Furman’s upfront picture of Goodbye Small Head is perhaps clouded by jest: “orchestral emo prog-rock record sprinkled with samples,” she writes. Yet, it’s a continued display of her marked empathy as a songwriter, trying to seize control against a rhetoric centred on exclusion. Her observational musings are even more: a sign to band together now more than ever.

Black Noise dissolves existing genres and gives you a taste of what may lie beyond the system he’s fighting against.

This record is Jade Bird’s strongest to date, an expansion of her sonic influences and an intimate depiction of the aftermath of a breakup and the trials and tribulations that come with that.

If you like “State Sponsored Psychosis”, you’ll enjoy it a tad faster in “The Abduction”. The dazzling backdrops overpower Pelant’s vulnerability, detracting from his authenticity. Nonetheless, they regain their footing with closer “Desperation”, a hopeful, power pop gem affirming where Night Moves currently stand.

The result is music that feels dreamlike and at times, feverishly nightmarish, occupying multiple emotional and sonic spaces at once. Xiu Motha Fuckin’ Xiu: Vol. 1 is uncompromising and unsparing, driven by a kind of manic clarity that refuses prediction.

[A] frustratingly muted but nevertheless enthralling follow-up.

This is a lovely, lovely piece of work from a band that are still to produce a dud.

Deep In The Iris feels like something of a sidestep for the band, a digression that toys with candour while still being dominated by a carefully calculated instrumental palette. Overall, their song structures are more concise than they’ve ever been, and they demonstrate an increasing willingness to draw from popular paradigms.

Shrink Dust is still very much a CVG record, just one that you can cozy up with a little easier.

Moonshine Freeze is an album that sparkles with exuberance and energy, but it also subtly and steadily gives up its deeper secrets. Stables has always had a knack for accomplished melody and intriguing lyrics, and as you dive under the surface, you can’t help but find a wealth of inspiring rewards.

Those who like their Bad Seeds really bad may be disappointed with the tracklisting, but what stands true with this release is that Cave can be at his most powerful when at his most soulful.

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.

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.

Ever since 2009’s lo-fi debut Bird-Brains, every Tune-Yards album has offered raw excitement. Better Dreaming does too, and it may just be their most uplifting and inspiring work to boot. Give it a listen – you’ll be dreaming better.

Plainly speaking, this is psychedelic music, and it’s music that’s both moving and a pleasure to move to.

On her debut, Sleepless Dreamer, the folk-soaked, pedal steel tinged sound felt like a familiar friend knocking on your door. With Magic Mirror, that friend has returned, with some stories to tell while ready to dazzle with a sparkle.

It’s a fine tuned record that leans into bold pop refrains whilst gripping firmly onto its DIY roots. It’s an irresistible listen.

The Rat Road is a record from not just a producer, but an artist, fully in command of his new direction.

These are songs with the glossiest pop sheen steamrolled over them, erasing any wrinkles or mishaps – the exact thing that made her so endearing to begin with.

In the end, Sleater-Kinney’s ongoing evolution may divide opinion, but there’s no doubt that this is a band that still has important stories to tell.

Everything’s been cleaned up and beautifully balanced, and it’s for the better; the engineering is so good, in fact, it actually elevates the songs themselves. ... While nothing here [in the collection of six demos] is all that revelatory, it’s still fun to watch the band tinker with their songs.

There’s a self-assuredness that runs throughout the project. Crisp and crystalline, the cohesiveness alone make Diamond’s latest re-imagining of pop pretty much perfect, but it's her attention to detail that elevates it even higher. Lyrically she goes deeper than before, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the album takes a dark turn – in fact its sound is bright and bold.

Each tone, note, or scrape here seems deliberate and purposeful without ever feeling overly controlled.

It’s a record that celebrates the wonder of sound, with deceptively intricately songs under a balmy haze of reverb that gets better with each listen.

What lets the record dive into her usual realm of staggering emotional depth is, again, her emotive core relentlessly shooting out UV rays of hesitant optimism.

Even if a few rougher edges wouldn’t go amiss, the results prove resonant, occasionally reminiscent of the similarly genre-blending mash-up of black music styles exemplified by Sault.

Desire Lines is another gorgeously-crafted pop record from a band that make them look easy; melody, harmony and sophistication are all present in abundance.

While the peaks on +- are cloud-scraping highs, there are lows to temper the bliss.