By the time Continuum 10 closes the album with a flash of rapture, and a gentle piano progression that signals the closeness of the next rebirth, it feels like your soul has been thoroughly cleansed.

Autobiography offers a fascinating glimpse into the complex mind of one of dance music’s most enigmatic figures.

Viagr aboys is a return to form and pushes the band’s strengths to the forefront. Although the album perhaps lacks tracks with the earworm qualities that past songs like Sports had, the band succeeds in creating a bizarre and entertaining listening experience.

The strained clarity of Zauner’s voice is what makes this album so beautiful, particularly during the contemplative balladry of This House. Moving and inspired, Soft Sounds From Another Planet is yet another lesson in guitar pop perfection.

Giannascoli continues to ring genuine emotion from strange affectations and modulation to change his singing voice. It makes when he sings pretty (Oranges) hit even harder.

At 16 tracks the album does slightly outstay its welcome, and in its latter stages it begins to feel like ideas are being repeated, but with less focus and immediacy.

Pensive, resting beats provide a backdrop to the album's many experiments with it really popping in its quieter moments of lyrical reflection and confrontation. Loggerhead requires repeat listening to discover its true depth.

A dozen records deep in their career, we find Lambchop at their most adventurous, and it sounds wonderful.

Ultimately, Need to Feel Your Love remains a statement of defiance from a band full of it.

The whole record contains this sense of purity, the songs sitting somewhere between hymns and nursery rhymes, not just in their simplicity but in the sense they seem to have always existed.

A challenging but rewarding album, Aviary continually grasps towards communication, exulting in common humanity amid societal ruptures.

Baker doesn’t shy away from the weight of depression, but depending on your emotional state, the album is either cathartic or overbearing.

If anything, uknowhatimsaying¿ is a little more controlled than Brown’s previous record, and perhaps that’s the experienced hand of Q-Tip exerting influence. It does nothing to besmirch the crown that Brown has already claimed as his own – as one of the best, and most boundary pushing, artists in the rap game.

The Attachment Theory highlight fascinating new aspects to Van Etten's craft, like the reflective prisms of precious stone. What is lost in cohesion is made up for by an exploratory freedom that the band revel in, hopping from wistful to explosive to triumphant.

The question of identity is touched upon throughout the songs here (national, political, gender), but in terms of musical identity, Hurray for the Riff Raff know exactly who they are.

What could well be their best effort yet. ... We're taken on a journey through many different genres, concepts, voices and anthems (I Don't Wanna Live in This World Anymore) which all manage to work cohesively to create an unbelievably satisfying whole by the time of finale Joy Stops Time.

This is something at once new and familiar, and it demands your attention immediately.

Like the image its title evokes then, Light Upon The Lake is a transient pleasure--but a vivid one while it lasts.

As much as has been made over the years about their esoteric methods, what they've always managed to do as a band is keep clever-clever at bay. This continues on Crooked Wing. For all their hifalutin techniques, they remain at their sublime best when most heart-on-sleeve.

Tina’s bossa nova rhythms slip awkwardly between homage and parody, its retro charms uncertainly realised. Yet even these misfires retain the warmth and sincerity that make More an inviting return. Pulp demonstrate here that revisiting the past can yield genuinely uncompromising and organic rewards.

The vividity of NAO’s lyrical expression leaves the listener deeply enthralled and invested in her stories. Thankfully, downtempo closing track A Life Like This provides some reassuring confirmation that everything has come together.

Gargoyle kicks massive ass; here are ten songs you won’t be able to hear enough. Just about essential.

At 20 tracks long, however, it takes some serious listening to get through the whole thing, and a sense of sag in the latter third threatens to overpower on the first few spins. Essentially, this flower could've used a little more judicious pruning.

On the Land Blues is especially reminiscent of the latter’s Blue Ridge Mountains, but lacks their pathos and grandeur. Otherwise, there’s plenty else for the ears to feast on.

It’s in the curation of the record where Ayewa excels, presenting a platform for black and queer collaborators throughout.

It's a continuation of their bombastic instrumental rock, adding enough new experiments to keep things interesting, but staying close enough to their well-hewn sound to ensure a cosy familiarity.

Plowing Into the Field of Love was a champagne swilling, country honky-tonk left turn; and now comes Beyondless, a record altogether more iconic sounding, but no less strange. ... Iceage continue to be one of the most exciting bands in music.

A poignant but punchy triumph then, perfectly timed for mid-winter maladies.