Although this self-titled debut contains shades of their previous bands, it's noticeably more direct, and rockets onwards, simple and straightforward.

A collection of astounding anthems for a new tomorrow, made by the disaffected youth of today.

It’s Dire Straits teamed with louche New York cool--a combination that shouldn’t work, but totally does.

'Under Construction' is stuck all over with shocks and surprises, more than enough to keep the rogue-scientist glitchmasters who mutated 'Get Ur Freak On' in mischief for months.

The largely well-executed ‘SuperGood’ provides enough evidence to suggest he’s en route to bigger and better things.

‘I Barely Know Her’ is a slick, ambitious collection of songs crafted for big venues and festival stages.

Undoubtedly the one Sleater-Kinney album that everyone should have. [21 May 2005, p.66]

Leaping from its 2009 predecessor, Psychic Chasms, with the first notes of 'Heart: Attack', Era Extrana becomes a lesson in how to execute electronic music properly.

It’s a confident, cohesive return that sounds like Keem has stopped trying to prove he belongs, and started figuring out what he wants to say now that he’s here.

Big GRRRL Small World is a decidedly broader and more mature offering than 'Lizzobangers', and, in terms of Lizzo's long-term appeal, that can only be a good thing.

Much of ‘Struggler’ may be unsettled but it never feels restless.

Diet Cig have retained the fast-biting wit that made ‘Swear I’m Good At This’ such a compelling prospect, but here there’s far more depth.

This album is probably the most solid foundation this quartet have had in 15 years, and it would be a disaster if it wasn’t a springboard for several more.

It’s one of the oddest beauties of the year so far.

He has regularly crept back to the light of the charts and 4:13 Dream is such an occasion. And one which, given the ’80s revival, is timed to perfection.

Valuable remainders from last year’s Ferndorf sessions, these playful-yet-stark instrumentals beckon us invitingly into the terribly clever worlds of Terry Riley and Steve Reich.

Rather than settling on a unified feel, second album Culture Of Volume also delights in genre-hopping, but it’s less abstract and more coherent than its predecessor.

This kind of bug-eyed bish-bash-bosh is exactly what we need from Frank Carter And The Rattlesnakes right now. Great records inevitably come out of shit times, and this is one of them.

MGMT might be an uncomfortable journey at times, but it’s also a transcendental one you’ve never been on before.

As the lovelorn ‘From Far Away’ floats by, desolate and broken, haunted by the ghosts of art-rock guitars and phantom electronics, it’s clear that Jeff Tweedy still isn’t comfortable on well-trodden roads and that Warm has moments that upend Americana as beautifully as ‘Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’ did with US indie rock. One to let simmer.

It's a shotgun blast of cranked guitars, bruising hardcore and canyon-sized choruses, and it's mesmerising.

Josef K's candy-striped take on post-punk isolationism sounds both ancient and modern. [18 Nov 2006, p.31]

Dungen are the band The Mars Volta wish they were.

Although not every track is a total slam dunk, AJ has here crafted another successful project whose streaming numbers, singles and infectious melodies will live on in memory – just like Michael Jordan’s infamous match.

It’s understated, and a quietly affecting success.

Music to stick pins in voodoo dolls of the popular kids by.

A hodgepodge of styles (electronica, jazz, reggae, rock and classical) is finessed into something stirringly cohesive.

Touches of experimental ambience (‘Rosary’) and ‘80s fog-pop (‘True Seekers’) work well as light relief and ‘Texis’, as an exercise in full-throttle revitalisation, is dynamite indeed.

A couple of slower-paced moments, ‘Khattaba’ and ‘Mawal Jamar’, drag a little, but 'Warni Warni' is undoubtedly the best Syrian-folk techno banger you’ll hear this--or any other--year.

It may sound simple but it's devastatingly effective.

The gear shifts can be jarring, but album four is actually more cohesive than it has any right to be, a fact its creator has attributed to her common thread of influence in Stony Island Arts Bank. Horns up: Corinne Bailey Rae has thrown the musical curveball of the year.

The Odd Couple contains few hints about where the pair will go next. For now, let’s revel in the fact that soul music hasn’t sounded this fresh and downright freaky for a quarter of a century.

A cut above.

‘Taste Of Love’ is one of TWICE’s more powerful releases yet – despite a number of notable misfires – and showcases the group’s versatility in terms of vocals and concept execution.

Her most outward-looking work to date.

Recorded under the radar with producer Jason Lader and Bright Eyes collaborator Mike Mogis, it’s a strange little album, just eight songs long but deceptively dense with ideas.

Jay-Z has upped the commercial rap ante once again.

Musically Once More 'Round The Sun is equivalent to having several tons of hot molten lava poured into your eye sockets for about an hour.

By the time you reach the gentle conclusion of ‘Bonedigger’, it’s clear Adult Jazz will be inspiring their own army of rip-offs before long.

When The Wytches employ a lighter ‘Suck It And See’-era Arctic Monkeys touch they’re capable of ‘Wire Frame Mattress’ and ‘Track 13’, exceptional songs full of both melody and menace.

It’s a dark, smart and thrilling debut.

If tracks like ‘New Town Velocity’ or ’Easy Money’ passed you by, this is an opportunity to reacquaint yourself. The Smiths songs, of course, will be of particular interest.

‘Glowing In The Dark’ travels through endless landscapes, erratically veering from sun-drenched psych-pop (‘Right The Wrongs’) to video-game instrumental weirdness (‘The Ark’) and acoustic bliss (‘The World Will Turn’). Vitally, though, its feet never touch the ground, and the illusion is never broken.

His ninth leaves behind the wearing synth experiments and lo-fi oddities of recent years for a set of witty piano-pop songs.

Right now, their bouncing glamorama feels like the most important album you could own.

It’s an impressive step-up from an artist who was already operating miles ahead of their peers. ‘soft scars’ can be an emotionally excruciating experience, but it finds yeule connecting with their humanity in ways that seemed impossible just one year ago.

Surprising, eclectic and intimate.

Showcasing the eclectic Tinashe many OG fans first loved, ‘333’ gives off the same energy as early mixtapes such as ‘Black Water’ and the aforementioned ‘In Case We Die’, reminding us of the singular artist that Tinashe is and always has been.

There are moments on ‘Blue Banisters’ that don’t quite match up to the high bar Del Rey has set for her output. ... For the most part, though, ‘Blue Banisters’ reminds us that, beyond the social media fires and press backlashes, Del Rey is still as great as she’s always been.

Much like the sardonic vocals heard in the latest post-punk revival, Ice Spice says plenty in her delivery, relying on the tonality of her voice – levelled, calm – to do much of the heavy lifting. It makes ‘Like…?’, her debut project, such a sharp listen. Her voice remains monotone but that only makes the lines hit harder.

Let it be said that Lex Hives is amazing.

Ariana’s core fanbase are bound to find an instant, sugar-rush of pleasure in this fascinating side-step from an artist who – until now – has made her name by stomping down the traditional pop path.

‘R Is For Rocket’ isn’t a record that breaks new ground nor delivers constant hits; but it is a promising debut that does a damn good job at what it set out to do: solid songs, played loud.

It’s to the LA based quartet’s endless credit then, that they manage to not only make their revamping of the sound fresh and funny, but poignant too.

Davidson’s Working Class Woman is smart, intriguing and deserves to be heralded as one of the year’s most inventive releases--Lord knows she’s worked hard enough for it.

If this is an awakening, consider our attention well and truly captive; clever, confident, and utterly comforting.

Musically, they've come on. Kevin Baird's bass work – always a highlight – is finally showcased to full effect on the 'Rip It Up'-style swagger of 'Wake Up' and the jagged riffing of 'Sun', while 'Pyramid' features some seriously impressive guitar noodles.

It's irresistible. [16 Sep 2006, p.36]

Their strength is that, musically as well as sartorially, they’re unafraid to plunder and repurpose styles previously considered naffer than Bluetooth headsets.

Not only does it banish the memory of "St Anger" but it’s easily their best work in 17 years.

‘Loud Without Noise’ covers a lot of ground – including relationships, mental health, and social inequality – with the songs working on two levels. Minto often addresses an issue on a broader scale, while also tying it to personal experience.

It’s a record that will become like a familiar friend over repeated listens, and shows how the band have built elegantly on the foundations of their debut, fizzing with self-belief at every turn.

By the end of ‘West End Girl’, it’s clear the relationship in this tale might be over, but Lily Allen’s comeback is just getting started.

The Black Angels’ psych scholarship pays dividends here.

Effortlessly weaving elements of his hardcore upbringing in the West Coast DIY scene with more classic and fragile approaches to songwriting, this is an open introduction with all the hallmarks of America’s next unlikely star.

For all its fast-paced absurdness, Love Is Magic carves out quiet moments, too. These tiny, rare diamonds stud a world that can so often feel completely evil. It’s a balancing act that Grant ultimately pulls off.

‘Everything Harmony’ plays like the next progression from their promising debut, and what stood out about them then is what stands out about them now. With their fourth album, The Lemon Twigs have honed in on their ability to not just lift from the past but transmute what inspires them into something imaginative and new.

Farewell to Condale, the ’80s teen-flick soundstage for Summer Camp’s brilliant rom-pop 2011 debut; welcome to the slick ’90s house club of their equally impressive second.

Ezra Collective deliver on the excellent ‘Dance, No One’s Watching’, bringing people back together on the dancefloor.

The most obvious progressions are the band's clearer song structures and Lee Spielman's vocals.

A melancholy streak runs through the album’s second half where tales of devotion (‘Lifeboat’), longing (‘Daydreams’) and ruminations on mental health and anxiety (‘Nightmares’, ‘Living Strange’) shine.

Far from experiencing growing pains, Car Seat seem to have had a lot of fun here.

Aitch’s debut draws on local heritage but remains heavily anchored in a forward-thinking rap blueprint. With the ‘cheeky chappy’ mask tucked slightly back (if not fully removed), and a more introspective attitude on show, it’s an even more powerful formula.

Out Of Touch In The Wild sees them evolve into the Field Music you can dance to--or the Talk Talk you can smile to.

Mess’ is characterised by synths and distorted beats. But unlike the often self-doubting and timid ‘WIXIW’, it revels in its own demented chaos.

The end result is a record rooted in the bass flicks, shimmering synths and lovelorn lyrics that defined their debut.

Of the most recent phases of Patti Smith's musical output (always surprising since 1996's Kurt Cobain tribute 'Gone Again'), Banga is by far the most successful.

Kveikur comes as a violent but welcome surprise.

Currently, there are few notable British producers creating such brilliantly odd pieces of music as this.

‘Zeit’ might be a more reflective album than previous Rammstein records, but it’s still an energetic, swaggering beast.

'Rudebox' is not 'Robbie Williams the serious artiste', but it is an amazing pop album.

They're a band who are defiantly British and who haven't sold their soul to current trends--and they're all the better for it. [20 Jan 2007, p.29]

It's only rock'n'roll but you'll probably like it.

Ready to break noisily out of the underground, the quintet have made one of the year’s most accomplished metal albums.

The chilly Euro-house stylings may be a mite predictable but Diddy proves a generous curator, laying on blockbuster exhibits and atmospheric slow jamz alike in the greatest cast-of-millions hip-hop joint since, well, Kanye's latest.

Fernandez is a warm presence, murmuring his stream-of-consciousness lyrics on mini-masterpieces that promise a sunny future.

Weirder, funnier and fiercer than ever, Girl Band return as heroes of the weirder corner of rock music, and they’ve outdone themselves this time.

There are a few early misfires here, but they are rescued by a stunning second half on which Beck’s trademark sound is stripped back and drenched in a glistening synth-filled air that takes him into a daring new era.

It feels like a joyous, slowly unfurling epiphany. It’s a gift to be able to listen in.

By recording the album with his live band, he frames his unmistakably husky countertenor with a set of warm, natural sounds that form a bedrock for the raw emotions on Blood rather than distracting from them.

As impressive as her gossamer-light voice layered over the strings and breakbeats on ‘Bad Boy’ is, Speech can do upbeat as well as down.

Newcomers might just wonder why these old dudes are ripping off Bloc Party.

An essential emotional pummelling as well as an aural one.

‘Reeling’ is gripping throughout, and the band always seem ready to ascend to another level.

Timeless. [19 Aug 2006, p.35]

Sonically, it’s a step up from the guitar-driven mayhem that characterised their roots, without just slapping some synths on top like many of their indie counterparts. In reality, they’ve never sounded closer to that wacky, eccentric live band down your local on a Friday night – and maybe that’s where their truest form lies.

The 2009 Projectors have adopted a more enjoyable model, thanks in part to Longstreth holding back that horn.

Get past the initial jolt of weirdness and you'll find in his delivery a soul-puncturing cry from the very frontlines of life, able to evoke both desperate tragedy and skyscraping joy all at once.