It picks the world apart in a way that evokes both horror at our present and an underlying optimism for our future, expressed in a way only music can. Here is confirmation that Suzanne Vega remains one of our musical treasures.

This is not retro. This is not homage. This is borderline heresy. The past is there, yes, but only so it can be restructured, reprogrammed, reversed. They remember the old rites – Silver Apples, United States of America, Amon Düül II – but not to copy them.

Towards the end, it does seem to run out of steam a little bit (although only really Sunshine Song seems to be filler) but overall this is a remarkably accomplished debut that, excitingly, hints at even better to come.

You wouldn’t wish the circumstances that brought about Weirdo on anyone, but it’s resulted in an album unafraid to take risks and one which only underlines Thackray’s huge talent.

A suave album full of competently executed ideas imbued throughout with a distinctive mood.

With A Vengeance maintains its intensity throughout, and by the time Thru The Nite’s hammering rimshots have died down we’re left with a promising collection of songs from this genre-bending artist.

The third Self Esteem album that takes the best parts of Prioritise Pleasure and her debut Compliments Please, and turns it all up to 10.

Highly accomplished, elegantly performed, wonderfully sung, this is an album by a master craftsman using his keen ear to create something beautiful. The man has never missed.

A showcase for Keita’s skills as a musician beyond his lauded voice they present.

As with many posthumous albums, Anxious is a deeply bittersweet listen – the knowledge of what might have been casts a poignant hue over the whole experience. However, as a tribute to Smith’s talent, it works beautifully: a fitting memorial to a woman who would have, no doubt, gone onto even better and brighter things.

Send A Prayer My Way is an album that confidently plays to its strengths and one that’s very much built on the undeniable chemistry between the two leads. Hopefully, it’s a collaboration that will be revisited in the not too distant future.

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.

It may not be the good-time party atmosphere that The Hold Steady can provide, but Always Been is probably Craig Finn’s finest solo album to date – it’s almost like a novel crammed into a conventional album.

An album that laughs at you while pushing you down the stairs, that swaggers right up to the edge of oblivion and does a stupid little dance, that understands the absurdity of it all, but refuses to let that be an excuse for apathy. Who knows why they keep being booked on indie-adjacent bills when they’re one of the most interesting metal bands in the world. This is lovely stuff.

The album’s sprawl and ambition is laudable, but also its downfall, as it often feels like a bit of a chore to wade through. As an album it’s too patchy, and as a document of a man’s life, a well-researched biography is probably a better bet.

This is the sound of a talented songwriter doing what she’s very good at doing. This particular palace is festooned with treasures.

There may not be too many of the pop hooks that Lush were so good at delivering, but this is a more textured, layered sound. Anybody yearning for the glory days of shoegaze will find a lot to enjoy here, and Tripla is the start of an exciting new chapter for one of indie music’s great survivors.

This is fully lived-in music with natural soul that is totally free of pretence, and a shot in the arm for anyone who hears it. It may only be six tracks long but Can’t Lose My (Soul) is one of those records the listener is simply grateful to have encountered. We are all the richer for it.

This is an intriguing piece of work that has a strange allure, asking more questions than it answers – in a good way. It is satisfying to witness a new dimension to Bryan Ferry’s artistry, an ability to use old canvases to create new paintings with the help of Barratt’s evocative prose.

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.

Overall though, it’s the sense of place that gives Earthstar Mountain its considerable charm. Some may find the pace a bit too languid at times, but if you want to be transported to the Catskills Mountains for a time, this is the perfect soundtrack to do so to.

Arcadia is the sound of Union Station effortlessly slipping back into what they do best. There may not be too many surprises, but sometimes all you need is the sound of old friends reuniting to perform some expertly played music.

There is a polish now. A refinement. But it remains, beneath the surface, the same. An exploration that ends where it begins. A band at the edge, unwilling to fall, yet never fully reaching the stratospheric heights they or their listeners deserve. This is a good album, but in trying to find compromise, they give too much away on both sides.

Though the duo occasionally strike gold, too many of these songs ultimately sound like pop as tabloid fodder.

Despite its flaws, it’s still an album that contains some of Dacus’ best work to date, even if the record itself is not her strongest. If you’re having withdrawal symptoms while waiting for the inevitable second Boygenius album, Forever Is A Feeling should sate you somewhat.

A glorious album, a record that beguiles and enchants, and one that, in time, you won’t want to stop listening to.

The Granite Way is the perfect demonstration of how he still stands as one of the leading figures of English folk music – nobody can quite tell a story like he can.

This is completely cohesive, despite the range of styles; relentlessly engaging, despite the range of moods; and utterly enthralling throughout.