This isn’t mere dilettantism, and while it’s likely to net both acts new fans from the other side of the great genre divide, it holds up more than capably on its own terms.

It’s about words and emotions rather than big pop moments; this is a slow-burner, which though possesses grandiose moments of musical glory, revels in the detail.

For now Pure Comedy is another elongated and extensive example of Misty’s intense outlook on cliché, contradictory and conceived contemporary life. If misunderstood, it’s easy to believe that the signified still signifies the signifier, but call Pure Comedy boring at your peril.

Waterfall is massive and unyielding, and marks Evian Christ now as a producer who’s mastered both tactile and intricate beats.

As a whole, Compassion is very impressive. It’s a largely fat-free collection of club-ready Danish synth-pop.

The formula might not be a new one, and ultimately Seratones are unlikely to change the world, but they will make your day.

The Visitor excels in the kind of attention to detail and musical imagination that's eluded Young in recent years. If the backing of California quartet Promise of the Real (featuring Willie Nelson's songs Lukas and, when playing live, Micah) has brought to mind a cut-price Crazy Horse on their previous two collaborations with Young, the band are superbly versatile here.

It takes from every era of the duo and amalgamates it in such a way that you it never feels forced or out of place. While we may miss those cutting riffs, they do more than enough to satisfy our thirst.

Though it may seem ironic that for all the glitches, warps and pops of their earlier material, Mount Kimbie find themselves gravitating towards the simplest of beats, Love What Survives is a close examination of how rhythm can define and alter our perceptions of electronic music.

The decidedly straightforward "Curves & Swerves" and the haunting, string-backed "You Don’t Know Me" - are amongst the album’s best. These highlights point to Harvieu as a voice in English music which has been missed and is more than welcome back, and she sounds like someone intent on spinning a rare second chance into something that will stick.

This isn’t one of the standout tapes in Thug’s ever-expanding discography. But, as always, it signifies development, progression--most of it accessible on "Drippin’".

It's not a perfect record and finds Gaga pulling in so many different directions, but these are songs tied together by a common feeling. There is so much warmth here, so much that's human, and a lot to love.

Somewhere in the combination of the album’s dramatic, heavy riffs and revealing lyrics, there’s a depth to the artistry that depicts both the political criticisms that sit at its crux, as well as the band’s trademark alt-rock sound.

Contradictions is certainly a step in the right direction and sees Paul on the rise once again. This album is a dark horse, a grower, and one that current fans and newcomers to his music will appreciate alike.

This is a soul record that sounds pristine and yet feels raw--whatever else might’ve happened in the last couple of years, Beal’s voice--both literally and creatively--has not been withered.

Whether you read the title as a refusal to die or a foolish attempt to cling on, it doesn’t matter; both are just as relevant, and Martha have gone some way to capturing as much of it as possible.

It’s a skew-wiff funk record you can’t dance to, something to get lost in while not immediate, stuffed with arrangements that have so much going on but you hardly notice once they’re set.

The Altar is BANKS at her most confident and most empowered; tough and willing to accept her imperfections without a care for who’s listening.

Overall, it can be said that Tea for the Tillerman² is a strong throwback that boomerangs and turns in on itself ; it’s not the perfect path to Yusuf / Cat Stevens music for new listeners, but it undeniably succeeds in touching nostalgic hearts.

It’ll doubtless polarise his core fanbase, but amongst those who recognised his capacity for following an exploratory bent as far back as “Setting Sun” in 1996, the response will be a pithy one--“about time”.

For if you don’t get distracted by the constant temptations of modern contrivances and social connectivity, and buy into these simple but striking songs that Lewis is selling on Electric Slave, then he’s got the cure for the modern ills and then some.

Individ is deeply nestled in The Dodos' shadow, gathering patterns of the past to construct their future without shying away from tried and true habits.

Ruins shows an added steel and stronger resolve, the sound of a band toughening up, but still retaining that initial spirit that made them so distinctive.

Her sonic advancement doesn’t smack you in the chops are much as it did on Interstellar, but there’s notable alterations and plenty of reasons to love it regardless.

Mercer is a poetic lyricist and his abstractedness continues on Heartworms. With all the extra bells and whistles on this record however, it takes extra attention to appreciate the details.

Twerps couch enough of a dark streak beneath their mostly sunny exterior to promise future explorations outside their current box.

Raw, thoughtful, and thought-provoking, Love & Peace teleports you to the dusty plains of America’s vast countryside where life seems a little simpler.

There’s a reason he's thought of as one of the pioneers of electronic music; he manages to create more than just simple sounds--instead, there’s an idea that the big picture is far bigger than you’d ever care to realise.