd has made something rather special.

The opening half sees him attempt something a little different with mixed results, the second half seems him return to more familiar ground with only moderate success.

The idea that synthetic beats only serve to sterilise is ridiculous and passé – but while they show potential for something really interesting here, they do have the effect of cooling and sterilising an otherwise warm and welcoming record.

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.

Despite the prevalence of rootsy Americana throughout the album, there are a pleasing variety of styles on display.

It could be said that a work as strong as Majesty Shredding cements Superchunk as an important band or a permanent indie fixture, but that's a bit of a misnomer. If anything this record is simply proof that Superchunk are going to make the music they want to make regardless of whether it fits into a modern context or not.

Some may find the often austere arrangements off-putting, but this is an album which proves that Tiny Ruins are a band that can creep into your heart without you even noticing.

It might not be entirely mega, but there's enough to fawn over with this robust collection of breezy and inventive Americana.

It could be argued that Soul Time! itself is nothing new within the Dap-Kings catalogue, made up as it is of old tunes (Longer And Stronger, for instance, was written to celebrate Jones's 50th birthday in 2006), but these favourite oldies are collected here for the first time, and that's really something.

The adoption of low energy, skeletal electronic instrumentation serves to shine a light on her often brittle and vocoder cloaked vocals. A sensation of emotional fatigue circles above proceedings, as the music elicits the haunting effect that this ongoing lack of human intimacy is having on all of our psyches.

Night Network may not be the 12 tracks which would shake the person who doesn’t like The Cribs out of their most curious position. But it is 12 more assertions of greatness from a band who you really should like.

This is a record you can dance to, even if it’s also a record you can cry to. The sum is an inspiring record both for the creator and the listener.

By the time Free The Ruler’s soulful loop fades out, we’ve only come to a conclusion in the loosest sense. The listener enters Earl’s world in medias res and 25 minutes later he’s still maintaining, still working everything out, but the journey’s been nuanced and engaging.

With this debut it is clear that O'Halloran and Wiltzie have prosperously joined neutralist ambient and 20th century classical music together. In so doing they've formed aesthetically pleasing sounds which can allure every night-time audience.

It pays to listen to the originals, to form a full appreciation of just how much Jones brings to the table in each interpretation, expressing more emotion than he probably has at any point in his career. The instrumentation is the icing on the cake.

Some may describe this album as too raucous and little more than a racket, but it's a glorious racket.

For a dance music album, Swim sounds not only refreshingly organic, but also remarkably downbeat. Most remarkable of all, perhaps, is the way that Caribou have succeeded in marrying up these two things and still managed to make an album that is infused with a rhythm, a groove and a watery loveliness all of its own.

This being Cave, classy lyrical dexterity is never far away. But here the fire and brimstone preacher is a little less po-faced than much of his back catalogue, allowing humour (still black as coal) to gain the upper hand.

It’s a strange album that is melodically approachable, but lyrically draining.

It feels like the deepest and most soulful album she has made.

Chatma never feels like any kind of compromise, and the presence of Tinariwen singer Wonou Walet Sidati adds a new dimension to the music, one that sometimes threatens to overpower Ousmane Ag Mossa’s less imposing vocal presence.

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

Luck and Strange is an elusive album, gradually revealing its secrets with repeated listens.

Everything seems to hang together in its own peculiar way, to deliver an overall experience that’s unfailingly interesting, although perhaps ultimately lacking the truly special, standout ingredients needed to elevate Webb’s solo work to the kind of rarefied levels he helped Talk Talk achieve.

Expert In A Dying Field is the sound of a band going from strength to strength.

A signature sound is all well and good, but in the future the duo would benefit from indulging their inventive side more.

This is a special album, make no doubt about it, casting its spell as it makes both a moving memorial and an example of raw talent. If techno with a soul is what you're after, then look no further than this.

Their first album was one of the strongest debuts in recent memory and this is an equally impressive follow-up.

If this is to be the band’s swansong, they’ve left behind something timeless and quite beautiful.

This is an album that definitely deserves your interest, one of the best that New Weird America has thrown across the Atlantic in a long, long time.

Whilst Miri may not have the insistence and urgency of its most recent predecessors, it has a consistently high standard of musicianship and a depth, maturity, subtlety and insight that rewards repeated listening. It is a beautiful collection of music rooted in place, culture, history and ideas.

A Bath Full Of Ecstasy might be a somewhat eccentric name, but it ultimately does sum the album up rather well (assuming it means the abstract emotion rather than literal pills stacked up in a bathtub): a lush, adventurous experience, immersive and refreshing.

It is a cohesive musical statement in spite of its length. His first-hand experiences mean Okumu’s sonorous tones carry powerful messages, in what is one of his finest musical achievements to date.

God’s Favorite Customer is the next chapter to Honeybear: the story of the hedonistic shroom-addled Hollywood waster who fell in love and started to grow up, even if the occasional pelvic thrust, sardonically raised eyebrow or over-dramatic fall to the floor wouldn’t go amiss.

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

So from no albums in 13 years to two high quality long players in the space of six months - the star of Gil Scott-Heron is very much in the ascendency again, his influence on today's culture thrown into ever greater relevance by one of its finest new producers. It's that rare thing--a properly fine remix album.

None of this will come as any surprise to seasoned Costello watchers – indeed, it could be argued he’s been on a creative purple patch since 2018’s Look Now. For those who thought that age may have dimmed the fire that’s always been Costello’s trademark, A Boy Named If is proof positive that the opposite is true.

At times, there seems to be almost too much to process in Nikki Nack, and it’s true that this is certainly an album that repays multiple listens and complete immersion. That immersion will pay dividends, for Merrill Garbus has produced yet another deftly thrilling listen.

Songs Of Praise distils the best features of classic British alternative music into a vital band passionate to enervate, communicate and entertain.

It may only be eight tracks long, but each song contains so much invention and ideas that repeated listens bring their own rewards. As the seemingly interminable wait for a new Radiohead album goes on, The Smile are making music that, at times, is equally extraordinary.

There are numerous highlights to be found across these songs but Herod 2014 and Fetish stand out in particular.

Daniel Lopatin’s eighth album as Oneohtrix Point Never finds him splitting the difference between the synth-based abstraction of his previous albums and a more visceral, abrasive style. While neither of these are bad templates to work from per se, the result is an album that doesn’t know what it wants to be.

It has a daft title, and a few daft songs with hammy lyrics. It has variety, diversity and its heart on its sleeve. It has pretence, artifice and ambition. It has, basically, everything.

Forevher is the sound of a woman happy, in love, and going from strength to strength as a songwriter.

The Long Goodbye is a fiery yet thoughtful and nuanced record, with artistry and political consciousness on a level above most British rap.

Every track is quite full of life and holds no lack of energy that characterizes good, classic British rock ‘n’ roll.

There are plenty of power-punk melodies to ensure What A Time To Be Alive isn’t condemned to an early shelf life, even if to put it amongst their best work would be a stretch too far.

Stripped back tracks, smart beats, punchy bass, and Williamson’s dextrous barked delivery are all in place, and it seems that the band are in their dis/comfort zone.

Exploring increasingly adventurous songwriting terrains and expanding their studio capabilities whilst managing to retain some of the fire that once sparked up their engines, Iceage have delivered another tour de force.

For now, this is a hypnotic, well executed, if not altogether thrilling collection.

Shifting moods and voices effortlessly, Harding is an often technically astonishing performer, and Party is a work of quiet power. An inviting, captivating darkness.

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.

In short, every song is an earworm, and Lianne La Havas’ third album is haunting in the way only inspiring music can claim to be; a beautiful ghost to soundtrack your life to. ... Truly captivating.

At just eight tracks and a 30 minute running time, it does feel a bit slight at times. Yet that’s a minor quibble: much of Pinball Wanderer shows just what Bell can produce when he’s given a rare spotlight.

World On The Ground has an accessibility and lucidity that should see Jarosz win new fans. This is a highly accomplished outing by an artist very much in the ascendancy.

The combination of strict process and softer emotion makes for a fascinating album. The Hill, The Light, The Ghost is clearly the result of years of tender loving care, and its ink appears to be only just drying thanks to the instinctive, organic approach.

By the time we reach closing track Who Brings Me the journey through the cloudscape is complete, sealing an experience that is equal parts head and heart music. It’s an absorbing, cohesive listen that casts fresh light on familiar structures and melds them into new and appealing shapes.

Even when the pace becomes more middling and unified towards the end of the album, there’s still a sense of a band taking risks and exploring sound.

It’s Billy Nomates’ best album to date, and testimony to the fact that whatever doesn’t kill you does indeed make you stronger.

Despite the intro being borrowed from the trailer to American Gangster it essentially reclaims the genre Shawn Carter helped to pioneer from the studio gangstas and plastic pimps that hip-pop is swamped with.

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

Island isn’t an album that provides any easy hits – it’s more of a record to luxuriate in and discover its charms gradually. Lockdown conditions mean that it’s easier than ever to immerse yourself in this grandiose music, and those that do will find much to lose themselves in.

There’s too much spirit in this cocktail for the mixer to spoil it.

In sum, How To Stop Your Brain In An Accident cements Future Of The Left as unique.

For all the sonic invention which they usually display, it’s the raw emotion and sadness on Two Ribbons which make this Let’s Eat Grandma’s finest album yet.