1989 is full of cliches, but the truth is that we wouldn't expect them to not be present anyway.

Their labour of love, You, shows dedication, unencumbered enthusiasm and an eye for detail that perhaps under scrutiny of millions would not exist. Put simply: it's pretty bloody good.

Throughout, the vocals are natural and organic which allowed an artistic endeavour like If I Was to even take shape. Growth is the life force of any artist. If I Was is proof of this.

Dead Cross is a solid record, which doesn’t exactly boast any instant classic songs, but is filled to bursting with individual moments that will floor you.

Sheck masterfully transcends one-hit-wonder status throughout his debut.

Throughout Lung Bread For Daddy, Du Blonde sounds as if she is constantly on the verge of losing grip of her emotional and mental torment, but because she weaves her feelings and contemplates the woes of her life like someone three times her age, Du Blonde’s latest offering emits surprising clarity and winds up as her most refined work to date.

Cohen’s voice doesn’t do all the heavy lifting. The instrumentation is lush, and Owens’ production pristine, with each and every layer given time to shine. It can all be a bit glossy, but how else should one approach such joy? It suits the feelings found here well, and makes Welcome Home and endlessly pleasant abode to inhabit.

‘Unspoken History’ and ‘I Want U’ show she has real talent. With more work, and more pain, she might graduate from The Best of Luck Club.

People will certainly be talking about Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino in the short term because of how much of a surprise it is, but it will be interesting to see how it will be talked about in the long-term.

It’s his weakest effort to date. His range of voices, from his familiar craggy baritone to a hesitant pitch-shifted falsetto (on ‘Echo’) are made to do all the heavy lifting because Dear the producer is too content with letting tracks spin their wheels and sputter to a halt.

This album is contemplative and, maybe more important than anything else, stirs you delve into your own mind and those demons we all have.

This is a good collection of songs which progresses the narrative of the band and it deserves your attention, but I suspect these tracks work best in a live setting where they would be allowed to elevate above the often overly precise production on the album.

It's an album that you need to experience for yourself, to have it ease into your world and make a home, to feel its freedom, to visit and revisit again and again.

Among the 21 tracks of Close It Quietly there is plenty that is amiable and whimsical, pleasant and inoffensive. There is also, however, almost nothing affecting or memorable.

Encompassing everything from the smallest quibbles of youthful existence to the largest problems facing the world today--all delivered in a slightly cartoony, extremely bombastic and hugely enjoyable package.

Pared-down arrangements place O'Brien's exceptional songwriting at the forefront of each track. His voice and words, a paradoxical mix of worldly weariness and childlike delivery, are still present, and as enduring and endearing as ever.

Passerby may not be so suited to the blazing sunshine and the accompanying revelry of summer, but there are few albums that provide a better soundtrack for blissful solitude.

So many tracks slip through your consciousness, particularly with how much he sticks to the formula of chorus/verse/chorus/verse/chorus. His dullness sucks the life out of typically energetic guests like Playboi Carti, whose feature is less Die Lit and more Diluted.

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.

It’s an album that shows the past and the future of this artist, and it’s one that seems to have boundaries well beyond the usual fare that we hear from PC Music.

Backwater being their most complete and mature release to date, the band’s creative dynamic remains organic and allows them to adjust themselves to a rhythm of their choosing, as they evolve as musicians and as a two-piece band with a wide range of possibilities.

Doko Mien indeed falls short of the bands body of work but that doesn’t mean that every song on its own has something to offer. For the most part the group is still never derivative as their own unique spin is still apparent on every track. For the most part it is just too subtle to be noticed.

We know what these artists can do separately. We've even had a glimpse of what they can do together, and when held up to that (and I'm not going to pretend it doesn't hurt me to say this) Do It Again just doesn't stand up.

Fans of Oneida, or Liturgy, or both, should be familiar with the boundary-pushing aspects of those bands, and will relish a chance to dip into this recording.

With Seek Warmer Climes' slight redirection, Toubro and Lower offer mantras to live by, beguilingly presented and difficult to ignore, but with a serious sting in the tail.

If your life needs to be stripped of its bombast for a little while, Real Estate remain a steadfast companion for a little R&R. Just don’t beat yourself up if you can’t sit through the whole thing.

Musically, Perfect Version isn’t flashy, but it sure is pretty. Chastity Belt records have a way of popping out at the listener with their shimmering melodies and catchy hooks, while this album is significantly more understated. But Shapiro’s hushed voice, delivered among reverberating guitars and atmospheric drones, invites the listener back for repeat listens.

Gira, with the help of many talents, has concocted Swans’ most beautiful yet most bleak sounding record of its 30-plus years existence.