The album was written immediately after Brendon’s recent stint in the Broadway musical ‘Kinky Boots’, and while it’s fair to say he’s always had a flair for theatrics, the experience has injected these tracks with unprecedented levels of sass and drama. Urie is clearly still relishing the role of the sonic bachelor, and it shows. On Pray, it sounds like he’s having a total blast.

'Holes In The Wall' is one of the most impressive debut albums of 2002. Fact.

The overall impression is of gloomy landscape paintings with a spooky, residual feeling that God might be hiding behind every cloud or passing tumbleweed - electrifying.

Essentially more surgical sonic detritus, it is Autechre nuanced, minutely reprocessed and at the top of their game.

A perfect slice of bedroom psychedelia. [9 Apr 2005, p.58]

After the huge success of his second critically-acclaimed album like ‘Pieces Of A Man’, this small EP steps into the big boots it needs to fill before Mick Jenkins’ next outing. ... Delightfully dainty.

Despite being told over the course of just three tracks, the story of growth and revitalisation that underpins ‘SABLE’ hardly feels rushed.

No-one actually ever put out a request for an indie Pet Shop Girls, but thank goodness The Blow decided to do it anyway.

Their most daring and collaborative record to date. Featuring the likes of Damon Albarn, Holly Humberstone, Jay Som and, er, Chaka Khan, the results are as eclectic as this list would suggest, spanning across indie, pop, hip-hop and even garage.

The lyrical complexity of this mostly killer, little filler debut suggests that the singer, prone to pop bangers and searing confessionals, will dig up more compelling insecurities for whatever’s next.

Not since Bon Iver’s "For Emma, Forever Ago" has there been such an accomplished album of torch songs.

Peanut Butter sees Joanna Gruesome relishing the power of refusal, bending the tropes of macho rock and relationships to their own twisted whims.

These songs, Molina’s living animals, continue to make their way through the world, ensuring that their creator’s legacy lives on.

There is no mistaking that ‘Hickey’ is Royel Otis at their most self-assured. .... We can’t help but question if slightly more hunger to push the boundaries would add a greater sense of depth to an otherwise satisfying album.

This album is the work of a man with no time for big cash reunions or the squabbling that prevents them. Instead, he has turned in a record fuelled by soul and new ideas.

‘Written And Directed’ is a thrilling step up from a band quietly coming into their own.

An hour of intuitive improvised excellence.

American flower-punks Black Lips are purists when it comes to scuzz, and Good Bad, Not Evil is a perfect tapestry of sordid pleasure.

It’s a wildly successful take on the world at large as the band enter a new decade. Far from just indie survivors, it seems like these Jets have still got plenty of fuel left in the tank.

Lust For Life deals with themes that’ll be familiar to Lana devotees; faded Hollywood glamour, skewed Americana and terrible love. But this time around, Lana is even more grandiose than usual, with lush, sweeping orchestration draped elegantly over each of the album’s 16 tracks.

An honest, innovative collection that bolsters her reputation as a stellar songwriter, Yanya “undiluted” makes for an absorbing listen.

'Impeach My Bush' is no great sonic leap forward, but it is a near-perfect distillation of Peaches' "thing".

She asserts herself not just as a global star, but as a fully realised artist, shaping her sound and vision with an intentionality that signals real growth.

After Laughter comes over like the earnest, fist-pumping soundtrack to a long-lost John Hughes coming-of-age film.

They’ve certainly lost none of the delicious oddball energy that comfortably pitches their carefree electronic and romance-heavy tunes as the work of a lounge Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

It comes a little unstuck by the end of course, but overall this is a delight, going bump in the night in more ways than one.

A brutal and beauteous slither from the grave.

Part Brooklyn-punk, part folk-troubadour, ‘The Baby’ marks the coming-of-age of an intriguing songwriter, who isn’t afraid to take on the anxieties and uncertainties that keep you awake in the small hours.

A modern, commercially-viable, carefully crafted rock record that also sounds violent, deranged and desperately, incurably sad all at the same time.

With ‘Songs’ and ‘Instrumentals’ – the first comprised of acoustic singer-songwriter ditties, the latter a musical sound collage with no vocals – Lenker fashioned timeless, tender snapshots of grief that are grounded in healing.

Where his previous projects felt sprawling, ’uknowhatimsayin¿’ succeeds in feeling compact while delivering a powerful project that is expertly produced and concisely executed.

There's really only one salient truth about "Ersatz GB" – that The Fall, even at nearly 30 albums old, still stand alone and aloft.

‘Ugly Season’ might be indulgent, but Hadreas is still able to weave in the tender and immediate songwriting that made ‘Set My Heart On Fire’ so engaging (just as he wove his experimental streak into that record).

Never afraid to push boundaries or show vulnerability, James creates a compelling world of sound with ‘Gentle Confrontation’, and does so with grace. An incredible achievement.

Peace & Magic marks the duo out as genuine oddities, music makers full of irreverence, wit, silliness, wild experimentalism, genuine musical brilliance and weirdness.

Distance Inbetween is a cohesive, imaginative psych-rock record that grows with every listen. Welcome back, boys.

There are ballsy moments--they just happen to be coated in the trio’s signature icy cool.

The result is a maelstrom of noise, both ominous and ecstatic, doomy minor chords and cloud-parting major riffs.

With his sixth release, Brown has become the UK’s most consistently entertaining and often innovative solo artist.

It’s sonically brave and lyrically obstinate, a rare delight that stands out from its counterparts.

It’s a beautifully crafted album, with Orlando’s lyrics their strongest ever.

It’s a moving and important work, and one that reminds us why MNEK is the pop star we need in 2018.

His debut lives and breathes the Deep South, from the Chuck Berry references (most effective on opener 'Violent Shiver') to the slower, more hushed tones of 'I Thought I Heard You Screaming', which sees Booker take his vocal cues straight from Bobbie Gentry's late-’60s peak.

A sublime farewell from the millennium's finest synth act.

You can’t help but hear Burton’s confidence growing across the album’s running time, his potential still untapped and with room to grow. In this latest soul revival, there’s no denying that Black Pumas are at the forefront and on the prowl for more.

Swathed as it is in the kind of ’80s arrangements of flutes and chiming guitars that have rarely been allowed beyond Carol Decker’s lushest, most velveteen fantasies, this album is an open goal to accusations of trend-following revivalism. But, like Ladyhawke’s debut, the sheer quality of songwriting justifies any retrospective leanings they may have.

It’s easy to simply pore over Savage’s frantic wordplay--which peaks when evaluating kebab-wrapping techniques on ‘Berlin Got Blurry’--but the music is equally brilliant.

Sounding more like Animal Collective than The La’s, in these times when one wrong move is seeing bands of Kasabian’s stature sink like stones, it seemed a brave comeback.

A brilliantly disquieting debut.

We would have liked to have heard more lead vocal from the uniquely talented Cedric, but this is a small quibble when we're talking about the soundtrack to dancing like your life depends on it in 2011.

Unlikely to sway anyone not already on board with Richard D. James’ weirdo-funk, Collapse is nevertheless a brilliant, warped addition to a canon like no other.

The glammy, foot-stomping country bounce of tracks like ‘Greedy Soul’ make sure this isn’t a hoary dad-rock indulgence, but a totally 2017 rock record with its sights set high.

‘Time Skiffs’ is a gorgeous, exploratory album, containing some of the greatest creations this curious lot have turned in for years.

['Savior Breath' is] such terrific fun, you can't quite fathom how the same band could be responsible for something like 'Iron Rooster', which moseys on far too long and a little too close to Neil Young's 'Old Man' for comfort, but normal service is thankfully resumed with 'The Neverending Sigh', ensuring the record ends on a fittingly-thunderous note.

Fortunately the ponytailed Dane has a distinctive voice that’s both tough and vulnerable, and enough personality in the four tunes on her debut EP to stand out from the crowd.

Perhaps V made us wait for this one, but it was thoroughly worth it.

In general it pays to avoid electronic producers with dreadlocks, but let Sumach 'Gonjasufi' Ecks be your exception.

The record isn’t as cohesive or experimental as ‘Caution’, it’s not a big musical transition moment like ‘Butterfly’ was, and it’s not as viral-worthy as ‘Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel’ – but it’s still pretty darn good.

By turns dark, funny and heartbreaking, the songs on 'Original Pirate Material' are snapshots of ordinary life as a young midlands resident, set to innovative two-step production.

The band's best album yet - which is to say that it contains considerably more than three good songs.

Elegant and unusual, this is a gem.

Despite questionable lyrics, it's a much more cohesive album. [8 Jul 2006, p.41]

They respond to the challenge [to engage politically] in explosive style to deliver something like their defining statement.

‘Raw Honey’ has the air of a great lost album from the ‘70s, with lush instrumentation that falls between Crosby Stills & Nash and The Eagles, yet also boasts the crisp production of a modern-day studio.

It’s a smart, self-aware and compellingly imperfect record with a pretty unique point of view.

Geneva blossoms into an evocative, inspiring album.

Hopefully, listeners who have had their tastes whetted by Cat's Eyes and the cult Italian Beat At Cinecitta compilations will fall in love with this entrancing and gorgeously out-of-step album.

Universal High is the reinvention we never knew we needed.

‘Vie’ proves that Doja Cat remains pop’s ultimate shapeshifter, offering an album that moves, seduces and entertains on its own terms.

Opener ‘Shots Fired’ is a signal that Megan is not messing around. ... Yet it’s not long before she returns to the salacious songs that we all love Megan Thee Stallion for. ... For all the sex positivity and club-ready anthems, though, there are glimpses of that tone was first introduced with ‘Shots Fired.’

‘ALIAS’ proves that Shygirl is in full control of her artistic vision no matter the scale.

Yet another Next Flaming Lips emerges from beneath the librarian's skirts. In the 'Neon Bible' section, of course.

All of the well-worn Belle and Sebastian hallmarks are present, but what’s truly impassive is how effortless it all sounds this time around.

Hip-hop may rule the locker room, but it’s the sensitive beats that make the girls swoon.

This is about as close to a bid for mainstream acceptance as you're going to get from Bright Eyes.

As ever, Blake’s singular vision results in electrifying and innovative electronic music.

Their fourth album is a staggering masterclass in indie-pop songwriting that will make your brain melt and send firecrackers around your heart.

While it’s not quite all gold--over two CDs the listener’s resistance to slap bass and super-smooth vocals may be tested--the standard as a whole is incredibly high.

Ladyhawke’s louche synthetic pop is brazenly Bananarama, ridiculously ‘Rio’, and wonderfully Waterman, but the lack of posing – her sheer scruffiness – makes it the first credible ’80s pop record since ABC’s ‘The Lexicon Of Love’

Bright, exciting and full of effortlessly intelligent songwriting, 1, 2, Kung Fu! is an absolute joy to listen to. Wickedly fun, and made to be played on festival stages this summer, it’s short glimpse into the musical landscape of Newington’s mind--and one that we’re pretty bloody glad he shared.

Part II is an altogether more personal and laidback affair, concerned with romance and emotions.

Ultimately, what these songs leave is a feeling that, for all the album’s brilliant shine, experimenting with darker styles might not go amiss for what’s next.

What WIXIW's working process has given them instead is yet another way to find the manifold, melancholy and menacing nature of Liars.

Although Låpsley’s third album is at times understated in its pop-leaning potential, it’s a personal collection that unfolds with each listen, revealing new intricacies – lyrical, instrumental and contextual – while finding beauty and balance in the quieter moments.

The sound of a legend raging in style.

‘Serpentina’ is a welcome reintroduction to the artist and a cathartic ode to doing things your own way.

A playful record imbued with a sense of mystery and occasional glimpses of autobiography, slowly revealing itself as the cracked mirror image of ‘Róisín Machine’’s bruised optimism.

Strange Weekend's gauzy dream-pop is almost incapable of provoking anything but love.

ii is a record that unveils itself slowly, initially sounding ugly and abrasive before the melodies surge to the fore. Once you look for it, there’s beauty amidst the ugliness.

The result, the 11-track ‘A Celebration Of Endings’, is the band’s most concisely satisfying audio adventure since 2009’s ‘Only Revolutions’.

An intimate, frequently beautiful and consistently surprising record that gets better with every listen.

Hang is propelled by two principal forces--star-quality musicianship and the will to trespass beyond tradition. And, crucially, at a third of the size 
of its predecessor, it allows 
Rado and France--who wrote and produced every song--to fully focus. Rado’s keys are particularly outstanding.

Bracing brilliance channelling the spirit of Yoko Ono, Le Tigre, Aphex Twin and Alice Coltrane.

From the booming piano-tinged ‘Opener’, through to its more touching moments like ‘She’ & ‘Queens’, you’ll feel an overwhelming sense of love and light oozing out of every pore. This optimism and energy is endearing, and further proof that 2018 is proving to be a stunning year for the great dance LP.

The band’s most musically ambitious and diverse record yet.

Whereas Ryder-Jones' old band inhabited a colourful, self-contained world of soft drugs, spaghetti westerns and Scouse jabberwocky, his own sonic nook might seem smaller and more earthbound by comparison, but it's no less personal or poignant for that.

The result is a densely orchestrated record that is as solid as it is sprawling.

As disarmingly brilliant Mutant can be at times, it’s still deliberately obscure.