It’s a glowing return from Kate NV, a cavalcade of bright sounds arranged into gems of pure, often brilliantly silly fun. Her finest work yet.

Wonderfully fearless from start to finish, Donnelly speaks up for those who either won’t or can’t.

It shows that Deerhunter are every bit capable of making a fully inclusive, autobiographical, all-american, classic rock album and that would be a journey worth watching--from outcast weirdos to national treasures.

Not unlike The Twilight Sad’s mastery of making an emotional impact with the combination of a few choice blunt images and a monolithic musical arrangement, Of the Sun derives a good portion of its power from persistence. Trupa Trupa continue to hit the mark as they experiment with simplification without excising the art from their rock.

While the album is surely born of a specific shared experience, Sun June creates enough space to leave that jaguar’s identity up to interpretation for the listener.

Pirouette is an intriguing segue album. Even if it falls short of the cogency displayed on Dogsbody, Model/Actriz should be applauded for their creative restlessness, the risks they wholeheartedly take.

The Midnight Sun is a heavily stylized return that does not fall for crude, archaic sounds to create its spectral atmosphere, but rather relies on timeless rules of composition; much like its predecessor, it is sure to be met with acclaim.

So sentimental and lyrical the whole thing is, and its content remains forthright and honest throughout. It is, indeed, a gratifying holistic experience.

The Next Day is very, very good. Purposefully good--the work of someone who seemingly knew that if he was going to come back at all, it had to be with something blessed with brilliance.

Modern Baseball have found strength giving a voice to their disillusionment. With the daring demonstrated here, they'll be singing their spirits sounds for a long time to come.

Undoubtedly Bully’s best album yet, Lucky For You is the culmination of growing up and dealing with the shit stuff; death, the world, etc. But it never wallows in the mire. Instead it jumps up, hair flying wildly, and sticks a middle finger in the air, ready to kick out the jams.

The musical tailoring is both electric and refreshingly liberating, with rich textures and stark contrasts. Always perfectly balanced, with a minutely tuned on and off switch that also leaves room for silence.

Despite that blemish [changing a lyric in “Better Than Revenge”], Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is a cathartic release of pent-up frustrations of things she never had the confidence to say at 19 that are now stated proudly at 33.

Condition often has a slight avant-garde feel to it, but it's ultimately an album full of songs that sound like they've been raised with the sole intent of wanting to jump out of the speakers.

It may be a relatively short listen, which can easily breeze past you if you don’t pay attention, but Swim Inside the Moon is a warning shot, a sign of things to come. This is just the beginning for Angelo De Augustine--an artist full of potential.

Radiating self confidence and assuredness, Celeste bolsters her existing catalogue of soft, somber songs with moments of upbeat glitter-funk and rollicking neo soul.

Their ability to collaborate with the likes of Barker, Slipknot’s Corey Taylor, rappers Bun B, Saul Williams & Jasiah, whilst remaining authentically Ho99o9, is what makes SKIN such an exhilarating listen.

Exploring a whole new sphere of genres, eras and musical styles, Volcano's unexpected twists and turns place Jungle at their peak of most progressive yet.

Q is as distinct and powerful a voice in hip-hop as Kendrick, and he manages to bring the likes of Kanye West, Swizz Beatz, Anderson .Paak, and Vince Staples to Figg St. on one of the year’s best rap albums thus far. The only real dissonance here comes on Miguel collaboration “Overtime.”

Siberia reaffirms just how brilliant this lot can be.

Strauss is going to continue heating up as an artist and Cheap Queen will add a whole lot of fuel to that fire.

Remember The Humans only hints at past glories, but it's a welcome reminder of why Broken Social Scene endeared themselves to us in the first place.

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

Its stylistic diversity can be off-putting at first. But the more you listen, the more it all comes together.

Total Strife Forever is breathtaking. It might get tough sometimes, lonely and desolate even, but Doyle’s catharsis will hoist you by the bootstraps into lusher pastures.

Young Enough is a pop album that just happens to rock.

It’s concise, it’s even, and it feels structured. Its main issue is that it’s nothing that new or inventive and on that basis alone is what essentially damns their efforts. But despite that gripe, Vivian Girls have always surrounded their LPs with charm.

Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder To The Sky is a brilliantly crafted album. Stylistically, all 12 tracks feel brilliantly stitched together, and the album as a whole is a complete standout for Porridge Radio as a band.