Promising and full of potential, the boys have delivered and exceeded expectations, it’s safe to say that their intoxicating indie rock cuts are here to stay.

Like with their lyrics, The Goon Sax are still working things out on the fly. Getting caught up in the feeling and riding the wave until they find some sort of conclusion. For the Brisbane trio, truly embracing that feeling, however messy, is what makes them so special.

This record has that waltzing, wispy quality which makes you want to stand on the top of a hill and have a good cry. It's far from the first album to do that in this style, and even further from being the most experimental, but it really nails what it’s going for.

Whether due to the pandemic or not, Contender however suffers from a lack of consistency mirroring the context in which it was created. Despite nuanced shifts in their sound, the blueprint remains much the same.

Subdued brass notes in the closer, “Left Handed Lover,” and the sludgy rock tempo shift in “Dogs” point to ambitions unrestrained by the genre confines of country and folk. Dozier does leave plenty of room to explore these ambitions more completely on a future project, but I Am The Prophet also remains dense and striking in its own right.

All in all, Pink Noise is a roaring success for Mvula’s reinvention. It’s a joyous celebration of her past, her present, and all the success that is to come in her future. Laura Mvula is back, and she’s not going anywhere.

Each element of Fatigue has its importance, distinguishing itself also by the prowess of some great and varied highlights.

Death of a Cheerleader takes a step back to roam over the whole of a young person’s identity, but the songs still pack a heavy punch. ... But in running the full gamut of young identity, there is pure, unfettered joy to be found even in the depths of rage.

CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST has no central theme or concept. However, where Tyler, The Creator shines on this project is how beautifully he fuses together the youthful angst of his earlier output with the older, more introspective side we have seen from more recent releases.

Aside from the constant stream of new sounds and instruments ("Revolution" may be the first song to utilise a steel drum for its big drop), the other joy of the record is its themes of self-affirmation and courage.

In its own way, Quietly Blowing It is great just like how the first few Paul McCartney solo records are great, or Tom Petty’s Wildflowers and Bob Dylan’s New Morning are great, or even albums by contemporaries like Laura Marling and Waxahatchee are great – it’s just pure, no bullshit emotional sincerity made for folks who need to feel a little connection to the wider world, to a greater consciousness. Best enjoyed often and amongst friends.

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

Boy From Michigan is an intense, involved listen that is bizarre and wonderfully playful even in its most traditional moments.

One Foot in Front of the Other is joyful and unpretentious – Griff seems to have indeed found her footing in the industry and it doesn’t look like she’ll be leaving anytime soon.

While Pedestrian is not the most remarkable album, it feels honest and comforting.

Freed from the spectre of Unicorns' success and freed from the burden of their debut Return To The Sea, Islands offers us the transcendent Islomania, their most convincing album in 15 years.

Garbage’s seventh record No Gods No Masters is their most direct and overtly critical to date, making for a visceral, re-energising listen.

Where Shall We Begin is a must listen. It takes your hand from the offset, guiding you over each obstacle found on the album and gently lifts you down onto a bed of understanding at its end. Truly beautiful stuff.

Her vocal dynamism translates particularly well in rock-leaning settings, where her leaping registers make their way through enthralling kicks and mean guitar riffs.

It’s brash, bold, and sometimes a little cliiché, but it’s clear they aren’t done speaking up yet.

It shouldn’t all work together, but the record has a beautifully cohesive groove, the many disparate parts seamlessly fitting together in typical Rostam fashion.

A cohesive record, on Soberish Phair sounds polished, clean and equipped with a new arsenal of songs about breakups, addiction and small glimpses into her inner workings.

An album that is truly magical, Man Made is a stand-out debut. After giving everyone a bite of the fruit with previous releases “Downers” and “Hu Man”, this is the full showcase of her impeccable talent.

Zauner is absolutely in her element here and it goes without question that while this is undeniably her year, she’s also just rebranded herself as one of today’s top-tier indie visionaries.

Truly establishing themselves as the bright possibilites of guitar music, and blurring lines along with setting new ones out, ultimately with Blue Weekend, Wolf Alice continue to be the very essence of what is to be a band while also remaining - more importantly - human.

The subtleties written into the album's DNA make all the difference (with the mention of the album's title in so many of the lyrics acting as unifying sentiment), almost to a faultless degree.

The narrative is unsettling, but the music leaps and soars with a boundless energy that could only be made by two people with the utmost faith in each other. It helps that the album’s production sounds rough and homespun.

PACKS take the listener on an adventure of love, lust, pain, and dreams that’s beautifully melodic and instrumentally fascinating - it’s certainly one hell of a ride.