It’s unlikely that you’ll often listen to it in one bout, but whether beguiled one day by its exotic petals and blooms or the next by the less showy trees in the background, Have One On Me is an Elysian record that you’ll return to again and again.

In terms of melody, Femejism is a more outwardly pop-leaning record than their debut, but the duo are still as heavy as Black Sabbath when they want to be.

Opening up the definition of rap-rock, TheOGM and Eaddy prove that you can hold yourself to the same intricate lyrical standards of rap, while sounding closer to the rockstars they grew up falling in love with.

Bayston’s brilliant at producing these repetitive but nuanced melodies, most of which knot themselves inside your brain and won’t let go.

There are blasts of harshness (‘Go Ahead’’s fuzzed-out polemic, or ‘Scapegoat’’s bombastic crescendo) but ‘My Back Was A Bridge…’ is still, by some distance, the most accessible thing she’s ever made. Though much of its palette is drawn from ‘classic’ music of the past, however, the record’s brilliance lies in the way it doesn’t retreat from the present.

‘Gemini Rights’, which feature his most direct compositions yet, will make the ‘cult artist’ tag surrounding Lacy increasingly redundant.

Sure, in terms of quality, Rap Or Go To The League isn’t the classic album that 2 Chainz craves, but--on this evidence--he’s not far from delivering one.

Oh My God is a dense listen and though there are more immediate moments (the raucous ‘OMG Rock n Roll’ and the shapeshifting ‘Hail Mary’ are two examples), you can let this album wash over you and wallow in its most intense songs, for they are the ones that will linger longest.

Thirteen-minute finale ‘Through The Knowledge Of Those Who Observe Us’ is the crowning glory of their career best album.

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more hook-laden and enjoyable catalogue of breakdowns and anxieties this year – this is arguably the definitive 2020 album.

It’s the most sophisticated project yet from a preternaturally talented vocalist who keeps getting better. Whatever you take away from it, ‘Eternal Sunshine’ definitely isn’t an album you’ll want to wipe from memory.

Not since The Cure’s ‘Faith’ has a group pulled off such a feat of heavy, heady melancholy.

It’s a scattershot album gelled together by Mensa’s emotionally frank lyrics, which reveal a complex persona.

Hope In Dirt City is the most soulful and hazy he's ever sounded.

This album's two-hour stretch may seem offputtingly dense at first, but give them time, and Swans will take you to a place that is beyond good and evil.

‘Manning Fireworks’ is an album that aches for its cast of freaks and losers, and its success in walking that line is a sign of MJ Lenderman’s richly developing voice.

Overflows with pristine melodies, sugary harmonies [and] a barely-definable sense of heartbreak. [3 Jun 2006, p.33]

Every bit as stark, foreboding, but utterly singular as 'Tilt'. [6 May 2006, p.33]

‘Hallucinating Love’ cherry-picks fresh blooms and euphoric alt-pop melodies to enhance what we already know and love about Maribou State.

From underground hero to untouchable force, Playboi Carti cements his spot as rap’s feral frontrunner.

DAMN. is by far his shortest release to date – but the ideas, thoughts and feelings it contains are massive, weighty things, from sexual tension to deep, dark depression.

Remembering, reinventing and emerging with a record as joyful as it is tear-stained, Twin Shadow has crafted something that's understatedly, subtly, almost perfect.

Yes, there are lows: the mawkish ‘Why’ is as sticky as treacle and slushy ballad ‘Perfectly Wrong’ is an unwanted lull as the penultimate track on the album, but these are in the minority. In general, Shawn Mendes is a bright and bold new direction for the 19-year-old singer, as he leaves behind sickly choruses for brazen, guitar-ridden anthems; he sounds all the better for it.

These People is the solo record most aligned to Ashcroft’s Verve peak, right down to employing the same string arranger and bunging on one gigantic romance anthem, ‘This is How It Feels’.

A brave, ambitious and nuanced album that looks to lead the band’s fans down the rabbit hole on a new, macabre adventure. Turning their backs on their punk roots was a gamble, but it’s paid off.

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.

As debut albums go, it's terrific.

It’s bolder than before, and easily their best-executed album yet.