It sits balances between a '70s and '80s sound, yet is somehow incredibly modern in tone. This is something IDKHOW do remarkably well.

It’s a classic high-quality, well-arranged and passionate album from First Aid Kit, but this time--it’s not so innocent.

Picture You is most certainly amongst 2015's most remarkable releases. Drink it in, and be careful not to judge it too soon.

That’s just what this album’s got. A heart. Mathmatical, mechanical parts that once evoked landscapes, snowscapes, a view frozen in time now evoke emotions and memories. Fleshy stuff, any mistakes made with a smile. It’s that searched for human touch, something no mere tin man could create.

His concerns are consistent and consistently bizarre, his delivery as unsettling as ever, the atmosphere he creates both bleak and battered--yet he’s still a man armed with tunes as well as wit, brilliance to match the bitterness; a new album that digs into the past, chokes it down and regurgitates it with a sly smile.

Throughout, the refreshed use of light and dark is notable and works. There is contrast and there is colour.

While it manifests in a way that’s less playful than on her debut, it’s replaced by a gravitas that befits a sophomore record.

This is earnest, albeit loud, songwriting. And that sincerity carries this these (already great) songs further than you'd expect.

Within its nine tracks, Gunn addresses matters of death, acceptance, and expectations, all of which round his music with serenity and credence, thus positioning him on the forefront not only as a quintessential narrator for our time, but a faithful guide who gently directs us revitalized and untroubled.

Rex’s true feelings have been told marvellously within this sonic journal. Through his own unique artistry, Rex has created an album that is wonderfully creative. This third album cements his status as a nascent national treasure.

Could It Be Different? carries on exactly where they left off. In their songwriting, The Spook School have always merged transformational politics with an anthemic quality, and the LP's opener is no exception.

This is a tight, focused, powerful effort by one of the most underrated bands in the world – and certainly one of the finest bands to come from these shores in the past twenty years. Night Network is a minor masterpiece.

This is a riveting, first-rate record from a man who has made quite a few of them.

On It Is What It Is, Stephen Bruner’s eccentric hyperactivity is on full display, bouncing from jittery bass chops to fat West Coast funk. He balances the spacey jazz fusion of his early records with the signature neo-yacht rock perfected on Drunk (2017).

So, it seems that band that once loved us all like madmen have mellowed and become more self-assured with age. But they've definitely not lost their spark.

In other words, Cortar Todo is yet another outstanding release from one of the most original musical acts today.

Put simply, Alternative Light Source manages to sound both fresh and exciting, and like old Leftfield all at once.

Gum Country’s fun is earned. They take a face-value look at life, and conclude that even when it’s hard, it doesn’t need to be heavy.

In Hug Of Thunder, Broken Social Scene have managed to master the balance between spiky energy, tender melody and a singular knack for carving out a soaring chorus. Hug Of Thunder has undoubtedly been a long time coming, but it has unequivocally been worth the wait.

L.A. Witch has managed to capture lightning in a bottle with enough space for you to stand back and observe without getting singed.

Idle No More is inspiring on many levels, but mostly because it beckons us to dance passionately and live fully in the wake of ever present darkness.

It’s the product of a band that’s clearly thinking on their feet, engaging with the conflicting styles of those around them and assimilating new behaviors without sacrificing their own, changing with the world around them to create something refreshingly distinct and beautifully engaging.

Thresholder is a triumph of meticulously detailed composition and, at the same time, a masterpiece that seems to evolve, albeit in an unnaturally sepulchral soundworld of fragmentation, from the simplest of sources into a life-affirming wholeness.

The collaboration between the film and the music is so successful, in fact, that it is hard to describe the music without noting the scenes.

Dogrel is evocative, meticulous and rich in a love for the character of Dublin, and all the little things that, past and present, contribute to that.

Their second album continues the work of the first, a yardstick for the heavy guitar sound, and is in its own way as hard hitting, visceral and effortlessly brilliant.

With their debut they have, for the most part, broken metaphysical barriers between techno, noise and punk, and presented a record beaming with youthful exuberance, and containing a frightening level of intensity. The presented fruits of their labour, inspired by Kiely’s breakdown, are resounding.

This is immediate, incredible folk pop that pays homage to the godfathers, performed amid the disco balls of a train hurtling through time, by kids who love alternative guitar bands.

Much like a Full English and a strong cup of tea, Luke Temple wipes away the hangover from what you might otherwise call pop’s misguided choices (including the bubble perm and Kylie-and-Jason collabs), leaving only the happy memories of dancing to ’80s classics like it’s 1999.

All Hail Bright Futures sees And So I Watch You From Afar fulfilling the promise that both their debut and follow up teased.

Modern life might still be rubbish, but it is rarely shown to be so beguilingly beautiful.

Sparkle Hard continues this unfeasibly strong run he’s been on and adds a little more bang for your buck.

In other words, they haven’t lost a step as a band.

Post punk of course is a genre totally played out, but VENN’s approach is a new perspective on the genre. Runes is fresh, wildly innovative, and utterly essential.

A tippy, interstellar journey all the more worthwhile taking.

For All My Sisters is a thoroughly enjoyable record even if taken only at face value, but more importantly, it’s a potent reminder of just how crucial The Cribs really are.

It will take you places. Places that don’t feel like they exist in our dimension, on our plain. This all just feels so brilliantly different and new; a very special debut indeed.

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.

This is experimental music at its very finest, and rarest: unashamedly cerebral, but also unrelenting in its dedication to powerful dynamics and--crucial point, this--melodic hooks.

This is a record that throbs and vibrates with an infectious pulse even when the instrumentalists aim for the outer reaches of lightning-speed look-at-me flurries of virtuoso showing-off.

As a group, Everything Everything has always worn that indie art pop weirdness on its sleeve and its still refreshingly intact here, Re-animator is yet another flamboyant feather in the cap of a band that refuses to phone it in.

Beautifully-measured collaboration between two venerable avant garde artists.

There’s nary a misstep to note here. Schreifels, drummer Alan Cage, bassist Sergio Vega and guitarist Tom Capone resist taking a victory lap and come out ahead, still sounding like themselves.

Not for a long time have I listened to something that so delights in its lack of abandon; their name might be uninspiring, but Cloud Nothings’ output is clearly anything but.

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.

Hooking up with producer Patrik Berger (Robyn, Charli XCX, Icona Pop) has given her music an explicit clarity. His prowess in the studio with some of some of the biggest leftfield pop artists of recent times gives an impressive breadth to the sound which manages to sound both large-scale and minutely detailed, the unfussy execution perfect for Boman’s introspective and unassuming vocal delivery.

Her child-like rhymes may seem like she’s only toying with playground politics but she knows exactly where her strengths are; Matangi is a tribute to those talents and it’s an unmitigated thrill. Dissident, deviant, “mili-tent”; Cookie cutter pop star she is not, but a true great she absolutely is.

If your faith in the concept album is failing, The Grand Tour will restore it. And if you have any long, trans-national train journeys coming up, this album will be great for those, too.

One of Cerulean Salt’s great triumphs is that we believe in these people, the album’s intimacy heightens its sense of realism, its characters feel living.

He is a rare talent that we must cherish and allow to scratch what ever creative itch he wishes to. With I Tell a Fly, Clementine proves he is indeed an artist of extraordinary ability.

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.

If this is the end of whatever this is, they’ve recorded a superlative piece of work which leaves us on one hell of a high, despite it sounding anything but high itself.

Hiss Spun is a hypnotic, cyclical work that becomes transformative with repeated listens.

On Our Two Skins, Payten reckons with big decisions and big changes, claiming them as part of her life to beautiful effect.

Miguel writes nothing but memorable melodies and his songwriting is the engine that makes Wildheart all work, that takes his affinity for funk, psychedelia and Prince, and turns them an album that feels totally of the moment.

Even though many breakup references are scattered throughout Crushing, a strong sense of emotional progression is also woven in, flipping the narrative to be more positive in parts. Vivid lyricism personifies the album title in each track.

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

By trying to escape the constraints of the tradition-bound folk orthodoxy, Lal and Mike Waterson managed to craft an album of songs that sound like long-lost standards.

Apocalipstick is fast, furious and, most importantly, fun, making it the first truly badass album of 2017.

Unlike with previous records, there is no overarching theme to We Got It From Here, and it can often leave the album feeling a little chaotic. But in the end, A Tribe Called Quest were all about beats, rhymes and life, and this album has that in spades.

The best albums allow us to ruminate on life’s big questions, giving insight not only into the mind of the artist but reflecting the sentiments of the beholder, and Viet Cong does exactly that.

A wonderful, accomplished return.

A couple of less than diverting songs aside, this is an album that won’t be forgotten in a hurry whichever way you look at it.

Birth of Violence isn’t Wolfe’s best album, or her most intense, or her most accessible. But what it is is a combination of elegant songcraft, dread-fuelled musicianship and otherworldly vocals. ... Birth of Violence no longer stands in the centre of the crossroads, it opens up a new road... down.

They’ve poured so much time and effort into Cave Rave--but you may never get a chance to appreciate that aspect of the album, because for all their intrinsic talent and informed attention to detail, their passion for pure pop is overpowering.

The fact that the duo have chosen to deploy a stripped back approach to the album, and the fragile beauty this evokes, leaves little doubt that the pair are more than capable of weaving some seriously ethereal magic, even when they're miles apart.

Across Stellular’s twelve tracks we're presented with a strident procession of indie pop that demands attention.

In its brief seven tracks, Rausch barely makes it over an hour mark, but in that time frame, Voigt gives his listener a lot to unpack and offers the idea that he still has a lot more to say.

If Michael is Chaz Bundick's guided tour of dance music, then he takes you to some unexpected but seriously interesting places.

Wailing down the hallowed halls of memory and experience, Chithambo feels the resonation of these moments and channels the hurt through extraordinary delicate songs where harmonies wrap around each other with a spectral quality, and the dripping rain of picked guitar strings decorate the walls taking leaves from the book of Sufjan Stevens.

Sleeping Through the War nods more than it winks, but it operates with its own in-joke sense of humor.

A compelling listen, and a new side to Doug Paisley.

Forgetting The Present is the latest and most perfect union of Remember Remember’s distinctive blend of styles. Expect that record to stand for as long as it takes for their next album to appear.

Like many of Dawson’s projects, its effect is gradual but profound: it takes a little time to truly settle into Mogic, but it’s nigh-impossible to leave once you become accustomed to its mores.

The listener is never really on terra firma when ambling through the elusive foothills of Range of Light, but every fluctuating composition and shift in mood makes for a refreshing experience spin after spin on a record that could so easily be entangled and mired in its own instrumental mastery.

Each of his records could have come from any year from the past twenty five, to the next twenty five. There is the sound of now, the sound of then, and the sound of Dave Clarke.

While Hecker continues to be a paradigm in formulating how sound exists, he proves with Anoyo what it means to extend his means and throughout its cleansing spirit, Hecker evokes a bewitching status, serving as one of today’s continued and top creators of elysian odysseys.

This record is a masterpiece of aural and visual pandemonium.

Keepsake has an inexplicable familiarity even as it bursts with new ideas. It is a document capable of throwing us into our own pasts, the perfect score for the movies we make in our minds.

Escapism running through its veins, right down to the gentle “woah-oh’s” or cascading drums, Imploding The Mirage works because it doesn’t try hard but still pulls all of those components we’ve come to know and love together.

Both albums [Quazarz: Born On A Gangsta Star and Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines] deliver uneasy commentary on modern times, and the music that supports it is as equally challenging.

While Jessica Pratt’s already-absorbing sound has been made fuller and richer on Quiet Signs, there’s still a charming simplicity to it all. And what do they say about simplicity? There’s a certain beauty in it. Here it’s ethereal and exquisite, with a magic that weaves its way into your being and transforms the world around you.

In addition to the improved songwriting, the production has been upgraded. Returning as producer and engineer, Arthur Rizk wisely dials back the reverb from Decimation, resulting in a clearer record that allows breakneck riff-fests.

Both albums [Quazarz: Born On A Gangsta Star and Quazarz vs. The Jealous Machines] deliver uneasy commentary on modern times, and the music that supports it is as equally challenging.

Leithauser and Rostam have clearly tapped into the long, illustrious history of the great American pop standard for inspiration on these dynamic new songs, offering up their own inventive twists on the art form to keep the expressive dialogue going for a whole new generation.

With this record, Frahm reminds us that music--whatever it's genre, origin, form or status--holds a power like no other medium to represent our shared, human emotional experiences.

His reluctance to be confined to one particular sound (which makes him even more psychedelic), his nonchalant attitude towards genre, his increasing influence in leftfield rock and his skill in piecing together rhythm, chaos and calm makes him one of the most captivating artists indie rock has right now.

Her new found confidence comes through in spades here and the end product is a record that shines with a captivating vibrancy.

Timber Timbre, in crafting Hot Dreams, have cultivated an immensely strong record and an alternate sonic dimension you can spend a lifetime exploring.

With this record, he’s laid to down a marker, not just for 2019, but for the future of UK rap. It’s hard to think of a debut so confident in every musical aspect since J Hus’ Common Sense. Advice: consume daily for effective mood enhancement.

It's a noisy little beast that will leave you feeling somewhat battered, disorientated, but actually, the stink of the corpse of rock has never sounded so good. Just have some paracetamol to hand.

Death and loss have always been topics mined by Cave, but this may be the most visceral and powerful portrait of those feelings he’s ever painted.

The result is an album that's uplifting without stumbling into the saccharine-dosed forced jolliness that particular word might bring to mind.

While Hang doesn’t explore much new ground, that’s never really been on Foxygen's agenda. It's a great return all the same.

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.

Happy in The Hollow is their most satisfying work to date, doubly notable for its being the first record the band have produced themselves.

While it’s difficult to not fully engulf yourself in his ethos from the LP’s sit-in folk jam stylings to even crossing over into more celestial territory that finds itself throughout Goes West, Tyler’s dexterity in capturing emotion and conveying a story is rather significant under his instrumental hand – a gift that he’s always yielded, but likely now more than he ever has.

With Tearing at the Seams, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats have distillated the ups and downs life throws at you into a vibrant collection of many-hued vignettes; some make you smile, some make you well up, and some make for the ideal accompaniment to good ol’ sauced-up revelry. Whatever the case, they’ll all make you feel that thing inside you. Soul.