Despite some excellent high points, Tasmania appears jumbled as a whole and there are too many tracks that just don’t hit the bullseye for it to be upheld as the best Pond have recorded.

These songs are stamped full of her personality and they mark a major evolution as a songwriter. As the final chords of the heartrending Comfort ring out, it’s impossible not to think that yet another major Antipodean talent has put a new marker down.

The introspective narrative may not be uncharted territory, but Dido chose these waters. She is unrivalled in navigating them with her disarming and melodic harmonies. If we’re going to hell after this, let’s enjoy this atmospheric goddess while we can. Beautiful.

The narrative may be light and oft charted, but what an impressive and impassioned debut album from Sigrid Sucker Punch is. She and a world of adulation are unlikely to be Strangers for much longer.

Even at 16 tracks (including the little spoken word interludes that scatter the album), it never seems too long or self-indulgent.

This is a ‘supergroup’ refreshingly free of ego and filled with supremely listenable songs.

Taking field recordings from various locations, Tiersen has created an album that works on a number of levels, and listening to ALL completely devoid of context is a rewarding listen.

All in all, an accomplished return, and a welcome and relatable one for these dismal times.

thank u, next is a very accomplished album which showcases Grande’s inner strength and emotional maturity in the face of the undeniably harrowing trauma she has suffered in the past couple of years. Forget Grande: This album is a Venti, with an extra shot.

Whether it be the sunny jangle of No Exit or the pop sensibilities of the likes of Stars Around Your Heart or Walking Away From Love, there’s enough here to demonstrate that this is Mason’s finest record of his solo career to date.

The arrangements may be cleaner and songs embellished with alternative focuses but it would be hard to claim they don’t have the interests of the originals at heart. Seen as a sensitive collective tribute it’s hard to view it as anything else than a success.

Nothing really jumps out, and Ian Brown’s seventh album still feels weirdly unrewarding, the artist playing a contented father rather than raging at the current state of the world. That is fair enough of course, but for an artist as established and inspirational as Ian Brown has been over the decades, we surely deserve waves rather than ripples.

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.

An album that finds Nesbitt in the midst of personal and artistic self-discovery. She’s almost there, just a few more seasons.

While it’s a stretch to describe the record as ‘poppy’, it’s certainly their most accessible material to date, with songs like The Arbor, Videograms and Let’s Get Lost taking up residence in the head long after the record has stopped playing. ... It may be only January, but there’s already been a place filled on that Best Albums Of 2019 list.

An emotionally raw and thrilling pop record (because it is a pop record, despite its rock sensibilities). After a series of downs that would finish most bands, Get Tragic sounds like a new start for its creators.

Musically, she’s moved on from the folky Americana that made her name, and moved towards a more doomy, synth-based sound. Yet it suits her down to the ground.

Assume Form finds Blake sonically in a state of equilibrium, having found two niches over the course of his career that suit him equally well. They complement each other well, and as the record ends with the soothing but wry Lullaby For My Insomniac.

It’s a remarkably assured album that shines light on Hayes as an artist of note while further enhancing Brewis’ reputation as an irrepressible source of creativity. It might only be January but this is an album that will bring joy right up to the end of the year and beyond.

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.

The recordings here are ideal for longtime fans, whose only gripe might be paying for material that they already own. But this is not a big problem when you consider just how many rare tracks you get for your buck.

Lithics have made what is surely one of the most sincerely bracing albums of the year.

Throughout the 10 songs both performers are clearly having fun, and yet--as you might expect from its Ghost Stories title--there is darkness at the heart of this album. For that reason it is the perfect Yuletide accompaniment, capturing perfectly the comforts and wonder of the season--but also the awkwardness nobody wants to talk about.

All in, this is quite a cathartic affair, as Ferry weaves in and out of his enviable back catalogue with vim and vigour and with dashes of melancholy and darkness. Symphonic, cinematic and touching.

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.

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

This feels like something that Harcourt did for his own satisfaction, and as a little treat for his fans. There’s nothing wrong with that, it doesn’t leave a lot for the rest of us to dig into.

The downbeat tone may put some people off, and with the average track lasting a good five or six minutes, it’s true that some degree of patience may be required to get the most out of Yawn. For those willing to invest that patience though, the rewards are vast: Yawn demonstrates just how well Ryder-Jones is evolving as a songwriter.