While the album has its forgettable moments, there are points where McVicar and Tweeddale really show what they’re made of--and that, if you piss them off, you’re going to know about it.

While McRae’s previous outings may have been more complexly assembled, her new songs are more immediately accessible. Stylistically and in terms of production, many of the tracks on I Used to Think I Could Fly are markedly unconvoluted and easily recallable.

Las Ruinas spotlights Rico navigating a broader emotional and stylistic range than she did on her debut, while also displaying finer attunement to the details of songcraft, production, and performance. And yet, one has the sense that Rico is still seeking to codify her brand, to claim a fertile balance between horror and pop, posture and vulnerability.

Ultimately, Dunes is a collection of tracks which showcases Gardens & Villa’s distinctly original twist on the well-worn and much abused genre of synth-pop. It’s fun, it’s clever and it’s mature--electro-pop for adults.

They’re Zayn’s stories but they’re shared in such an honest, straightforward yet compelling manner that they feel like your own.

A new Dawes album will succeed for one primary reason: Taylor Goldsmith’s ability to connect with a new batch of stories. To that end, Stories Don’t End is another success.

With its less harsh sounding vocals, it [Winter Weather] is the perfect closer, further demonstrating Khan’s desire for a more mature sound on his solo debut.

Echo is an offering with a success that can be judged in the way it evokes such imagery, notwithstanding the fact it wears its influences so visibly.

It’s a very strong release, energetic and intense, and promises a high-octane finale.

Charli is almost there. Ultimately she’s too gloriously messy and multitudinous to produce such a thing. Although she could often benefit from an editor, her process and vision doesn’t adhere to the music industry’s prioritisation of the album format – which feels right for an artist whose music could be read as an attempt to dissolve time itself.

It's a no-frills sound, but dynamically expressive enough to make a potent virtue of the live feel ethos that characterises Total Dive.

This certainly isn’t one for Mumford & Sons fans. There’s no big, foot-stomping, sing-along moments here; instead, the song arrangements are sumptuously layered, built on many little, delicate, moving parts, masterfully put together by producer Blake Mills.

In many ways it’s a simple record, favouring technique over technology and to-the-point lyrics rather than those that miss the point completely.

Vol. 2 probably won't win PC Music many new fans or converts, but it'll satiate die hards and offer those who listen closely just enough deviation from a successful formula.

This is a really surprising record, and one that you really have to spend time with to let it fully hit ya.

Whether it's the drifting of "Singalong Junk," the stripped down, jazz-cat prowling of "Mountain Moves," or the electro-tripping of "Sea Moves," Deerhoof have simply outdone themselves with Mountain Moves, an album that requires as much focus as it does imagination.

Till It’s All Forgotten is a fine debut, showcasing an artist of remarkable invention and instrumental talent.

There are only a handful of pop albums that can sustain epic run times through the power of really, really good songs alone (Car Seat Headrest’s Teens Of Denial is one of them). There’s a story for those who want it and some delightful songcraft for those who don’t. Not a bad compromise.

Are there a few weaker moments here and there? Sure. ... But it’s impossible to be bored as you move from the filthy heaviness of "Giving Blood" to the punchy, melodic "Meteor", all the way through to the gorgeous choral rapture on "Dying Is Absolutely Safe".

Cool Planet sits perfectly in the balance of effortless craftsmanship and half-arsed laziness. Just where it should be.

There’s a rough finesse to each track, one which is clearly purposeful – the production and instrumentation is strident yet incisive. It feels churlish to critique such a lively, soul-cleansing burst of energy, especially since the album is filled with hints of killer choruses trapped just beneath the surface and itching to break through.

Let’s Be Still is wholesome and sincere, in the way those words were intended, and without any pretense or airs and graces.

Dissonances and a more careful mixing of the vocals would definitely help propel the band higher up, but what we have right now is a mature trio which you would definitely appreciate beer-in-hand while carefully tapping your foot on a sticky floor.

Krell’s voice could never get tiresome, but the album seems unclear as to what it wants to be--too restless for heartbreak, too downbeat for the dancefloor, like a candle that’s trying to illuminate a club.

On their debut, MM@TA have cemented themselves as champions of olden days pop punk, repackaged and remodelled for the new generation.

Red Moon in Venus marks a consolidation of Kali Uchis's talents, a work that manages to experiment whilst distilling her artistic essence, and flexing just quite how good she is at it.

A still-formidable effort, but perhaps not the homecoming .Paak would have produced if he'd decided to go his own way.

“I Shouldn’t Have Said That”, the pummeling psych diptych “Return of Witchcraft” and “Witchcraft”, and every other corner of Eggland find them in their sweet spot: blunt pop purity bolstered by Big Muff pedals and a sense of not-quite-reckless abandon.