Retaining your sprightly playfulness while making a mature comeback isn't easy, but Sky Larkin straddle the two with ease.

Often catchy and always from the heart, ‘Killjoy’ is a deeply human debut. Their polished sound benefits massively from the odd punk outburst, and other parts of the album feel destined for boisterous end-of-gig singalongs.

They might be reaching into the past for inspiration, but Savages are pushing restlessly forward.

With little allegiance to one particular sound, expansive love for their heritage and bold statements in each track, ‘Chai’ is a bright declaration from a band forging their own sonic path forward all while acknowledging where they came from.

This latest project succeeds by further propelling the rapper’s soaring momentum even while in lockdown.

So while ‘Something Beautiful’ probably isn’t Cyrus’s most hit-packed album, it does feel like a fully realised artistic statement. This post-genre pop star has pulled off another pretty big swing.

Whatever way you look at Kingdom Of Rust it’s a magnificent rock record, one which will delight the faithful and also surely see them pick up new devotees.

Though ‘fun’ isn’t necessarily the first adjective that comes to mind taking stock of these finished covers, it’s evident that Angel Olsen had plenty of it delving into the emotive guts of each song. At times you miss the cheese of the originals, but this is a solid concept, extremely well-executed.

...a spontaneity here that replaces the formality of tradition with something more vital. Like a snapshot's moment captured, the gap between composition and recording seems to have been reduced to nothing, and it's here that the group hit their mark.

The lead single has been switched more times than a Sugababes member and the tracklisting has been mercurial. But, oh boy, was it worth the wait.

This is a remarkable later-in-life debut, and one that proves that it’s never too late to make the record of your dreams.

This Brooklyn band, completed by Dale Eisinger on drums and electronics, strike a thrilling balance between extreme industrial sound and remarkable artistry.

Movements is full of urgency; songs struggling to keep up with everything thrown at them.

This is a no-flab 20-song cinematic suite in four movements, featuring Hart’s weather-beaten Bowie-like semi-falsetto in all of its majesty.

Don’t come to Modern Ruin looking to be cheered up then, but if it’s catharsis you’re after, there’s nothing more fitting.

The songs compiled here were the public face and sound of that--all-inclusive, heroic and, for the most part, bloody catchy. As eulogies go, it's not half bad.

Yes, ‘Viva Las Vengeance’ is a very different Panic! At The Disco album, but it stays true to their devil-may-care attitude.

Frank Carter used to be a stick of dynamite. Then a stick of dynamite with a longer fuse. Now his music is much more akin to a firework display. Long may he ignite the sky.

Wall Of Arms sounds mostly effortless and unstudied.

Cold Spring Fault Less Youth is not entirely faultless, then--but it comes close.

It’s a shimmering, mournful gem.

Every so often a record pops up that seems to exist in some alien world, unscathed by hipster fads and driven forward only by its own gorgeous mindset. With 'The Violet Hour', The Clientele have made a beautifully haunting album of music to take drugs to make music to take drugs to.

It’s underpinned by a sense of homecoming for the rapper. On ‘E3 AF’, he marks his territory, coming back to a sound he grew up with while tipping his hat to the future. He recognises his enormous contribution while reminding everyone that he’s not done, not yet.

An album scored through with a vehement beauty that, with each listen, becomes all the more acute for its unwillingness to shy away from life's bleaker, more painful moments. [25 Sep 2004, p.62]

So, ‘Clor’: an antidote, should you want one, to the let-it-all-out emotional blokeism of Oasis and the oak-lined authenticity of The White Stripes; the sound of a group goofing off because sometimes that’s what life demands.

War & Leisure lacks the obvious identity that has marked out Miguel’s previous three albums, but that’s no fault. By comparison, this is 
a compelling collection of poptastic R&B tracks made to soundtrack your night out.

‘Headful Of Sugar’ sees the band more confident and more in control. Using those feelings of helplessness as fuel for the fire, this album is full of enough strength, empowerment, resilience and joy.

‘Warnings’ is a brooding, beautiful contemplation of life’s flaws. With this album, Lindén and Balck have strengthened their mastery of atmospheric music.