To date, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes have blended buzzing Stooges punk, thick Queens Of The Stone Age riffs and winking alternative rock into something resembling Arctic Monkeys circa Humbug, as seen through a funhouse mirror. All of these sounds are here on End Of Suffering, and more besides.

While Homecoming could hardly be described as a massively commercial record, it’s certainly Du Blonde’s most accessible album to date, and the short running time means that it never outstays its welcome.

Not everything they attempt comes off--The End Is Beautiful is a harmless and cloying ballad and Through comes across as Jimmy Eat World by numbers--but for the most part Integrity Blues is an intriguing and varied entry into the band’s back catalogue.

Lyrically, gone is the amusing petulance, and in its place are tales that tug on the heart strings by creating patchwork mind pictures with words. And when Los Campesinos! hit that sweet spot, the results are stunning.

Beat Pyramid crosses genres, sticks pins in everything it sees and manages to reference hip-hop, punk, new-wave, dubstep and everything in between. For that alone, These New Puritans should be applauded.

Queen Of Golden Dogs is Vessel at their most direct and bold, and the result is often overwhelming, sometimes confusing, and always fascinating.

Faith In The Future may lack the life-affirming joie de vivre that The Hold Steady can invoke at their best, but if we’re to hear no more from them, there’s enough here to reaffirm faith in Finn’s future at least.

There is a lot of depth to be found in If You Asked For A Picture, and at times it is hidden behind the fairly pedestrian “indie” approach. Yet given time, it’s an album that gradually unfurls and draws you in, even if a little extra punch and bite would not have gone amiss.

For now, Shelter is a phenomenal start along a new path.

As long as you don't mind working for your alt rock fixes, however, Farm is certainly worth the effort.

The King Blues are much better when they're angry and making music to riot to.

Despite such misgivings [that the album runs out of steam and falls into pastiche territory] it's a decent enough record that deserves a follow-up.

Just as he did on Home, he presides over the germination of initially simple ideas that wind in to loops, generating forward movement against a wide screen backdrop.

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

Once again, they have come up with a lovingly crafted tribute to the idiosyncrasies of England’s summer sport, and those who approach it as a bit of harmless fun will be humming these songs with a smile on their face at least until the final ball of the Ashes series is bowled.

De Facto takes all that was good about Lorelle Meets The Obsolete and makes it even better. The groovier undercarriage suits their sound, as do the enhanced keyboards, and the substance of their music is hugely impressive.

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.

It’s considerably better than it has any right to be, made up of a surprisingly satisfying mix of bright modern pop, standard club bangers and Billie Eilish-esque miserablism.

It’s easily Alice Cooper’s strongest album in decades, a testament to the resilience, and seemingly endless creative capacity the man has.

By now there’s no doubting that Fat Dog are a blindingly fun prospect, and there’s plenty of potential contained within Woof, and it’s no surprise that they’ve garnered such a following in such a short space of time.

And They Turned... is at times confusing, frightening, and strangely beautiful.

There are enough little twists, turns and embellishments on their trademark sound to ensure they’re still sounding fresh. Continue As A Guest is another reliable chapter in one of Canada’s most consistent bands.

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

Those who appreciate what she does well can recognise that in her own understated way, Thorn belongs in the pantheon of the truly great British female singers, and this is another worthy addition to a back catalogue of consistently high quality.

It’s a warm, comforting hug of a record, a friend to reassure you that things are all okay, even when it feels like it’s all falling apart. The type of soundtrack we all need in times like this.

It is a modern pop record to be cherished.

There’s depth here, but it’s the introspective kind; this is the sound of untold wonder.

Hutchison may seem down on himself on this record, but the music is full of creative energy.