It’s a classic high-quality, well-arranged and passionate album from First Aid Kit, but this time--it’s not so innocent.

Every song leaps to action, be it immediately or with a tentative build, capturing the essence of what’s fun about life. There’s even some tasteful saxophone littered throughout.

Be it a preemptive rebuke or not, Snares Like a Haircut is assured on its own terms, showing No Age comfortable with music for its own sake.

Whip smart, furious and, most importantly, fun, Songs of Praise is the first essential album of 2018. And what an album it is.

Wrong Creatures has just enough of what made BRMC right, and a few tantalisingly brief flourishes to boot, but it's a balance that can only be struck for so long.

There's no hidden agenda here, the intention is to make as much noise as quickly as possible, and it sure does that, there's no deviation, no clever studio trickery, just in your face ear affrontery. It's a shattering, but ultimately thrilling listen.

There are a decent amount of genuinely stirring moments on this album to prevent it from falling completely flat. It’s interesting and occasionally shines but, front-ended with its strongest tracks, Two Trains ultimately runs out of steam.

War & Leisure is an album with a generous helping of highlights, not least because of Miguel’s enviable vocal versatility and affinity for dramatic songcraft, an irresistible combo that sees him playing both hero and villain in his own fantasy.

More than ever, new guitar bands have to have a hook to differentiate them from the masses, and it’s the combination of Lardner’s witty company and QTY’s idiosyncratic approach to a well-loved sound that makes their debut a delight to spend time with.

The LP is fourteen songs long, but never feels laboured. This is probably because in true indie pop tradition, most of the songs are under three minutes. With their jangling, sometimes-spiky guitar sounds and indie pop hooks; they wouldn’t sound out of place on the iconic C86 mix tape.

While Finding Shore certainly isn’t the most accessible of albums, it’s one that’s likely to stay with its listeners long after the dull rumble of its closing moments have faded in to nothing.

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.

James’ stark vocal delivery resonates on both an emotional and socio-political level on Tribute to 2, and, although he's is begging the world to unite and come together--something that, in the current political landscape of 2017, seems damn near impossible--at least music fans from all around the globe can agree on something: James has never sounded so elegant and in control.

There is a feeling that at times the record dips into repetition, particularly around the mid-point, though there’s no doubting that Omni’s intricate and deadpan approach is worth a visit for even the most casual of bystanders.

Hayward’s kinetic drumming and Moore’s topographic guitar sprawl recurringly align and separate, speed up and slow down together, in what start to feel like nearly identifiable patterns. Such shapes may be just figures in the clouds, but they catch the imagination as they drift by.

While Tove Lo is confident in her music, she reveals a lot about how she feels and how she deals with problems. There is a level of vulnerability that leaves the listeners feeling like they are experiencing the highs and lows of a party lifestyle right along with her.

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”.

The scale of Van Etten’s ambition--musical and otherwise--is now such that we’re never likely to see her make a wholesale return to this kind of territory; as a document of her songwriting origins, though, (It Was) Because I Was in Love is fascinating.

Björk’s Utopia is as much about attempting to reach paradise as it is setting up camp there. On her longest album to date, she has given herself the space to embrace the natural world as well as continuing to reckon with her past.

With its less harsh sounding vocals, it [Winter Weather] is the perfect closer, further demonstrating Khan’s desire for a more mature sound on his solo debut.

This highly visual, lyrically-driven mode of storytelling might not appeal to Baths fans who appreciate the minimal vocals and delicate restraint of his earlier work. ... Romaplasm, however, is clearly an album made by an artist who has made the choice to create in a way that works for them, blending innovative electronica with the storytelling of a comic book artist to produce a truly innovative LP.

While their new LP isn’t a beaming success, Ascending a Mountain of Heavy Light is indeed a push for change within the metal community and with that simple act of newness, The Body and Full of Hell put their own personal stamp on things.

For the most part, a palpable sense of uncertainty permeates the lower-key proceedings, with the eerie strings of the title track proving a winsome kick down the rabbit hole into a place populated by unease and confusion.

To give some credit, the duo do play around with genre here, dabbling with electro, metal and hip hop across its tracks, but fail to make it cohesive.

Just like Cohen, Devoldere is a fanatic for detail. The instrumentation and vocal delivery on Warhaus meet perfectly in the middle.

Out Her Space is Introducing’s twisted older sibling. Though some may be perturbed by the departure from Introducing’s Nashville direction, those open to Blau’s versatility as a composer and songwriter will find much aural stimulation in the united multiplicity of his works.

The substance to his music however means Anthropocene is consistently listenable, and at times immensely enjoyable. Exploring one of the most dismal subjects we as a race can face, it’s nonetheless a joy.

The title track stomps and spins with strands of the Turkish music influence the ensemble collected with their 2013 album, Dalmak. The almost-finale “Northeast Kingdom” pleads for peace and respite, but Mechanics of Dominion is aware of how uncertain any meaningful resolution appears.