Although the album is perhaps two songs too long, Angus & Julia Stone succeeds because the whole outnumbers the sum, and does so with a light-touch intensity. Rubin might not be breaking new ground here but he’s mining precious stones.

There are some striking, startling and sublime moments on Painting With, even if it is at times a little dis-jointed.

Pokey will invite you to step away from the modern, more complex times and immerse yourself in a period of music from the mid western USA which formed the heart and soul of the country. It is a trip well worth it.

While lacking the convention-breaching identity of Currents, Tame Impala commits to a formula that will undoubtedly guarantee heavy rotation – an album sporting plenty of standouts and very little filler.

Pennied Days is an album anyone who has ever been in love with rock music should listen to, and it has the kind of universal appeal that should mean big things for Night Moves down the road.

If you’re able to look past the campy facade and accept that this is purely a record of glimmering pop, it’ll be something you’ll cherish.

It could be argued that you need to put in some effort yourself to fully enjoy music like this that demands activity from your brain, but with a catalyst like The Phoenix, all you need to do is listen and let your mind wander into a galaxy far, far away.

You’ve not heard William Patrick Corgan this way before--and if you just let Ogilala do its thing you’ll find a completely pleasant journey that will envelop you happily.

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.

The band’s audible aspiration towards greatness on this album is the most welcome aspect about it. You can hear the effort that was put into making it as galactic and sprawling as it is.

It will of course satisfy long time fans, but those that have overlooked the band over the years would be wise to reunite with them for the battle ahead.

To its credit, a lot of the tracks on Physical get to the point at a much earlier stage in their development than they would have done on a FF record, but the creeping intensity of tracks like “Two Different Ways” or “Dial Me In” is missed as a result.

Groove Denied is lesser than Sparkle Hard, and greater. Not so happy, yet much happier.

It is a cohesive collection, each ballad given similar treatment, steadied and prettied to similar effect, and the exercise is sadly brief.

There are a few duds in there where the dynamism and the delicacy clash ineffectively, but they are outnumbered by the surprising number of triumphs.

While Dark Hearts hits an exceptional stride in its beginning, we find quickly that its other tracks don’t necessarily live up to their fullest potential.

An adventurous artistic growth is surely on the horizon for this blossoming young band, but on The Dew Lasts An Hour, Ballet School quickly found out what technique works for them and where their creative strengths lie.

A record to showcase where they are now, and hint toward where they might be headed.

Every song leaps to action, be it immediately or with a tentative build, capturing the essence of what’s fun about life. There’s even some tasteful saxophone littered throughout.

Like its predecessor, it’s a little too long, but California Nights reaffirms the things that Crazy for You had me believing and The Only Place had me doubting; that Cosentino is a fine songwriter with a keen ear for melody, that Bruno’s guitar work is the perfect foil for her.

Over time, it's proved itself to be dark, intelligent and one of the most imaginative albums of the year so far, but whether it’s as enduring as its predecessor, only time will tell.

“The Airport” and “Leaving the House” add piano to the partnership of Graham’s voice and MacFarlane’s guitar playing (he switches from a clean and quiet electric on tracks one to five, to an acoustic on six to eight), and the color it brings to both makes one wonder what it might have sounded like had it been included on the other songs as well. On the other hand, it’s a small revelation to discover how whole and affecting songs like “I Could Give You All That You Don’t Want” and “Drown So I Can Watch” can be with a few circulating quietly strummed chords and Graham’s austere and ecstatic declamations.

By the end of some heavy listening, you understand that they’ve found something more beautiful still, all the more so because it is hard won, but just as they’ve had to work to find it, so must we.

All Things Under Heaven isn't perfect: after a startlingly strong first half, the quality of the material drops. As it does, it becomes increasingly difficult not to notice just how semi-endlessly long and repetitive some of these tracks are.

Not everything that he turns his hand to here comes off, but when it does, the results are characteristically spectacular, and do more than enough to preserve St Germain’s reputation as an electronic musician of rare complexity--one who’s made a trademark of pulling off convoluted ideas with crispness and flair.

Removed from the expansive instrument-led sounds of previous records Ganglion Reef and Golem, 1000 Days immerses inwards. Strident stadium rock collides with characteristic psychedelia with a natural euphoria.

If this it to be M.I.A.’s final release, it’s a fittingly confrontational, vibrant and invigorating piece of work.

Though it needn't define them, with Until The Tide Creeps In Penelope Isles have built a strong foundation on familial dynamics and the criss-crossing of sibling perspectives with elegant and catchy songwriting, springboarding them in to the many sets of arms ready to welcome them.

Drifters/Love Is The Devil isn’t always an unqualified success, but more often than not it displays Dirty Beaches as a project increasingly adept at the scattershot of styles, imprinted with Hungtai’s own recognisable mark.

KiCk I is a consistently enjoyable, so the fact it still feels like something of an anti-climax is testament only to Arca’s history of braveness and originality.

Bring Me The Horizon is a band that you can rely on for a constantly evolving output and whilst, POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR doesn’t exactly diverge away from what the band were developing on last year’s amo, it does capture the bewildering phenomenon that is living through a worldwide pandemic. It is as fun as it is bleak.

It’s a shame then that much of Wait ’til Night lacks the depth of narrative that made the imposing tales of urban romance on Playin’ Me so engrossing.... There’s still much to embrace here though.

Bleeding between the nebulous and formulaic, King's Mouth simultaneously presents the band at their most obscure and lucid; opposing absolutes that are wrought with the band’s ineffable style. This incongruity does not, however, dent the album’s stronger moments, which can be considered the Lips’ finest material in several years.

This is a seductive and beguiling record.

Pay no attention to the lyrics (pretend you’re foreign or something), concentrate on the music, and you might just enjoy yourself after all.

It’s a considered, thoughtfully constructed record that adheres to a stylish, seductive aesthetic.

His most sincere and optimistic record so far.

On first time listen, Star Wars feels neither utterly victorious nor rushed, vapid or misjudged. Whilst moments of majesty and bona fide alt-rock wizardry snake in and out of the occasionally throwaway, the overriding feeling here is one of huge relief and pleasant surprise.

At worst, Sexwitch marks a fascinating detour in an already accomplished career. At best, it’s a creatively adventurous standalone release. In actuality, it likely falls somewhere in the middle.

Quarters is a reference to Berlin and a statement of intent then, and like the city Seams is likely to be on plenty of cool-hunters’ lists from now on.

You could argue that Dark Red is a bit samey in places, but that's kind of the point.

This is difficult, obstinate music that grows in potency with every listen--it should just come with some kind of health warning.

A celebration and a middle finger as Banoffee reclaims her strength across tracks driven by wonky pop sensibilities and a drop of infectious playfulness.

It is a powerful and dark narrative that fits the explosive attitude of the Big Ups and makes this record relevant on so many different levels.

E.MO.TION has all the tenets of a successful pop record, but feels more cultivated than previous work.

Her most polished record to date, in every sense of the word.

Much like their self-titled EP, ...Does It Again has ear-worm songwriting paired with fuzzed out production, making for an overall engaging, if one-track, listen.

Regions of Light and Sound of God is as succinct as he’s ever been on record, and while it doesn’t exactly live up to its grandiose title, it’s a fascinating musical backroad to find yourself stranded in.

At times reminiscent of the intricate indie on Doe’s excellent 2018 record Grow Into It, Allanic and co. working through their own peaks and troughs is what makes Rhinoceros so special. On this basis, their main point of differentiation is that they do it so well.

It’s the witty and indirect way Thao and her band approaches the subjects in these songs that makes We The Common a minor delight.

It lacks some of the first record’s energy and virtuosity. However, Two remains a joyous listen considering how little chance there was of it even existing a few years ago.

At times strained, others contemplative, though always whimsical, theirs is a carefully constructed character, one that refuses to take itself too seriously though never dares become anything close to disinterested. And for that, and indeed much else, they should be highly commended.

For those who are familiar with Souleyman’s work, there may be nothing particularly new sonically on Bahdeni Nami. Regardless, it still remains a dizzying and exhilarating affair, preserving Souleyman’s power as an artist and performer.

Songs like “Give Up”, “So Long”, “Terrible Youth”--all of them, really, there are only nine--are fuzzed out and unfussy, but not just simple pleasures. They kick in the door but then make themselves welcome for a long stay.

The record is everything you’d expect from a PINS debut, with a little bit extra tacked on. Mostly, it’s a belligerent beast, boasting bravado and a torrent of guitar swarms.

Ultimately, We Slept At Last is an impressive debut that showcases an enchanting and fully fleshed-out sonic vision.

Despite it being a visionary work from an artist seldom seen nowadays, The Big Dream is more cohesive, more coherent but all the less fearless because of it.

They feel more effective now that they’ve found a way to write as a focused beam rather than a eclectic lineup of individual musicians, and long-term followers will be thrilled by the album’s back half, which retains their well-established experimental bent.

If this all sounds a bit linear, as though Etch and Etch Deep moves like a standard plot, well, that’s because it does. There’s no film to accompany it, but that doesn’t mean Haiku Salut’s second album doesn’t make for a fantastic score, providing a subtle emotional guide as it moves from point A to point B and each stop along the way.

Algiers really fucking mean every note, and their radical politics soak through each track like petrol through a rag. If they overdo it from time to time, so be it – how nice it is to hear a band giving a little too much of a fuck, rather than not enough.

I'm In Your Mind Fuzz is a peculiar delight; one which you should indulge in at least once, if only just to try it. It may just leave you wanting another taste.

Minor gripes aside 8385 is a fascinating glimpse at what artists in the 80’s thought the future would sound like; this is the point where post punk electronica such as New York’s Suicide ends, and proto industrial-goth artists such of Ministry and Nitzer Ebb begin.

For a record that on first listen sounds so sparse, Await Barbarians is a trove of sentiment and intricacy.

For a debut, the album has a spacious sound, and that can also be accounted for by Milosh and Hannibal’s music history which predates Rhye by nearly a decade.

Charged with Warren Ellis’s plaintive violin, the cracked world-weariness of Marianne Faithfull’s voice imbues the song with real life and contemporary meaning and affirms that Give My Love To London is the album with which she is able to finally reconcile her past and present.

Parton did exactly as he set out to do, bridging a self-recognized gap in his songwriting habits to produce a melodically dense record packed with insatiable hooks with minimal sacrifice to the band's signature sense of nostalgia-infused momentum.

Five albums into her career, Peaches is as dirty as she ever was, and shows no sign of calming down.

Fans of Field Music will be absolutely overjoyed with this set, and of course, fans of '80s art rock will be in their element. Those put off by the unwieldy concept ultimately have nothing to fear – the WWI themes are completely ignorable, and so disparately connected that the only reason you’d ever know they were there was if somebody told you in advance.

Wrapped in ’60s nostalgia and emphasising the complexities of emotions, the record really has a little of everything, except true love.

While the first three songs here are all Rock 'n' Roll ebullience, on the final three Furman explores a more plaintive side to his writing.

There’s heaps of incendiary six-stringers, throttling beats and barbed tongues; it’s a potent brew that they peddle, but one that suits them just fine.

There is a murkier, hypnotic side to the band’s frivolities and the human habit of despising routine until life strips it away. It is this bittersweet thread through Other People’s Lives that makes it so instantly affable and ultimately, relatable, even with Seed’s observational alienation.

It’s a pretty relentlessly upbeat, pacey affair that could do with stripping things back (as it does a little, to great success, on ‘East Side Glory’) a tad more often--but not many.

Fans of garage rock will be familiar with the fuzzed-out results, at its best highlighting the band’s trademark guitar distortion, although at times muffling Grote’s vocals slightly. But their sound has evolved considerably.

Siberia reaffirms just how brilliant this lot can be.

Ephyra is an intelligent release, one that grows on its listeners far more than initial investigations would should suggest. Such things can be a double-edged sword however, and Ephyra is also a fractured record, the potential of which feels somewhat stymied by its own belligerence.

Thank You for Stickin' with Twig is a riotous mess of electronic alterity. Press play and take the trip.

Elastic Days will for many be a welcome catch up with Mascis, and for those not yet acquainted, it is the perfect place to say hi.

On its own merits, Galapagos offers diversity and stickiness and ensures that the Post War Years might hang around a while yet.

If you’re willing to spend some time in Widowspeak’s headspace, chances are you’ll find yourself wanting to roam Almanac’s enchantingly surreal landscapes a little longer each time you visit.

It sounds precisely like what it is: a very straightforward Franz Ferdinand record.

Sellers has the distinct tics of a (significantly but not entirely) self-taught musician but also flexible stylistic impulses that keep Primitives at arm’s length from rigid genre tags.

“It’s Okay To Cry,” “Ponyboy,” and “Faceshopping,” open the album in that order balancing SOPHIE’s pop instincts with her weirder ones. “Faceshopping” is a highlight, both visceral and compulsively listenable, using Photoshop as a metaphor for becoming more comfortable with her body.

Add a tad more polish--if they so choose--and it’s surely only a matter of time before they’re razing the main stages to the ground.

Good things do come with time, and this LP is no doubt a stopping point on Active Child's journey to uncharted, challenging places.

In For Ever, J and T have taken their ability of animating moments in life, and have looked inward, applying it to their fresh heartbreak. Littered all round there’s signs and sounds of love’s wreckage.

Colder has no intention of redefining or reshaping the electronic music world with Many Colours. Instead, Tan seems more interested in seamlessly adding his saturnine musical textures to the growing sonic palette of the modern club scene, while also reminding us all just how on point and of the moment his sound continues to be.

Although they bring precious little new to the table, they have mastered the art of hiding beautiful melody under layers of glorious distortion.

Whilst there aren’t as many obvious hits on this record as 2009’s chart-bothering Only Revolutions, Ellipsis is an album that will undoubtedly keep Biffy Clyro right at the top of British rock’s hierarchy.

Changes in timbre aside, those expecting a progression or departure in sound from the last two Mac releases will find them subtle, if present at all. But frankly, as with its sensitive and charismatic creator, it’s hard not to like This Old Dog from the start.

With every listen, each song takes on a new richness, becoming something that will simultaneously become the sound of summer, yet a particular personal soundtrack that you’ll keep on coming back to.

For many of their ardent followers, it’ll be no surprise that this nine song offering fits comfortably within the band's back catalogue, rich as Third World Pyramid is with all the hallmarks of a BJM release.

They’ve made a cracking collection of songs on Dalmak that are immersive and highly visual--even without lyrics, the four-piece are adept at weaving tabula rasa backings on which vivid imaginations are free to roam and gallop like free-range chickens.

While a lot of the mood is pretty solemn of Sleeper, there are some sun-kissed moments, that despite still being lyrically dark, remain blissed-out chunks of acoustic summer-pop.

Just like Cohen, Devoldere is a fanatic for detail. The instrumentation and vocal delivery on Warhaus meet perfectly in the middle.

Overall, Have U Seen Her? strikes a great balance between rocking out with piercing, lacerating soundscapes and soothing nerves with heartfelt songwriting encompassed in diverse melodies. The balance falters at points but it’s never irreparable as ALMA rights it again with the natural magnetism of her music.

It’s an emotional record first and an ambient record second, and one that will resonate even with those who typically aren’t fans of the niche genre.

While their new LP isn’t a beaming success, Ascending a Mountain of Heavy Light is indeed a push for change within the metal community and with that simple act of newness, The Body and Full of Hell put their own personal stamp on things.