Extremely moody yet highly groovy sixth album.

Serpentwithfeet’s warmest album yet, ‘DEACON’ is like a kind of blossoming – the result of meticulously excavating through heartbreak, and hitting on the joy waiting beneath.

The growth and progression here is stunning.

A rough and rabid ride.

It’s an album that could have easily ventured too out-there for the masses to find it palpable, but thanks Tumour’s outsized talent and personality, ‘Praise…’ avoids decadence and proves richly satisfying.

One of the best live albums that NME has ever heard.

Once I Was An Eagle sets a high bar.

The Go! Team's eclectic soundclash makes us feel deliriously dizzy. [11 Sep 2004, p.53]

His songs are rarely constructed from a place of deeply considered meaning. Instead, they’re largely streams of his conscience: creations that invite listeners to cosy up in his world. On ‘House of Sugar’, it’s his most exciting invitation yet.

‘But Here We Are’ is a beautiful, noisy celebration of brotherhood and a stark, painful exploration of loss. It is messy, gut-wrenching, ambitious and gorgeous, as the remaining members of Foo Fighters push themselves to their limits and beyond. Through it all, ‘But Here We Are’ is an undeniable reminder of the healing, unifying power of music.

As ambitious as it is ambiguous. In less skilled hands it could easily fall apart under its own weight. In Picton’s, however, it’s a masterpiece.

For all its occasional lack of bite and drama, Halcyon Digest's tender, transgressive pop proves a fine and focused addition to a uniquely haunting body of work. Cherish it like you would a phantom limb.

Despite the daunting level of hype surrounding it, the Bath-born 20-year-old’s debut 10-track mixtape doesn’t merely justify it, but exceeds it. ... PinkPantheress unloads these breathless and adventurous songs with a winning confidence that comes only when you outperform everyone’s expectations, especially your own.

‘Miss Colombia’ is an impressive, experimental collection, filled with complex, crunching production and romantic lyrics that recount love and loss. Mixing the old and traditional with modern elements, it’s a powerful statement of Lido Pimienta’s innovative creative vision and Colombia as a whole.

Crisp, rolling rap beats and lush instrumentation. Lyrically, ... she's brutally honest about sex and her failings with men. [11 Sep 2004, p.55]

45:33 is loads of fun, a satisfying folly that's as central to an appreciation of "Sound Of Silver" as the lyric sheet.

With ‘God Save The Animals’, these genre-resistant idiosyncrasies remain, though a few moments shine through with newfound clarity and vulnerability. Across the diverse and consistently excellent 13-track record, he hops between styles, perspectives and energies with abandon.

These five Dublin lads prove their talent for painting in far more colours than just blacks and greys, and Fontaines D.C. have proved their worth as one of guitar music’s most essential new voices.

If he carries on writing songs as deliciously sour as this, dance music will end up needing to be saved from James Murphy, not by him. [22 Jan 2005, p.50]

He may have started out as the quintessential angry young man, but he’s become a textbook study in growing old gracefully--by doggedly refusing to stay set in his ways, Paul Weller keeps finding new ones to surprise us.

It makes for a frequently breathtaking companion to ‘Take Me Apart’. In a debut album which was all about breaking down, ‘Raven’ reminds us of what it means to be put back together.

On solo album number six, the meal is lean and hella spicy.

Porridge Radio nail some of music’s hardest tricks – breathing fresh life into indie and making a record that can loosely be compared to other bands in fragments, but also feels entirely their own. ‘Every Bad’ is a breathtaking step up from their bedroom-recorded 2016 debut, ‘Rice, Pasta And Other Fillers.’

Picking us up where the laptop prof's 'Los Angeles' debut dropped us for another nocturnal journey through LA that serves as a moody, widescreen, be-bopping riposte to UK dubstep. Only this time it's a flashier ride.

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

Within the chaos, there’s beauty — the sensitivity of ‘Hey Jane’, the infectious hip-hop bite of ‘Thought I Was Dead’, the rising cacophonies of brass and percussion on ‘I Killed You’. But perhaps a less frantic approach would’ve benefited the listen overall.

For all the strange twists and turns, the rich layers and dark beauty to be found, nothing here grabs you and sets up home in your heart like 'Veckatimest' did.

This is arguably Cocker’s best work since Pulp’s 1998 comedown record ‘This Is Hardcore’ and certainly a greatly promising start to his new chapter. Cocker remains in an entirely different class.

This pervading sense of control and commitment to her art proves that Twigs is set on building the sound of the future all by herself.

A sparkly, concise art-rock delight. [10 Jul 2004, p.47]

Krystal manages to be many things at once. It is often devastating, yet also darkly humorous – even in the most depressing circumstances, Maltese is able to recognise the comedy of it all. A step forward and a look back to where he came from, this is one of Britain’s most magical songwriters at his enchanting best.

In cutting some new shapes, this supergroup have been set loose to make some of the most arresting and satisfying music of their careers.

Thorny and tangled, this is dance music for drifting home from the club on deserted pavements; the moment of reflection after the euphoria fades.

The result is an LP that feels more in sync with contemporary music than ever before. There are notes here of Oneohtrix Point Never, Clams Casino, and Tim Hecker. Crucially, though, Present Tense roams a landscape which couldn’t have been charted by anyone else.

‘Kitchen Sink’ is ultimately rooted in the vague flicker of hopefulness and compassion that Shah embodies so often, and so skilfully; though it dispels the myth that it’s possible to be the woman who truly has it all, she embraces choice, rewriting narratives and multitudes instead.

Two empowering protest-techno-with-a-message juggernauts, ‘They Told Us It Was Hard, But They Were Wrong’ and ‘Megapunk’ mark a distinction and sonic evolution from the floaty dream-pop of 2017’s ‘Adapt’ EP and 2018’s rumbling club-driven ‘OK/‘So’. ... This debut harnesses the spirit and will to overcome forcefully and with inclusivity.

On this mini-album, Templeman’s far-flung influences are brought together more fluently than before. And more importantly, he appears in the throws of continual creative reinventions; he has every reason to be feeling pretty confident with himself.

At their best, the arrangements here feel like thoughts in progress, with Humberstone’s distinctive vocal speaking to the turbulent feelings that bubble underneath the surface of her songs.

This latest album is his most fully-realised yet. There may be no answers to be found on ‘Worm Food’ but who needs them, when there’s so much raw honesty, understanding and self-empowerment.

‘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.

Here, this penchant for simplicity shines – her raw, unmistakable voice operating as the album’s unbudging anchor.

Softcult’s debut album is a confident evolution of their prickly punk but also sees them pushing into bold new territories.

A set of heartbreak hymns to sob come curfew time.

Some Rap Songs may be a brief exercise, but its ambition and the--largely successful--execution of its ideas demonstrate that the enigmatic Earl is as fascinating as ever.

‘The Mountain’ as a full-bodied world-building affair; arguably their most rich and complete since ‘Plastic Beach’.

Most of these 33 tracks are uptempo bolts of energy.

As intimate, beautiful and witty as ever, there’s an impassioned life in Leonard that's missing from many artists a quarter of his age.

The good news is that American Dream delivers, point by point, on everything you could want from an LCD Soundsystem album.

The diversity of guest musicians, expertly woven music and compositional strength of the tracks on offer here add up to a journey well worth taking. ‘We Will Always Love You’ completes The Avalanches’ 20-year triptych on a hopeful note.

He’s bowed out from the spotlight to produce a record that tunes into love, ageing and the search for meaning without the compulsion for a punchline or wry aside. As a result, the lush ‘Mahashmashana’ doesn’t quite mainline the zeitgeist in the same way that ‘Honeybear’ and ‘Pure Comedy’ did. Then again, there’s something to be said, in 2024, for logging off in favour of self-reflection.

By the time ‘No Mercy’ arrives, there’s no escaping how catchy this record is.

It all comes together to make ‘Madres’ a true love letter to the varied, invigorating sounds that have shaped Kourtesis.

Behold their evolution: while 2008's 'The Chemistry Of Common Life' album was drenched in religious connotations and spiritual euphemisms, this time, their rock opera about romance and death at an English lightbulb factory (seriously) is theatrics personified, taking listeners on a quest while still abiding by their precious DIY ethic.

So Surf continues--infectious, light and upbeat, but never inane. It begs you to feel included, and wide-awake.

Like Justin Vernon before him, with Lost In The Dream Adam Granduciel seems to be heading for things far bigger than anyone could ever have expected. This is one War On Drugs that might just succeed.

Patience proved a virtue and ‘Blue Rev’ stands as an ode to continuing to evolve despite obstacles, slowly honing and tweaking your craft, and keeping on moving. It’s another total delight from the Canadians.

With ‘Smiling With No Teeth’, Genesis Owusu has delivered a riveting album that underscores the power of self-knowledge, perspective and art – one that should be cranked loud.

While they’re an intricate, tight band in their own right, their greatest weapon on ‘New Long Leg’ is allowing Shaw’s vocals the space to make their impact, swelling and retreating at the perfect times.

‘Gold Record’ finds him ploughing firmly against the grain. As the wider world collapses all around him, the prolific singer-songwriter has released the warmest, wittiest and most comforting work of his career.

‘Happier Than Ever’ fully establishes Billie Eilish as one of her generation’s most significant pop artists – and, better still, does so without repeating a single trick from the debut that turned her life upside down.

Summer Walker paints in subtler shades. This is an album of relatable, mixed emotions, the narrator promiscuous one minute and faithful the next. This is record of complex emotions, treated with a lightness of touch that ensures it’s fun as fuck. We’re far from ‘Over It’.

Opener ‘Black Country Gothic’ captures the spirit of the Midlands duo’s debut and whole aesthetic. Your shouty punk lads and talky artsy bands are 10-a-penny, but there’s a bluesy depth here.

Fact is, if you know enough about Joy Division, New Order and Happy Mondays to want to watch the movie, you probably own everything on this record already.

While renowned for R&B and Afrobeat, here, Tems displays an ability to meld contrasting sounds and tempos, allowing them to flow and interlock – seamlessly echoing notions of freedom. Tems closes out the record with ‘You In My Face’ and ‘Hold On’ – a one-two punch of finesse.

There are few unfamiliar messages and it’s all dense and considered, but never overwrought or explicitly angry. What really emerges is Kendrick's nuanced worldview.

Bejar’s dismantled the old Destroyer sound, but he’s built something wonderfully disorientating in its stead.

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

Displaying an amazing musical ear, as he’s picked monstrously riveting instrumentals to rap confidently on, Earl Sweatshirt’s latest feat feels so effortlessly him. And there’s not much higher praise than that.

Sporadically brilliant, perhaps it is The Knife’s Inland Empire--a fearless piece of work with its own logic, one that shears away all safety nets.

If these guys don't have the loftiest ambitions ever, it needn't matter when The Agent Intellect makes post-punk feel like purest rock'n'roll.

By eschewing the feel-good fakery of some of their peers, they’ve cracked something far more unifying than meaningless, posi-punk platitudes.

To hope for a "Running Up That Hill" or a "Wuthering Heights" would be to miss the point, and the subtle pleasures – there's enough people walking the ways Kate cleared 30 years ago. Follow her footprints off the beaten path, and you'll find some weird winter wonders.

A mesmerising album. [11 Mar 2006, p.41]

A remarkable album... like an Americana 'OK Computer.' [22 Jan 2005, p.49]

It’s one of the deepest cuts we’ve had from Kendrick. While ‘good kid, m.A.A.d city’ showed the world what it’s like to grow up as a kid in Compton, his fifth album serves up vignettes about what it’s like to be a Black adult whose trauma still haunts them.

That it’s Portishead’s best album yet is little short of miraculous.

Burke delivers as pure and proper a record as you'll hear all year. If you've ever laughed or cried, you need to hear this.

While the meaning part is sometimes tough to decipher – far more so than her previous work – it’s not the answer here that’s important but the journey. It takes a little time to immerse yourself in Harvey’s world, but once there, you won’t want to leave.

The whole time, instrumentally, Squid are pulling punches or letting loose at unexpected turns. Though more collaborative than their past works, the chaotic brew of ‘Cowards’ is still focused and potent.

‘Daddy’s Home’ is Clark’s most welcoming record yet, defined by an arch humour which also brings its listeners closer than ever, and filled with compassion for the characters who dwell within it.

Their time in a diverse array of groups on the Leeds scene results in a record that’s at once funky (‘Dead Horse’) and spunky (‘Witness’, ‘The Incident’) – even when they slip into cliche (‘Rich’) they sound better than most.

By freshening up his style without entirely abandoning it, West still has the rest of the rap world playing catch-up.

As America crumbles, Protomartyr have proved that they can be that cereus, blooming in the dark times we inhabit--and continue blossoming into a formidable and vital band.

Stay Positive not only confirms The Hold Steady’s status as one of the best rock’n’roll bands in the world, but establishes them as one of its most important too.

Far from making vague allusions to the events prior to Iridescence, Brockhampton lay them bare, atop some of their most adventurous work to date.

By blending melody, harmony and palpable atmosphere, Folk Bitch Trio have created a masterful debut that lingers long after the final notes ring out.

Overall, he has created a musical representation of his upbringing in the Sunshine state, evoking its intricate culture. His mixture of smoother, dreamier beats in opposition with harder-hitting and chest-bouncing ones create an aural journey and explanation as to why he is “real-ass n***a from the 305”.

The Murder Capital may have arrived with a shout and a fist but they’re soaring now with nuance, ideas, a whole lot of heart and the first great guitar album of 2023.

Song to song, it’s genuinely exciting to see where JPEGMAFIA might go next, and you never quite know what to expect. JPEGMAFIA’s third album is his most accomplished record yet.

They’ve [experimental sonics] been added to the steadfast elements that make The National so good: clever turns of phrase, genius storytelling, Bryan Devendorf’s marching-band drums, delightful arrangements and piano and brass that work well together.

It is its author Kieran Hebden's best work to date and confirms the prolific young soundmeister as a major talent.

That's not to say there's not some exceptional music on this record, it's just once again the impact of the best moments is dulled by the inclusion of some indifferent electronic compositions.

The Lost Tapes is no barrel-scraping… it's more dark magic straight from the source.

Though ‘Comfort To Me’ retains The Sniffers’ talent for a rowdy rock’n’roll track – the largely instrumental ‘Don’t Need A Cunt Like You (To Love Me)’ blazes in and out of view with one-and-a-half minutes – it also shows a more reflective side to the band amid the silliness.

There’s no sense of bet-hedging in its lengthy runtime and no real filler. It’s the sound of an artist in his imperial phase doing as he pleases without needing to try too hard: not just a low-key flex, but a richly entertaining listen.

They find a balance with the old xx though. Fragility and self-doubt are still themes. Indeed, the highlight is Romy’s pensive, vulnerable ballad ‘Performance’.

After a foray into a different sonic world, on Swift’s return to pure pop she still shimmers.

Deafheaven’s brilliance has long been hung upon the pursuit of a truth, like documentarians before they hit the edit suite. These songs are filthy, dank, often devoid of light, but like a weed emerging from a pavement’s crack, there’s something resembling hope there. A suggestion that maybe there’s something more.