Dancefloor-friendly pop music, but of a variety that remains intoxicatingly unmoored to the conventions and codes of the earthly realm.

Touching on Northern European chamber, opera, and folk traditions as they steer through a minefield of club-ready moments, Catharina Stoltenberg and Henriette Motzfeldt have created a sonic topography that thrives on paradox - it’s a disorienting pleasure to navigate.

Despite its tumultuous origins, In Quiet Moments is certainly a more accomplished record than its predecessor. An improvisational grounding and a strong lyrical brief have allowed the impressive list of co-signs to feel more pertinent, and in that, more able to successfully explore thematic material, both sonically and lyrically.

In Ferneaux is arguably Benjamin John Power’s most subdued effort under the Blanck Mass moniker. It’s a slower, more meditative affair which deviates significantly from its predecessors and whilst there are gleaming examples of Power’s sonic craftsmanship, they’re hindered by sections of profound aimlessness that move against the defined conceptual direction to be found elsewhere on the album.

It’s a record of successful explorations of musical avenues. The sparingly-used vocals enhance the instrumentation that, itself, moves between the minimal and the more full-blooded. A first rate illustration of growing musical ambition and inventiveness.

Nature Always Wins is an ambitious album. From the understated "Meeting Up" to the sprawling and off-kilter closing number "Child of the Flatlands", it’s the sound of Maximo Park not so much maturing, as it is them evolving. And while Smith might well argue it’s the sound of them aging, there’s still plenty of life in them yet.

The Shadow I Remember suggests something is incomplete, the band failing to consistently scale the heights capable at their gut-punching best.

Are there a few weaker moments here and there? Sure. ... But it’s impossible to be bored as you move from the filthy heaviness of "Giving Blood" to the punchy, melodic "Meteor", all the way through to the gorgeous choral rapture on "Dying Is Absolutely Safe".

The flow of the album makes it feel effortless, and not as if it was crafted periodically and with every detail mapped out. And as Sultana welcomes us into their very own Garden of Eden and we absorb further into the grooves, their honed craft is revealed.

The execution isn’t quite perfect - at times, you can feel the record trying, as if it’s labouring under its own weight. But the band, and particularly Ross, deliver it with such honesty that that much can be forgiven.

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

She subverts expectations and embraces contradiction, creating fascinating sonic concoctions with familiar ingredients, all brought together by her twisting melodic sensibility.

Granted, introspection is nothing new for the Newham MC, whose past works have tackled cancer, colourism and voting abstention—but here he lays bare his own story with disarming frankness.

While these tracks aren’t necessarily bad by any set definition, it’s worth looking at them through a critical scope and for grand moments like these that once carried so much weight early in their career, we have to begin asking ourselves just how many times can a group reduplicate their sound before their efforts simply become white noise.

A subdued record tied to no one setting. No matter where it is, Somewhere is a place of subtle beauty to find solace in.

Overall, TYRON is not quite the same intense powerhouse as Nothing Great About Britain. The strength of the first half gives way to half-hearted examinations of one’s place in the world. But Slowthai still delivers a compelling record which seeks to discover and establish a self-portrait that’s a little messy but worth praising for its efforts at rough-around-the-edges ingenuity.

While there are moments of significant note here, Glowing In The Dark as a whole doesn’t feel, or more importantly sound, like the album that will finally solidify the band in delivering what is their true potential.

New Fragility is an easy album to dismiss, especially when it’s such low-stakes (old band, low-key release), but it’s even easier to just enjoy it for what it is.

Sound Ancestors isn’t anything new from Madlib, but it only further cements his status as one of the great producers, artists, and minds in hip-hop

Who Am I? may be a sidestep on their journey to individuality — distancing themselves from comparisons to The 1975 by emulating Avril Lavigne isn’t exactly a foolproof plan — but for a band still early in their career, it’s another definite confirmation of their potential until they eventually carve out a niche of their own.

Like a well-oiled machine, the band’s constituent parts interlock with each other in punctual dexterity; supple musicianship that stands out more than ever on this robust sophomore affair.

Super Monster’s songs are each a self-contained story, but it’s unclear whether each song relates to a different person in Claud’s life or if they all revolve around the same person. Regardless, the unique identity in each one of the 13 tracks is what makes it such a terrific and arresting listen. Claud’s dreamlike quality of writing makes breakups sound nostalgic, unrequited love enchanting, and rejection a worthwhile pursuit.

The only issue for this record is that thereafter it meanders far too much and those lyrics that you loved at the beginning you begin resenting at the end as it almost becomes a caricature of itself. ... That doesn’t stop it being something great to chew on. Uppers is a great place to start and should rubber stamp TV Priest as one of, if not your favorite new act.

Gas Lit’s intent is so immediate, it communicates its significance regardless. Its statement is not just one you can hear or read about. More importantly, it’s one you can feel.

Whilst the album on a whole is routed in vulnerability – Williams the chanteuse, cathartically pouring whatever remains of herself into her most precious form of expression, “Just A Lover” signifies a shift; a marker of unfinished means, as the pieces she’s surrounded by begin to coagulate into an entirely new feeling.

A muscular yet nuanced sound that balances intricate arrangements and layers of subtle electronics and keyboard sheens with the sweaty dynamics of a guitars-drums-bass rock ‘n’ roll (this is very much a rhythm album) and you’ve a masterful record that sounds like a full flowering of a remarkable talent.

SHYGA! The Sunlight Mound is great fun if you don’t think about it too much. It uses some brilliant inspiration taken from '60s psych and prog rock and even some hints of '90s grunge. However, it’s difficult to not take notice of the sameness featured throughout the record that makes it that little bit duller than it could have potentially been.

For The First Time is ferocious and endlessly intelligent, highly considered and wildly improvised, eked out with bristling tension and set alight with a burning intensity and a knowing smile.