The somewhat dated soundscape presents the album one relative weakness, but truthfully, sticking to her guns serves Allen and No Shame just fine, with the clear spotlight allowed for her vocals.

As Bazan embraces his current self by looking at his former, we learn the story of his life, and by the time the 14 tracks of Phoenix are over the picture is clear.

Seinabo Sey clearly has a fully formed vision in her head of where she wants to take herself musically and Pretend proves that it's just a matter of time before she finally arrives at that place.

For the most part, the album sears with sharp-witted tales of urban life set to a tense and restrained musical background but there is a waning of the insistent energy towards the album’s end.

It is shocking, it's exciting and it doesn't attempt to give any easy answers or clues as to its real intentions.

The main take away from The Straight Hits! is that Josh T. Pearson has a lot more facets to his music than he may have previously let on.

Wanderlust has more hits than misses, and clearly places Sophie Ellis-Bextor as a versatile artist that can successfully step outside her musical comfort zone with ease.

Pursuit of Momentary Happiness is neither a mere regurgitation of Alas Salvation, nor does it send the band in a completely new direction altogether--instead, it showcases a steady yet unhurried matureness emanating from Oli Burslem's bittersweet Iggy-meets-Lou vocals (he is indeed a talented crooner, and 'Words Fail Me' is one of the most romantic tunes I've heard recently) and the overall tight sonic deliver that ultimately allows for a détente of the listener, who in their turn realises they needn't be afraid to find any uncomfortable gaps.

It's an album that wonderfully conjures up the cauldron of emotions that came from those first steps out into the great unknown: the dangers, the excitement, the belief that anything is possible.

Club Meds is deliberately dense and cluttered and at times confusing. The fact that it manages to be beautiful and intriguing at the same time is quite a feat.

Darker Days is colourful and playful but Morén’s beautifully ornamented vocal builds stretch through any presumptions of an album of “Young Folks” into a reflection on our demons and counter measures.

Concerns over the band’s changing sound are summarily squashed under the furore of their zipping forward with the energy and heft of a dozen motorcycles.

Steve Gunn’s music is not showy and it doesn’t attempt to attract attention, despite the expansive and expert playing involved throughout. Like Gunn himself, The Unseen In Between is happy to wait for you to come to it, and if you happen to pass on by, then that’s your loss.

While not everything here measures up to the album's highlights, this is still an enjoyable and mostly solid effort that doesn't stray too far from what Mould has done best over the last few decades.

Crab Day is an idiosyncratic and imaginative record, with fresh highlights appearing on every listen.

Hawthorne has once again proved himself as a superb purveyor of funky jams that will please the ear and the spirit.

The L-Shaped Man makes for a fascinating homage to the band that spawned a million t-shirts. How Ceremony will fit many of these new songs into their set lists without creating an odd pace remains to be seen, but the group has clearly attempted to showcase their veneration and done so with conviction.

Right now, it can feel like every artistic statement is part of a grand commentary on our collective entropy. Joan Shelley plays on all of our nostalgia for calmer days. Her latest album is great shelter from the gathering storm.

Aviary is an incredibly immersive voyage and arguably her greatest achievement. In fact, it wouldn’t be too bold to say this is an Art pop masterpiece via one of the best songwriters alive—it’s just not for everyone, and Holter is ok with that.

Title aside, Collapse affirms the stability of the Aphex Twin name.

Overall Another Life sounds like an illegal broadcast from an underground collective looking to inspire a revolution within those of a similar mindset. It may sound austere and unwelcoming, but if you’re on Amnesia Scanner’s wavelength then you’ll naturally tune into their determinedly experimental sound, and within it find a freedom and a groove that speaks to a different way of being.

Moh Lhean sounds just as complete as any other WHY? record. This album is the mark of a man who knows where he is in life.

There are certainly enough signs to suggest that Twerps can join the pantheon of great Australian janglers, and there is no doubting that they have talent and energy to burn.

Liquid Cool has a raw honesty to it that comes from stripping back the instrumentals.

Cameron’s reach for the stars will be a divisive listen. He pulls no punches in creating this character, and the ugly language used to do so, will be viewed as unnecessary by some. But it all hangs together pretty well to create a set of songs that largely transcend the lame pastiches that they can stray close to being.

He is constantly blowing up what’s good about his work, adding extraneous parts, going on wild tangents, obfuscating emotional truth with impenetrable verbosity, veering from good taste to bad in the blink of an eye, or reinventing his band’s sound wholesale. While this impulse doesn’t always translate to an enjoyable experience for the listener, and can be especially trying for longtime fans, who can become overly attached to what they would consider to be Of Montreal’s definitive sound, there’s no denying that Barnes takes your ears to places they’ve likely never been before. There won’t be another album that comes out this year that sounds like White is Relic/Irrealis Mood.

It's sugar-coated sweetness with a psych-haze CS gas drizzle. It's unnerving as you're not quite sure where it's going to go next--it is unnerving, to a degree, but also an intrinsic part of their appeal.

Generally speaking, Ambitions manages to boast Prins Thomas, and all of his varying interests, at their best. There’s no hesitate to be found here, only a constantly moving narrative and sublime certainty of intent.