The results are musically elegant, emotionally eloquent, and absolutely vital.

The most wonderful, positive ending, a paean to the power of song and the song that closes this modern classic of an album.

As they continue to challenge conventions and push boundaries, while still being utterly and completely themselves, Protomartyr stand tall as a testament to the enduring spirit of innovation that defines Detroit's rich musical history.

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.

It triumphs not as a continuation of a musical conversation that Isn’t Anything and Loveless began, but by forging its own distinct modern dialogue, one that at once sounds rooted in its own imaginative time and place, perhaps even dimension, with any telling outside influences dissipating as soon as the songs truly take their pleasurable hold.

The accompanying music speaks for itself, filling every inch of Second Line’s constructed microcosm with the metallic hue of fuzzy synthesizers, reverberating chimes, and booming bass. Richard’s voice floats through it all, shepherding newcomers with an intoxicating haze.

Lacking in the upbeat indie of his debut Dear, or the powerful emotional outbursts clustered in Birthdays, Monument is a heavy, but truly worthwhile, listen.

Williamson’s voice, writing, and sound have all evolved leaps from her previous albums, and Time Ain’t Accidental stands tall among masterful country-pop crossover records like Speak Now or Golden Hour that made their authors superstars.

On The King, Anjimile crafts a masterstroke folk album that binds differences through time for unparalleled emotional clarity.

Motordrome is a multifaceted delight and an early contender for pop album of the year.

I don’t know who needs to hear this… finds Tomberlin firmly stood in the language of her own making. She redefines song structure, alluding to the intrinsically mirrored fashion in which life pans out; like life, far beyond the close, these songs continue to spin.

Though a record of torn emotions, veering from elation to desolation even with a single track, Reiði is far from directionless. Resolute in its delivery and steadfast in its ambition, Black Foxxes have delivered an album that’s both hauntingly fragile, aggressively unapologetic and arguably one of the strongest releases of the year.

Bruised yet defiant, fierce yet elegiac, Wasteland deserves to be counted amongst the genuine masterpieces to have emerged from the ongoing folk renaissance.

A clear cut statement on what it feels like to be alive in these troubling times from an artist who is carefully cementing himself as one of the most compelling and earnest young talents.

Tirzah has made 11 raw, honest, and beautifully unusual pop songs that will remain with you whether you like it or not, bringing you back time and time again, motivated by your devotion to this record.

Over ten short years, Hyperdub has managed to cultivate itself a reputation for quality with such style and consistency that it is difficult to think of another UK independent label that commands such a universal level of respect from devotees of its genre. Hyperdub 10.1 is predictably solid evidence of this.

Big Conspiracy is an album that certifies J Hus as one of the most influential artists in UK music.

Moments of personal darkness are threaded throughout Hard Love, but the clarity and strength that Showalter finds when he shrugs off the gloom gives the songs a restless optimism tempered with a belief that the sun will always come up no matter how long your night has been.

With Grapefruit he’s has shown an ability to take the fabric of rock n roll to other dimensions, to surprise, to confound. At times this means it’s pretty heavy going but it’s never boring. It’s wildly ambitious, challenging and wonderful.

Even if you’ve hated Bird for the past twenty years, Are You Serious is the kind of record that is so breathtakingly alive and enjoyable that you should take the time to listen and consider rethinking your stance on him as an artist.

At fifteen tracks, the album’s club-friendly repetitiveness can make it a bit of a stretch to get through, especially because a few tracks feel less essential than the rest. But overall, it’s still surprisingly exceptional as a front-to-back listen.

It's one of the rock albums of the year, and if it is the case--as is rumoured--that it's their last, then it's also a perfect swan song.

Seven Horses is an ambitious soundtrack experience which works perfectly and will leave you moved, inspired, cleansed and a little afraid.

Whether its hiding tragedy behind comedy for his own purpose, or simply making it easier for us to digest what Purdy preaches when he gets to the truth, either way, ISTHISFORREAL? is a special balance.

With this effort Shauf successfully portrays the complicated smogarsbord that is youth by capturing in its crudest form at a party, with its hedonism and heartbreak, and in doing so propels himself miles ahead of his singer-songwriter peers who have tried to do the same.

There really is a veritable deluge of ephemera attached to the deluxe editions of this release, so there is certainly plenty for fans and collectors to hunker down over. Be warned though, there is plenty of dross to wade through until you’re able to reveal anything of true value.

The album is thrillingly foreign yet familiar in its finest moments.

Unlike the majority of [posthumous releases], Faith speaks to Pop Smoke’s perpetuity in hip-hop’s current context, serving as less of a lament of what could have been and more as a memorial for what was and still is.