There's an alertness and sense of movement within these carefully crafted soundscapes.

In their search for pop perfection though, they do actually hit the mark a couple of times; it’s just a shame that the best moments mostly appear at the album’s commencement because they far outweigh the vast majority of what follows, meaning you could be tempted to drift off in conversation before the album’s conclusion or, worse still, fall asleep.

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

Native Sons is a surprisingly great piece of work by a band who know how to please their fans and accidentally make new ones.

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

Fans of David Sylvian will doubtless appreciate the elegant compositions and Sylvian's self-indulgent but soulful insights, but there is little to entertain the casual listener who may be better off back cataloguing Tom Waits and Nick Drake and realizing that they are not the same thing.

Everybody’s Heart Is Broken Now resolutely clings to the idea that faded memories can be given vibrant colour through song and that music preserves inner tempests and dreamed oases in amber--and for the most part it succeeds as evidence of that.

There’s barely a weak track on Surrender, and it’s a record that’s destined to appear on a lot of ‘end of year’ lists come December. The fact that this is only Maggie Rogers’ second album is astonishing, given the level of confidence and ability that shines through it.

The Ascension is a far superior and more ambitious album [than 2010 album The Age Of Adz].

Rather than make-up/break-up album, this here is a glacial evolution of sentiment, reflective of his maturity of mind and songwriting.

There are some quite beautiful and pop-infused moments to be found sprinkled across the album despite the best efforts of EMA and her co-producer Leif Shackleford to keep away from the ears of the commercial fraternity.

While most folk acts are content to simply keep churning out album after album of tried and tested traditional standards or self-penned campfire sing-alongs, The Unthanks are stretching the parameters of their genre with an ambition that’s rarely been heard before.

Entanglement is an album that needs to be considered alongside genre heavyweights like The Blue Notebooks by Max Richter or Englabörn by Jóhann Jóhannsson. It’s a timely reminder of how high modern classical music can reach.

It may not be what you expect if you’re a casual fan, but it’s another intriguing little audio experiment from Wiggs, Stanley and Cracknell.

It's eccentric, it's exhilarating, it is, in parts, absolutely insane. Yet it's never less than absolutely compelling, which is what makes The White Stripes one of the greatest bands of modern times.

While they might not be better than ever, they’re at least what they once were and what they’ve always been in the collective memory: instrumental virtuosos and sophisticated songsmiths, all the while finding a way to make it look easy.

At times, you won't hear a more beautiful album this year, and there are enough heart-stoppingly dramatic moments on here to more than justify all the excited pre-release anticipation.

Whilst not perfect, Nobody Wants To Be Here And Nobody Wants To Leave is, as the cliché goes, a return to form and the album of a band that has rediscovered what they’re good at.

Sahel Folk is refreshing, especially when set against the fact that many bands can spend months or years tinkering in studio settings for what they deem to be the perfect sound.

Traditional Techniques is neither a revelation nor a disaster, it’s neither a winner nor is it a loser. Simply put, this is a very, very niche record that will likely sink, never to be seen again, as soon as Pavement step foot on the Primavera Sound stage in June (coronavirus permitting). But if you were to give it a few spins, who knows where it might end up taking you?

The Argument is a highly laudable effort--literary heads will enjoy its attempt at condensing the complexities of the epic poem, while many will take pleasure in the story Man’s downfall sounding so varied and tuneful.

Much of it feels like pastiche, albeit of an often very entertaining sort.

At just eight tracks long and with a half-hour running time, I Want To Start A Garden is more an introduction to Haley Heynderickx than a fully formed declaration. It’s enough to make you very excited about what’s yet to come, though--this particular garden is ready to bloom into some very special greenery.

Fifth album The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs doesn’t have the dramatic sense of change of its predecessor, but it is a fascinating album that may even ultimately prove to have more to offer. It’s one of those albums that grows with each listen.

Have We Met is one of Bejar’s most interesting so far. But the grating oh-so-indie-look-at-me lyrics bash against the beauty of the beats. Maybe, just maybe, Destroyer should focus on soundtracks from now on.

Real Life Is No Cool inhabits a place where pop, electro, house, funk and disco collide, and the results are accomplished, stylish and, above all, fun.

As ever, there's a jamming seam throughout the Malkmus landscape, with the likes of Brian Gallop descending (or ascending, more appropriately) into freeform guitar passages that, while inevitably slightly indulgent, are never less than engaging, tuneful and, above all, enjoyable.

Where its predecessor found Plant operating in a finely-tuned genre, Band Of Joy gives him an opportunity to explore his influences, and to colour a few choice odds and ends from the rock 'n' roll canon with his indelible mark.