Messy has been given time to come to fruition, and that shows through every note. It’s a fine demonstration of Olivia Dean’s talent, and sounds every inch a marker of a long and successful career.

Although there are a couple of songs on this album which don’t set up camp in your memory, the vocals always astonish, from the sound of Jeff Buckley floating on a soul bisque on It Must Change to the greasy gospel crescendo of Rest.

Stories From A Rock N Roll Heart is a triumphant return, an uplifting listen and a valuable addition to her magnificent catalogue.

It’s a heavy, lugubrious listen in places but is also the sound of an artist pursuing their art with integrity and investing themselves fully, showing that, while adversity can at times feel all encompassing, there are ways to overcome and find resolution.

He remains an important figure in the rock scene, even if his albums play second fiddle to The Strokes’ material – and albums like this make it still more of a shame that that’s the case, for this is a winner.

While it’s sometimes a bit too unassuming for its own good, King Of A Land does well to remind the world of just what a legendary songwriter Yusuf/Cat Stevens is.

It may not be up there with Rumours or Blood On The Tracks, but given the emotion and heart poured into it, Chemistry is a more than decent break-up album.

Anyone who wants a nostalgia rush back to the Commotions days may be disappointed with On Pain, but for everyone else this is an effective indication of an artist steadily on his own path, and doing very well out of it.

Although she’s not quite there just yet, with a more stringent editor, and a producer who could get the best out of her (Max Martin would seem a lip-smacking prospect), Maisie Peters is undoubtedly on her way to producing a truly great pop album.

Although Yawning Abyss is a tad more conventional than Mr Dynamite, it’d be fair to assume Creep Show will remain an acquired taste for some. But for those who have no qualms about stepping into their sometimes oppressive, sometimes sleazy-sounding world, you may not want to step back.

Versions Of Us is an intense listen, dealing with weighty topics, yet thanks to the hooks running through most of these songs, it’s also their most accessible album to date. It’s taken a while, but Lanterns On The Lake may just be ready for the big time at long last.

Some might wish for more of the pounding drums and hellish vocals of old, others might hope for more of the experimental blasted patchwork of The Beggar Lover (Three), but the album succeeds best through its unwieldy, unmanageable length. They say Swans can break a man’s spirit with just two hours of unstinting grimness.

It’s not as front-to-back enjoyable as Rated R or Lullabies To Paralyze, and it’s not as thematically consistent as the Mark Ronson produced Villains. So it is their worst album. But it’s still the worst album by the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band in the world. Take it for what it is.

Joy’All is possibly Lewis’ best solo work to date – the sound of a woman fearlessly grappling with middle-age and dealing with all it has to throw at her.

There are catchy and effective tracks here, though also a niggling sense that she has turned her considerable talents towards sounding more like everybody else.

Átta is an album which demands to be listened to in its entirety, a 56 minute journey which ebbs and flows magnificently. It’s exactly what you’d expect from Sigur Rós, with a few surprises thrown in, and without doubt one of the more welcome comeback stories of the year.

Killer Mike has taken a meticulous approach to ensure MICHAEL paints a nuanced, vivid picture of him and his community, and the effect is inspiring.

At times, it seems to make more sense as a collection of EPs, as it sometimes doesn’t hang together as an album as coherently as it may do. Yet there’s still much to enjoy on this mammoth collection, and on tracks like Don’t Touch That Dial and Complete Me, Django Django have produced some of their best work to date.

A significant part of The Show’s appeal is down to Horan’s quiet charm – he always sounded far more convincing in his low-key guitar-based tunes than, for example, Liam Payne in his perplexing attempts at club bangers.

Undergrowth and The Blades showcase the band’s ability to juxtapose delicate melodies and introspective moments with bursts of raw energy, delivering a rich listening experience that defies expectations.

It might not be as cohesive as some of her earlier work but The Age Of Pleasure is still an album that bristles with energy and boldness.

Narratively cohesive and relatable, it is in celebration of where he comes from that ultimately makes Last Man Dancing the essential, repeatable work that it is.

It all stays just on the right side of self-indulgent, although like most albums consisting mainly of cover versions, there are peaks and troughs.

There’s no big anthem like Landed, and sometimes you do yearn to hear Folds properly hammering his piano like in his early solo days or during his time with Ben Folds Five.

Archangel Hill is another life-affirming encounter with a remarkable artist. Shirley Collins may be British folk music royalty, but this record once again shows her ability to communicate with her listeners as though they are the only people in the room.

An album with bangers like Drag [Crashed] is easily redeemed, however, and I’ve Seen A Way winds up being the most exciting debut in recent times, recommended for fans of the electronic and the industrial.

It’s a record that, the longer you live with it, the more its little subtleties make themselves clear. It builds on the strengths of Collapsed In Sunbeams and ends up creating an even more rounded album.

Although The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte might not be quite equal joyous recent peak Lil’ Beethoven, it’s impressive that, on their 26th album, Sparks are incorporating new sounds and concepts, whilst still sounding exactly like themselves.