It encourages you to empathise with the subjects of the songs, and therefore adds some light to the melancholy. It scores highly because it weaves all these scenarios and tales over subtle yet richly varied music. For Mark Kozelek this is yet another career highlight.

It is undoubtedly made to be heard in one sitting. It may not always be a comfortable listen over the course of its hour, it will unflinchingly show you its grotesque beauty, and each listener's reactions and visions produced in the face of such peculiarities will be unique.

IDLES believe that community spirit and togetherness will be what ultimately guides us closer to happiness as a whole, and in Joy As An Act Of Resistance they’ve created a monumental banner for the movement.

Peasant is a pretty staggering departure from the massed ranks of 2017’s batch of albums. It is a restorative, headstrong burst of inspiration from an artist with the courage to execute his vision without compromise. If ever an album deserved to rise above the fray, it is this one.

Our natural world may not need artistic representation, but there’s few better to reflect upon it than Tim Hecker.

This is an album that is constantly unfolding over its themes, so the only option remaining is that of acceptance of her ingenuity. If you want to make it easy, you can acknowledge the density and move on. If you want to understand the core of the record, you'll have plenty of details to work through for what now seems like forever.

Dose Your Dreams creates a vividly realised world I love to visit. Once I press play, I feel compelled to see it through to the end. Other listeners will tackle it in chunks.

The term 'masterpiece' is thrown around a lot.

Future Islands have crafted the best ten of their career.

The death enveloping Skeleton Tree doesn't get in the way of his limitless sense of emotional elaboration.

Genuine, life-affirming innovation is hard to come by, but you recognise it when it asks more questions than it gives answers. I challenge you to find an album that's less intended for straight-up consumption.

Each song compulsively and unabashedly recalls fragments from their oeuvre but when unified these fragments are cleaner, more assured, and more essential, than possibly anything they’ve thrown at us before. From head to toe, front to back, it bangs; but more importantly, it actually has something new to say.

Are We There is one of those rare albums when you stop listening to the music as simply a combination of chords, melodies and carefully constructed instrumentation, but as essential, emotional communication from one person to another.

Reduced to his own devices, our gentleman hero has crafted both the most intrinsically soulful, emotional, and heartfelt record of his career. No less, he's delivered on one of music's greatest archetypes--and with aplomb.

With Eagle already standing as one of the peaks of modern folk music, we would not necessarily have expected to hear another knockout record from her, but there’s no denying Semper Femina stands toe-to-toe with her opus.

Take Me Apart doesn't feel desperate to reach for anything, it is comfortable, prepared for whatever may come, much like its bearer. Greatness hasn't sounded this natural in this arena for some time. This is everything.

Heartless is a triumphant metal album, and is yet another entry on the list of arguments for Pallbearer being among the few bands in the genre’s peak echelon today. With Heartless, Pallbearer has laid down the gauntlet for the entire metal genre to even contend for its album of the year.

The album takes a few central tenets of dance music of the last couple of decades, and sends it fearlessly spiralling into a shimmering vision of the future. It is possibly something that will bemuse some, but absolutely enthral those willing to use it to spur the imagination--and that is often the sign of a truly provocative and thoughtful artwork.

It's sometimes easy to forget that Mitski didn't technically enter the greater music consciousness until last year, and what makes that worth pointing out is that despite her hitting her stride and turning out the most accomplished album of her career yet, she sounds like she's only getting started.

At just over half an hour in length, this is a stunning song suite of positivity that leaves you yearning for thirty more equally superb minutes.

There is an authenticity that bleeds through this album. It is proper DIY- rugged and unique enough to know this is coming from a human, yet polished and carefully crafted enough to feel the pride and excitement in sharing a work of art for the public to claim.

The record's ability to be simultaneously dense and accessible, joyful and thoughtful, inspiring and cautionary, allows it to make a case for being an essential record for anyone in their twenties.

SVIIB is an utterly beautiful piece of work that is all about finding joy and hope in even the darkest of times. Supported by bold synth pop tunes in their own right, it's a record that you're unlikely to forget.

At just 40 minutes in length it's concise to say the least, but the result is a hearty meal that will subtly introduce you to a new flavour every time you return.

This is music that can offer everything, but demands nothing. That's no small feat for dance music in the howling maw of 2017.

A Place I'll Always Go makes you forget about the good, the bad, and the ugly, and proves the fact that Palehound are one of the most relevant indie rock bands to date.

It is an album with a vibrant, thumping heart that, while bruised and battered, keeps beating through it all. This is music made for people who have needed music to keep going.

They motor through these fifteen tracks with an energy and a precision that is a joy to hear, with the needles in the red all the way.

Needless to say, despite its seemingly slight 29-minute length, High packs in more than enough ideas, hooks and moments of pure emotion that it will not wear out anytime soon.

Unafraid to delve into their every whim, from the accomplished to the adventurous to the absurd, CHAI are just about as now as you can get without stumbling into the unrealized.

The musical event drips in unprecedented additions that welcome alternative vocals from Erykah Badu, Janelle Monae and Jesse Boykins III to the track list, along with fervent features from King Louie, Big Sean, J Cole and Quavo, that lure the rap artists out of their comfort zones and onto intricate live compositions.

When the walls seem to be crumbling, she dodges them with vocal acrobatics and surging production. As we look forward to a happier time, less insufferable, NAO shares a bit of bliss in her coming-out party as one of R&B’s most promising young dominants.

The album’s strengths aren’t limited to its bookends. ‘Rainfall’ would go down as the instrumental track of the year if not for the vocal contributions of Katharina Caecilia Fennesz, which blend so gracefully in the mix that you might not even realize they’re a human instrument.

The 45 minutes of his new record are a textural deep-dive into the patterns and pleasures of the psyche, and it is both fascinating and fascinated in its results.

This is a record created entirely on his own terms, and in doing so he has also produced one of the finest records of his remarkable career.

As with all instrumental rock, Forgetting The Present is hugely evocative and powerful.

In all, Holter has made an album about blissful, hypnotic escape in many forms, and in listening to it and engaging with it, you'll be overwhelmed by these feelings too.

Will is a triumph--it takes the kosmische regurgitations of Oneohtrix Point Never, the choral, almost religious feel of early Julia Holter and the relentless thirst for finding the new in the old of The Caretaker to make an entirely new statement.

It's an introspective, at times hesitant collection yet in the way most introverts allow themselves to relax within company, the more time you invest in The Colour In Anything the more readily you will discover its qualities.

Whether the waves will have died down enough for him to return to other topics on the next Mount Eerie album is yet to be heard. But, if he does make another album in honour of his deceased wife, he’s proven here that he still has enough love and poetry in him to make it a deeply resonant and worthwhile listen.

As a cohesive album, Beauty Behind The Madness showcases artistic growth and sonic progression through danceable pop deliveries like 'In The Night' and grand acoustics like 'Shameless'.

Grouper tenderly and quietly beckons you nearer, allowing the sadness to seep into your bloodstream. Lyrics are distant and difficult to decipher, however it isn't hard to comprehend the emotional weight of each track.

While MNIMN's faults lie in its sequencing and filler, Darkest Before Dawn is concentrated and trimmed. And Pusha T, strengthened.

From the patient, rising tension and ecstatic release of the Black Sabbath-esque opening of ‘Glasshouse,’ right through to the heady-guitar-noodling-meets-full-throttle-pop-punk of closer, ‘Step Outside,’ Screaming Females manage to keep things, not just interesting, but wall-to-wall, grin-inducingly entertaining.

Dedicated to Bobby Jameson picks up where the late Bobby Jameson left off, solidifying his name as an inspiration for one of the most impressive indie-rock records of the past decade.

Make no mistake, Oxymoron is rather brilliant, and provides a perfect foundation to build upon in later releases. An exciting release from an exciting artist.

Utterly theatrical, it represents without presenting; evokes without mentioning; transports without moving. It's as fake as the time we're living in, and as fascinating as our own decadence.

Visions put Grimes on the map as pop's pure misfit but Art Angels secured her tangible place as the genre's most unconventional star. For those that doubted, she's done that thing she does, but better. More defined.

Nine albums in Belle & Sebastian may have just achieved what many once thought impossible--they've reinvented themselves and perhaps in doing so, released one of the most important records of their career.

While the songs are undoubtedly strong on their lonesome, You’re Welcome is a record that begs to be listened to in sequence.

A better summertime album will be hard to find this year. You can expect to see Whitney's name on a lot of year-end lists and deservedly so.

The end result of Unknown Mortal Orchestra's third outing is a intoxicating concoction of brooding psychedelic musings, complete with otherworldly synths and fluttering modulations, on one of the most complicated and divisive topics one could imagine a pop record taking on.

If you've got the patience, then this is a remarkably rewarding listen.

Tired Of Tomorrow is a bold, expressive grandiose album that proves capital-R Realists can make something just as beautiful as capital-R Romantics.

Ceremony may have easily conquered the sophomore slump, but The Miraculous is the moment where von Hausswolff truly arrives as an artist.

Somehow these combined imperfections result in several absolutely perfect moments that will keep How To Socialise & Make Friends on rotation for a good while to come.

This dedicated honesty that she exorcises in her songs cuts both ways; as undying devotion to friends, yet callous dismissiveness towards herself. This leads to a disconcerting but utterly magnetic outing on third full length Black Friday.

Holiday Destination is musically rich, but its greatest triumph is its concord of convenience and intellect.

Late Night Tales is a beautifully constructed, cohesive compilation of tracks which proves the ascension of Jon Hopkins to the highest level was no fluke.

Tears in the Club acts as yet another testament to Kingdom’s skill as an innovative musician; many try to fuse inspirations from numerous styles, eras and artists, but few do it quite so effortlessly.

After seven manic albums attempting to prove his perfection, Kanye is seeking penance on The Life Of Pablo. Here, he delivers 18 heavenly hymns.

There's no real end to Cross' aspirations here, in just over 40 minutes, he sifts through his own past while struggling to believe in a brighter future. It's just what makes this record so powerful: with some of the breeziest production one of the finest beatsmiths to grace hip hop has ever offered, Black Milk begs us all to snap out of it.

7, Beach House’s seventh album is definitely not their approach to the finish line, but a positive view on what’s yet to come. As their message of optimism and a cry of coherence is strong, this release also solidifies of their efforts and dedication, hence the Baltimore duo becoming titans in the music industry and being worldwide sweethearts.

More than ever, the human experience is tangible through their music, and they manage to create those unmaintainable moments of joy that can, in a moment or a movement, dissolve into something else entirely; a memory of something long forgotten, a vision of your inconsequentiality in the world, a realisation that everything is temporary. Fortunately, they are not always downers, moreover it just feels comforting to have those feelings quantified so stirringly through music.

He hasn't lost a step, returning with an album that reminds of Lotus in its sprawling, rapidly transitioning 23-song tracklist. There is little else to compare, here, Thundercat--already a musical wunderkind--truly grows into his own as a presence.

It accomplishes everything you would expect a sophomore album to do: it builds off the promise of its predecessor and sees a band coming into their own and developing their own unique style and sound. Probably the least expected thing about it though is just how jaw-droppingly good it actually is.

As a collective package, POST- is incredibly accomplished. You’ll relate--hard--you’ll be shook, you’ll feel attacked, because this record underlines in red marker some uncomfortable truths which are articulated uproariously. POST- has set an extraordinarily high bar for the rest of punk in 2018 to clear.

While unrelentingly committed to his personal story, Vince rapturously integrates dense and conscious-filled narratives of his inner life, packaged vibrantly over layered and unpredictable production executively produced by No I.D with support from DJ Dahi, Clams Casino and Christian Rich. Among 20 tracks, there's no filler to be found.

Though their influences are neatly displayed almost in the same way band posters are hung neatly on a bedroom wall: Cheap Trick, Kiss, Thin Lizzy, The Cars, The Ramones, just about any great power-pop or classic rock band, White Reaper effortlessly make their influences solely their own.

Blood Bitch an interesting step forward from previous record Apocalypse, girl. It takes the guilty, ominous tone of that record and transforms it into something transcendent.

The Physical World confirms everything we'd hoped for: DFA still know how to produce unstoppable energy, they still know how to push a bass guitar to its full capacity and they still know how to inject tonnes of fun into not just their product, but the wider spectrum of music itself--and there's not much more you can ask for, especially after so long.

Written during tumultuous times, Ti Amo is the soundtrack to a future as hopefully bright as the record itself.

There's no faulting the album--it's stunning and well worth your time and money, but it's not their masterpiece, their seminal album. But that's hardly a criticism.

It's an astounding debut in which he demonstrates the discipline to shape his wildly creative visions into something not only thrilling and compelling, but also focused.

The songs are each densely packed musically, but so taught and unpredictable that it's clear that they are the vision of a single creative mind. Angel Deradoorian's mind is vibrant and open, and on The Expanding Flower Planet she's inviting you for a visit.

Through ten booming orchestral tracks, A Curious Tale of Trials + Persons is a much-needed self-defensive assault on the industry. On labels. On genre and gender norms. On materialism. On blinding ego. On expectation. On the box so many people have attempted to put her in. So don't refer to Little Simz as a female rapper. Just call her king.

It's a rich and rewarding experience, one that offers a powerful glimpse into the everyday lives of those members of marginalized communities struggling for acceptance in an increasingly closed, divided, and hostile society.

He immediately introduces us to his new titular “Shepherd” persona, and continues to act like the consummate host to the listener throughout the record’s beautifully interwoven 20 tracks and 64 minutes.

Ultimately though, it is about mixing disparate influences and seeing how they blend together. Happily for all of us, this approach works brilliantly.

Rest is her gateway out from the darkness, a way of coping with her fragilities, a processor of emotions, her loss, and also her most personal work to date, simply, where Charlotte is finally able to be Charlotte.

Ultimately, Ivy Tripp is the best record in Crutchfield's discography, but her rise is undoubtedly continuing. Where she will plateau remains to be seen, but she is already making her mark as one of America's premier songwriters and she shows no signs of stopping.

What sets Ty Segall apart from Slaughterhouse--and most of his albums--is the well-measured balance between the heavy Ty and the more melodious Ty. He moves back and forth throughout, but easily maintains unison under his idiosyncratic character; and the album is crafted to ebb and flow.

House of Sugar is not only special because it is the most consistent, detailed, adventurous Alex G record so far, but because it also clarifies what Giannascoli has been working towards all along and positions itself as an opus of one of this decade’s most defining indie artists.

There’s an incredible amount of space at play on Compassion; the instrumentation and samples inhale and exhale, breathing life into the tracks.

Sonically, this is the most Drake Drake's ever been, with the signature sound he's been dancing around ever since 2009's So Far Gone (released exactly 6 years prior) finally being cemented in wall-to-wall.

With Grievances, Rolo Tomassi seem ready to take their first step onto the stage in front of a wider audience.

An incredibly physical record (both tonally and lyrically) with a greater focus on percussion.

He brings a force with him that can't be found on any previous release of his, and if his brilliance hasn't swayed your take on him in the past, Who Told You To Think?! is an extremely attentive and translucent entry-point into the modern philosophies and ideals of one of the best emcees of this generation.

We are left at its end feeling reflective, yet somewhat lost as to how these feelings we just experienced could ever be rediscovered. It's something that only the power of music can create, and Bing & Ruth do it with style, elegance and tact.

Not only is Still Brazy, arguably the most sharply produced rap album of the year, emblazoned with the most pronounced storytelling of 2016, YG has un-apologetically used his gunshot as a metaphor for America in the time of Trump.

It's a tremendous record, that simply, and effectively puts their contemporaries to shame.

It feels like a tightly wound, meticulously crafted gem of an album. When you tack on the album's intense emotional resonance, Strange Diary has vaulted itself into the conversation for the year's most powerful albums.

A certain sadness does indeed pervade Margaret’s voice, but it never dominates her work. It reverberates against the beauty of her words.

The record is a lot of things and also unquestionably not, for the most part embodying an impregnable and extraordinary soundscape that fortifies itself against deconstruction, but its one truly distinctive quality is that it’s the precise opposite of boring.

No one has told the tale of Kurt Vile except Kurt Vile, and there is a diversity of expression on b'lieve I'm goin down.

Leaving aside their Chicago/Detroit-house inspired beats and diving into gloomier topics and luscious sounds, the power of Stelmanis’ lyrics is what makes this new release stronger than its predecessor.

Though Thalassa does not capture the most positive of emotions, Gika reassures her listeners that sometimes feeling something--even anger and sadness--is better than feeling nothing.

As we're thrown directly and unmercifully into 'Curtain Twitcher', we're already heavily bruised from the first half of the album, and will have to wait until 'Take It' to finally take a breath.