As a complete body of work, it’s eclectic and begins how it ends: inconclusively. But as an entry into Armand Hammer’s growing canon of mastery, Test Strips is their headiest and most impressive work thus far.

On Workaround, Beatrice Dillon leaves us to ponder how she’ll continue to transform the idea of techno and club culture.

Crampton packs a world of sound into her albums, and to listen is to undertake a journey of sorts.

Magnificently composed, Weyes Blood reaches out to cast your loneliness away. Feeling like a timeless classic, this record is one that you can revisit whenever you want to hear the comforting sounds of another soul trying to figure it all out.

In true Simz fashion, conscious reflections unfold over the producer’s sprawling arrangements. NO THANK YOU makes certain that every gap is filled tastefully: bellowed vocal ad-libs and melodies (“X”); tasteful guitar tinkles (“Who Even Cares”); or sampled vocal interjections (“Heart On Fire” or “Sideways”).

Purple Mountains is a project born of perspective and circumspection, not self-indulgence or score-settling. It may not be the 2019’s easiest listen, but it’s certainly its most honest, and one of the year’s most rewarding.

There’s simply not a wasted second on the record; all fourteen songs are simple and direct, immediately recorded in inglorious mono with nothing--save the cheap Casio autochord presets on ‘Blues in Dallas’--but voice, guitar and the album’s secret third instrument--the insistent hum of an increasingly-broken boombox.... The main draw of this reissue for hardened Mountain Goats fans, an obsessive breed at the best of times, are Darnielle’s new liner notes and a selection of seven bonus tracks from the same era.

Equal amounts tender and wild, Mitski places power in vulnerability. Validating every topsy turvy emotion, Puberty 2 is a soundtrack of self-awareness and self-acceptance at its most real.

The anguished sentiments of the songs resonate whether you understand Spanish or not, with the celestial tones of the tracks serving as an illuminating pathway to either heaven or hell.

Vulnicura is humanity at its most volatilely sublime.

CSNY 1974 does an unerring job at capturing a must-capture moment in music history, it’s just the moment acquits itself as more a valiant effort than a resounding success.

An album that delivers on all fronts, from the ratatat of drill or the swinging hip-hop beats, EDNA explores as much as it uncovers more sides to its voice. Throughout, the littered guest posts each represent a facet of Headie’s journey perfectly.

Whether the music on Jack in the Box suits your taste or not, it’s hard to dismiss this album as an artistic statement rather than just chapter 1/7 of BTS proving they can also make money in ways beyond official group releases.

Her striking lyrical flow has become more relentless but comes off more like a constant drip of honey than an imposing assault, at least sonically. On the other hand, the subject matter of the lyrics is rife with Socratic lines of moral questioning and political comedy. Every track excels in a topical focus that will not be spoiled or summarized by the deadline-watching eyes of a critic.

From start to finish, CTRL os nothing less than outstanding - the late arrival of a very important artist.

A messy, extravagant, astonishing, beguiling and honest experience: that’s love, and that’s also what I Love You, Honeybear is. Just magnificent.

The layers of noise, which at first may seem intimidating, are so harmonically rich they immerse the listener as the sounds interact creating new and unexpectedly mellifluous sounds.

There's an outlaw spirit to this record: when shit happens you just gotta get back on the saddle.

It’s the kind of record to laugh, rage, and cry to, very much delivering on its early promise of “All rip'rs / No more skip'rs.” Each moment, whether of effusive joy or of tender intimacy, is anchored in well-honed pop hooks, standout engineering prowess, and larger-than-life personality.

Less antagonistic than Gore and wandering down considerably fewer stylistic avenues than Koi No Yokan, Ohms plays instead like a spiritual successor to Diamond Eyes. Like that record, the production is polished enough to see your face in, and like that record, there’s a sense that the arrangements are being granted plenty of room to breathe.

It’s the careful balance of lyrical self-awareness and indifference amidst post-punk guitar that keeps you on your toes.

Despite the level of fastidiousness that’s standard to Daft Punk, Random Access Memories still sounds loose. The album doesn’t feel synthetic or disingenuous, as it perhaps should. So perhaps these two are cooler than anyone you know.

The moments when the singers get braver with stamping their own personality on the material prove much more memorable.

Yhe album is as allusive as the rest of Del Rey’s discography; Robert Frost, Sylvia Plath, Slim Aarons and Stephen King are just a few of the notable individuals both subtly and explicitly referenced by the singer.

This is one of those rare records that starts off strong and keeps getting better, more deep and resonant, with each track.

The album is undoubtedly going to end up on many writers’ end-of-year lists, and it’s only February. Remy and her co-conspirators have truly set the bar for great records in 2018, by drawing from the best elements of nocturnal power from bygone eras. It’s all here--just wait and see.

Whilst Bowler Hat Soup does come across as a little mashed-up at times, that’s its charm.

The Cleansing’s bounteous treasure trove delivers his most ambitious and potentially most rewarding collection of songs.