Denzel and Kenny have proven that they’re able to consistently put out E.P.s, singles and albums that are exciting in a way no other artists could be.

The six-piece have retained a strong sense of the wonderfully free spirit improvisers they are on stage, but with Youth and Ben Hillier on production duties there is a more refined focus to their output. 100% Yes in turn deserves greater focus from the world at large.

Undoubtedly, Duckwrth knows how to pen a beat, and to keep the party going, especially when the lights seem determined to come on. It can’t be recommended enough to shut the world out and to let SuperGood carry you away on its positivity, love-lorn and big-dream current.

Mixing witty lines with insightful meditations on life as a black man, Radical proves himself to be a master of his craft, effortlessly providing both incredible lyrical content and flawless instrumentation from start to finish.

Despite these few missteps and pacing issues, ADULT. prove that they can effectively balance their usual techno and synth punk sound with more experimental and spacious beats that progress rather patiently.

While well-refined, the composition of some of the tracks sometimes comes off as slightly formulaic and a little predictable.

Truth Decay is still, at every turn, a quintessential You Me album. The choice not to deviate into experimental territory is comforting rather than disappointing, and a more than solid addition to their catalogue is no bad thing.

Ironically for an album so deeply immersed in the past and the all-enveloping shadow of a famous parent, the album provides that Dury’s talents require no piggybacking on anyone else’s fame: this is the real deal.

It rocks the boat a little too much, but by keeping their bearings, Pool Kids continue to lead from the front.

Its attempts to live up to the bare-bones stylings of his last “folk” album fall somewhat short.... Still, the songs themselves are as strong as ever--this may well prove to be the biggest grower in Beck’s catalogue.

While The Inheritors isn’t the pinnacle avant-garde electronic music it’s hailed as, it’s a damn fine collection of songs.

The Talkies is a devastating and jaw-dropping record that provokes awe and anxiety in equal measure. Although there are elements throughout the record that are ‘quintessentially’ Girl Band, The Talkies builds upon these elements and makes a vast leap sonically and narratively with the aid of unrestrained experimentation. There is a definitive artistic expression found on The Talkies and frankly it should be a late contender for any albums of the decade list.

They’re pushing the boundaries and reinterpreting music in an exciting way within the digital age, making us pause to rethink and reminisce what was special about a specific age of music and the amazing technology that has come before.

It’s a collection of songs, yes, but a demonstration of excellence and restraint. ... It’s evidently, demonstrably and obviously a flawless work of genius, and may just be one of the best albums this writer has heard this decade.

Zeros is a cross-generational demi masterpiece. It’s also wholly modern though, not simply relying on nostalgia. McKenna displays an incredibly mature understanding and absorption of his inspirations, rather than just referencing or rehashing them.

They just make fantastic, intricate albums that sound like they’re not even trying. Spoon are a band with nothing to prove. They Want My Soul proves everything.

Strands isn't so much about anything alien as it is about the sublime frontierism we project out into it, built as it is upon an awareness of our many Earthly sins. It's what we'll play when we try to escape out into the void, only to fall inexorably back to our sordid reality to dream once more.

Just as the sophomore Arc was, this feels like a transitional curve towards something even greater. Nevertheless, it’s an exciting and very cohesive addition to an increasingly sprawling back catalogue. It expands an overarching narrative that becomes clearer, angrier, and more relatable with each step.

With Eye on the Bat, it’s as if the 29-year-old Kempner shares the pages of their diary, revealing their reveries, fears, and embarrassments. Kempner may be now-oriented, but they’re also the beneficiary of a newfound and bigger-picture awareness.

At a time when dance and electronic becomes increasingly homogenised by the mainstream, Mount Kimbie have released an album that still refuses to court the mundane.

This is a well thought-out record and is clearly something that has taken several years to coalesce and construct. Though the political edge can sometimes distract from the beauty of the instrumentation, articulation and overall composition, it never gets boring, with little twists and turns that get better upon every listen.

Avalon Emerson is doing everything required on Written into Changes to tear up the dance-pop rule book.

Of course, though there are moments when UK Grim feels more three-dimensional than previous records. It’s still very much a Sleaford Mods record, and as such will do little to sway anyone who isn’t already a fan of the band.

The female/male synth fused with rock duo is a saturated market but on Unity The KVB showcase why they’re worthy of attention.

A series of vulnerable, tender numbers that highlight how talented a songwriter White truly is--a trait that gets lost amidst the critical commotion surrounding his increasingly eccentric creative pursuits.

As harrowing and malevolent as it occasionally is, it also serves as a feasible theory that even during one’s search for restoration and tranquility, existence isn’t symmetrical; it’s lop-sided and a belief that Hecker can unknowingly abide to--that even within the bounds of beauty, there will always be pockets of chaos.

Ruminations is essential, then; consider Salutations its eccentric cousin, often engaging and occasionally difficult.

Nonetheless feels airy and welcoming, qualities that have sometimes eluded its more recent predecessors, it resonates emotionally in ways that befit elder statesmen who can look to the future while comfortably acknowledging the past.

There are a number of beatless mood pieces ("Crush", "Keep Driving") which showcase a more restrained, cinematic style, but ultimately bring little to the table, especially when the non-committal, monosyllabic vocal ice of Jae Matthews is such a focal point. Overall, though, this record leaves quite the impression; if uneasy listening is your thing, Boy Harsher’s murky interpretation of dead disco will envelop you in its dark delights.

While still creating boundless, exceptional fringe-pop, on Platform Herndon is finding countless new ways to hold our attention: deploying a greater sense of narrative, an emboldened melodic arsenal and enough enthusiasm to remind us why she remains a vital voice in peripheral pop.

Some of the exhaustion on Goon is a lack of emotional range. The continued packaging and shrinking of love and misery for commercial consumption, something Jesso Jr. doesn't do cynically, but he does it so well and so often.

Revel in the moods and noises, go with the ebb and flow of mood, pace and dynamic, conjure up your own tales to tell around its sounds: this is music with elastic boundaries, that will accommodate the interpretations that you choose to place on it, and bear them with a surprising lightness of touch.

Experimental yet built on superb songwriting, fresh and surprising but still somehow recognisably a Bad Seeds record, the amount of innovation and inspiration found on Push The Sky Away proves that Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds must still care an awful lot about this rock ‘n’ roll stuff.

Lese Majesty gently disorientates you with dizzying vibrations, droning, ephemeral space sounds and abstract noise pieces (the weirdest being the utterly formless “Divine of Form”) that don’t so much blow you away, as lull you into a deep cosmic trance. It’s really quite beautiful.

It’s a record which blossoms with this kind of randomness but it rarely looses soul and groove. Forget the Superfood of old, because this record is different for all the right reasons.

Coherent despite a refusal to adhere to genre-based constraints, Emotional Education is heartbreaking yet hopeful, relatable yet precise. ... As complex and multi-faceted as any woman in her early twenties, IDER’s debut LP is an album made for people like those who wrote it, and is all the stronger for it.

Though the lyricism and imagery present across The Avalanche might be some of Kinsella’s bleakest, and a stark contrast to the soft subtleties of its instrumentation, it’s also some of his strongest and most transparent.

A lusciously uninhibited collection of songs, bringing together a host of collaborators from across the world of indie, rock and pop, providing an introspective accumulation of intimate musings, indie bangers and synth-pop sounds.

This is purposefully difficult music with very little in the way of hand-holding via melody or catchy riffs. Yet, in the end the potential reward is revealed: if you’re willing to brave the torment (of PoG’s music or of life, or both), perhaps you’ll achieve something like catharsis and be better for it on the other side.

Strong as the songs are, it’s the rich musical settings that really hit hard.

Despite its tumultuous origins, In Quiet Moments is certainly a more accomplished record than its predecessor. An improvisational grounding and a strong lyrical brief have allowed the impressive list of co-signs to feel more pertinent, and in that, more able to successfully explore thematic material, both sonically and lyrically.

Jones places a premium on tonal variance and equilibrium throughout Visions; it’s a wise chess move, ensuring an absorbing listen with every spin.

This collection excels by showcasing the depth of music that had the word applied to it during the album’s seven year time span ('88 to '95). That word, 'shoegaze', was applied to much more than just skinny guys looking a bit sad with guitars. By investigating these areas - from the end of the C86 scene through to shoegaze itself via grunge and ending with Britpop - Still in A Dream proves itself to be a truly comprehensive release.

Its narrative arc and Hinton’s own emotional investment into the project elevates Potential over some of the more high profile electronic releases of the past few years.

Its mood is all over the place, but that suits it.

Chemtrails leans further into the sounds of sunny, ‘70s California - summoning Judee Sill and Karen Dalton - and it’s watertight too: her first 45 minute album since her debut. Sonically, things sound gorgeous.

Chockful of jazz that embraces you in a familiar feeling, Source is akin to an old friend you may not see for a while, but whenever you do, the world feels that little bit brighter and it’s as if no time has passed at all.

What Short Movie does do is remind us of the poise with which Marling carries her prodigious ability as a songwriter, and reaffirm that she’s genuinely ambitious, too; she sounds excited again, and so should we be.

The band demonstrate the excitement bubbling beneath the surface of the UK rock scene, ready to pierce through its thin veil at any moment – Reeling is that moment for The Mysterines, and it’s a debut you won’t forget in a hurry.

An album that turns a sound into a physical being, CHARLIE is packed full of personality and heart.

It’s a short and snappy experience clocking in at under 30 minutes, but the rising tides of sin and crashing waves of liability make Back To The Water Below the most all-encompassing outing of Royal Blood’s career.

The album’s sprawl also allows the stunning space-funk title track to spread its wings for full lift-off unhurriedly over 9 minutes until total resistance-shattering hypnosis has been achieved. If this is their Silver, Say She She’s gold must be out of this world.

An ambient, compelling and unique look into whether contemporary life really has to be so empty.

It’s a testament to his cohesive sound and willingness to defy convention that this record, despite a lack of samples or anything really resembling typical electronic music, conveys emotion as well as it does.

While the set brims with a sense of unrest and dislocation, it also rouses an implicit exuberance: though we suffer profoundly, art is redemptive, life is inexplicably beautiful.

It’s simultaneously consistent and assorted, richly individuated without any overwrought attempts to appear authentic.

Williamson is so quick and witty with his references that it's not until two or three plays that you actually spot the humour in what he's expressing. It's got a way of making each track funnier, and more prescient, with every spin.

An album that sees Years & Years revisit the musical, lyrical and aesthetic concerns of their debut and refresh them with unprecedented confidence and self-knowledge.

Those who aren’t invested in live performances may find Everybody Scream less compelling. The deeper the record goes, the more dependent it is on Welch and co’s theatricality that can sometimes only be appreciated by seeing it seep into their stage presence before your eyes. .... Luckily, there are just enough tracks on the album that emanate with such radiant energy even on stream, beckoning you to lose yourself in the restorative and ever-expanding coven.

Their third album, Room Inside The World, seems far too safe compared to their past efforts.

Boy From Michigan is an intense, involved listen that is bizarre and wonderfully playful even in its most traditional moments.

While the record feels like a new iteration, it is also an evolution of a deeply familiar form. At the record’s core, it ultimately is more of Hovvdy and at their best, these songs envelop the listener in the same way Hovvdy songs always have.

I’m almost certain that this project won’t be as critically or commercially as successful across the board as Doris was. But I doubt Earl really cares; the art comes first, and as a result, Earl’s produced an album that’s concise, consistent and cerebral.

Whether it is the temporary respite from a challenging sonic environment or the steady progression towards splendour, On Time Out of Time is a rewarding experience for those willing to tolerate challenging moments in a celestial sea of sound. For Basinski, time is an artefact and he is its curator.

Emerging from the Norwegian shadows, the gentle genius has again struck with his best work to date.

We know Amyl & The Sniffers can do highway-caning punk, but being able to intersperse a critical takedown of cynics with a hook so infectiously catchy proves there is another angle to the Melbournites that, when unleashed, it creates something even more powerful than a well-timed sucker-punch.

It becomes powerful when given proper care and attention.

While Bombino and his fellow Tuareg's music is now well settled in the same market, the rebellion which fuels their music is very real, and as such, Azel is a breath of fresh air.

It might not hit Dumb Flesh’s dancefloor highs but with decent headphones and a windswept night there’s points on here that are damn near-transcendental, although the damage left might be permanent.

It’s a tried and tested sound but Peck’s perspective feels utterly fresh, and suggests perhaps all of the glitz and camp are actually just Peck being true to himself.

Tough Baby demands your attention; it's a dizzying array of vibrant innovation and determination to be counterintuitive.

As it stands, the apple tree under the sea acts as an affirming step that Hemlocke Springs is taking. An adventurous blend of pop across various decades, with a journey that only unleashes courageous swerves rather than shrinking down.

This is a warming, rewarding album that grows with each listen, blossoming and unfurling in front of you. If you can get past the intensity, and see through to the glowing heart at the centre of this record, it’ll keep you coming back again and again.

Album stand out "Death Engine" seems to be the perfect balance of all the elements at play – it’s momentous but it stands still, it’s modern but it’s also so rose-tinted, it’s where hard percussion meets yearning keys and where elation greets loss. Sadly the album does stumble a little at the last hurdle, as "Depression Tourist" adds an unnecessarily vocoder-happy outing to the mix, but thankfully it does not fall or overshadow this otherwise stunning return.

Nothing Lasts Forever, but Teenage Fanclub probably could if they so wished.

Black Tarantula is a commentary at the preverbal level; it takes the fears we can’t articulate and sings them to us in our own voices.

There’s much on this sleek and self-confident debut to suggest that the young band are wholly capable of sculpting their own unique voice amongst all the others.

With Ali Chant on production duties, Cloth seem to have found the fullest version of themselves. There is an added intent to tracks such as “Lido”, as Rachael and Paul bring their most interesting ideas to the fore, instead of burying them in the mix.

The beauty of this record lies primarily in its poise and composure; that it sounds fantastic, at times, just feels like an added bonus.

Kannon certainly won’t be delivering any Christmas number ones, but what Sunn O))) have managed to deliver is an exhilarating, colon-shaking song cycle of pitch black metal that will perfectly complement those approaching January blues.

Sometimes it is easy to forget that Lost & Found is Smith’s first LP. The sureness and creativity that exudes from each and every song disguises what some would call a lack of experience.

This album opens up the treasure chest and allows you to marvel. His disposable notions turn out to be consistently worthy of such regard.

Dungen are back, the same as ever but a little bit more so this time around.

Margo Price has broken free from the shackles of country music on That’s How Rumors Get Started, pivoting effortlessly and elegantly towards a classic rock sound. There’s a whole lot more space and freedom to express herself now, and it suits her real well.

Continuing to imbibe her music with a remarkable pathos that has these new songs greeting the listener like familiar friends by the second spin, Courtney Marie Andrews keeps growing and Old Flowers is the fruit of this blossom.

With Evergreen, Allison’s songwriting skills and vocals are placed squarely on center stage. The sequence may not be as sonically layered as previous work; however, Allison’s melodies are as captivating as ever.

Carry On The Grudge could so easily buckle under the weight of expectation. As it is, it feels like the most natural of follow-ups.

While most of the individual tracks dazzle, there's not much of a unifying theme the bind the pleasantly punishing beats, pastoral orchestral leanings and ambient drifts together. Even so, Crush may not be the album more recent converts to Floating Points may have hoped for, but it is worthy of our undivided attention regardless.

Hippopotamus feels like the latest volume in an alternate cultural history formed of all the weird things that only Sparks are audacious enough to make songs about. It’s an admirable commitment to silliness.

Tall Tales sees Pritchard and Yorke plug into the fragility of social structures built on sand, a subject that finds voice via a quasi-cryptic sidewind through vast digital and organic tracts – an at times menacing, evocative and hypnotically immersive statement on a freefalling societal state of play.

Unlike previous Hot Chip records there is arguably no definitive “single”, but a coherent collection of ten songs that burst at the seams with ideas and hooks, and provides some of Hot Chip’s most gorgeous pop songs to date.

Ultimately, the only possible problem with Heart Like A Levee is that some of the cuts fade out too soon.

The richness of the source material and the deftness of interplay of each member of the band ensures that Your Queen is a Reptile leaves you with a sense of having been a part of something truly special.

Mangy Love is a terrific, bizarre album made up of familiar parts rearranged into something new, unfamiliar, and offbeat.

Deceiver isn’t your Oshin or Is the Is Are, not by a longshot. Yet, while certain touchstones are present that give away that this is in fact DIIV, in a much larger sense we’re observing a band operating unlike they have before, and in the midst of that shift, they execute it stunningly.

MICHELLE will always be a pop group, but the tension in this slate of songs gives a different air to the other flowery elements in the production. It’s a product of six people developing individually and collectively.

Such moments of challenging, bold experimentation (which Wilco hasn't really bothered with off-stage on this scale for a while), coupled with a set of by turns desolate and uplifting, strange and sweet tunes, makes Ode to Joy mandatory listening for anyone interested in the enduring creative potential of rock - sorry, folk – music.

Dilly Dally have crafted a well formed rock album that’ll surely go to make Katie Monks the next pin up girl of the anti-pin up girls.