This record carries some of Phoenix’s most intimate and approachable songs in years.

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

Unlike Shears’ 2018 heart-on-sleeve solo debut, it’s pure escapism and his most effortless-sounding set since bursting out of the traps nearly 20 years ago.

Through sheer faith and tenacity, Tyla anoints herself as South Africa’s brightest new star, reinforcing that amapiano was never a ‘moment’ – and only ever a true movement.

Throughout ‘Hex Dealer’, Lip Critic prove why they are the band of the moment. A full-on, disruptive force emerging from their city’s underground scene – their music rides high on a bolt of infectious energy.

Post-Jordan Fish, they continue to be what they’ve always been: a creative force that transcends the personalities of its individuals. It entirely justifies the four-year wait, which already feels like ancient history.

‘In This City They Call You Love’ doesn’t falter for its lack of invention; there is just a feeling that these sonic quirks can be pushed even further, made even bolder. But as the soulful, breathtaking inner-city vignette ‘People’ shows, he clearly remains focused on the next great song he hasn’t written yet.

Like Queens Of The Stone Age at their party-starting best, HotWax’s debut album is full of filthy rock’n’roll that’s made for dancing. That next great guitar band has arrived.

As slippery and unpredictable as ever, this Courting record is indie music for pop fans and pop music for indie fans – there’s enough for everyone to take a bite.

His clear-eyed spoken-word and stylish beatmaking, both sharpened since his 2021 eponymous debut, combine for a brutal, complex study of his city. The key to the album’s brilliance is Balfe’s darting between small, succinct portraits, from barflies to beatings.

Biffy Clyro have delivered one of their most personal and definitive records to date.

On this debut album, Picture Parlour have shown that, in time, they have the skillset and belief to escape the shadow of their idols, and refine their own unique sound that future rock’n’roll bands will be dying to emulate.

Wild Beasts have undergone a sea change, and this beautiful album is a treasure that deserves plundering.

Unlike ‘Kiwanuka’, this album doesn’t keep you guessing. Rather than punching you in the face with a barrage of beauty, it softly rolls pockets of magic into your path. Yet, the softness of its approach does nothing to lessen the impact of Kiwanuka’s long-awaited return.

The album constantly reaches out to the pop world: exploring how hardcore might form the basis for something technicolour, playful and accessible. That attitude towards the genre, as capable of mass appeal and ripe for experimentation, is what powers this excellent album.

Matching Murphy’s career-best lyrics are some of the rest of the band’s most eclectic compositions.

From a less skilled artist, such a disparate-sounding album might morph into a collage of loose touchstones. Hayley Williams, on the other hand, draws clearly from other artists but retains her voice at the centre. Her frankness cuts through across Petals For Armor.

The powerhouse metal sound that’s earned them a religious following in every far-flung corner of the globe remains firm. But here, they take things further; ultimately letting imaginations run wild in an album that’s more confident and idea-packed than ever before.

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

A rich reward for the Alex Giannascoli faithful: his 10th album is no less bizarre than what’s come before, nor the melodies less beautiful.

There’s plenty of fun, filth and frills to go around with McHale’s latest venture.

Sorry’s mystique has never been greater, and they’ve never been more intriguing.

Not to be outdone by US stoner-rock peers Sleep and Earth, who have records out this year, the Dorset satanists have spat out this eighth album.

His debut album ‘Hypersonic Missiles’ scratched gently at the surface of a songwriter of real detail and skill, but second time around he digs real deep for a wiser, weightier record stuffed with sax-soaked rock epics that touch on life and death, love and heartbreak, rage and regret.

Ekstasis reminds us that music can mean so much more.

It’s an impressive display, but the contrast between the two sides is so vast they could easily be two different records.

Japandroids know how to bring the ruckus. But elsewhere the power-chord pummelage gets a bit one-note.

With ‘Projector’, the band have escaped their modest confines of a studio where pipes leak onto amps and delivered some of the most compelling new guitar music around.