The diaristic, stripped back process it was necessary to use to assemble 12 makes it a much looser, more instinctive listen. ... What we are left with is a record of endurance, struggle and the lingering ability to create something new. 12 shows a path can be made, even into that unknown.

As the title suggests, I Inside the Old Year Dying feels like a product of Harvey cocooning, burrowing into a space that feels protected and unhinged from relevance or topicality, as time and space wither. With that she has produced her most beguiling work.

There's nothing raw here; this is a band settling into their status as Britain’s new rock innovators. There seems little doubt that this will be their most influential record, and it feels reasonable to place them alongside the likes of Soft Machine, XTC and Spirit of Eden-era Talk Talk.

It's sombre tracks like The Laughing Man where Clark carves deep into the family tree.

It's a little front-loaded as the first three songs are by far the most immediate (except Witness and Pour Another) and memorable. But luckily, Tall Poppies anchors the closing songs with its six-plus minutes (nothing else exceeds four), painting a grim portrait of dreary, provincial life without being condescending (ahem, Model Village) or reductive (Glory Days).

Protomartyr galvanize themselves into a more driving and forceful mode on the likes of Don’t Go To Anacita and Male Plague, wherein lie some of Relatives in Descent's strongest hooks, and ultimately it’s the strength and clarity of the ideas put down that could make this their best record yet.

Overjoyed, Adios Amigo, and Rumer are worth the admission price alone. All told then, it’s a beauty. The album his fans have been waiting for. An album to bewitch people who don’t even know his name yet. Finally.

There are no split decisions here. Divorce have delivered a strong early contender for album of the year.

For those not attuned to Peggy’s ability to tap into the zeitgeist, All My Heroes Are Cornballs won’t provide a lyrical turning point. But as a showcase for his skills as a producer, it should win over even the most dyed in the wool critics.

The album does get a little bit repetitive towards its climax. Overall The National have survived their electronic ring of fire relatively unscathed.

Their newest body of work retains a fiery core, it also reveals a more pensive and reflective side to the band.

The xx are moving forward, but they don’t know quite where they’re headed.

As always Deafheaven are anything but ordinary.

Bolstered with warm tones of sax and synth, bearing colourful thumbprints of the past, Pompeii is certainly a success of Le Bon’s continual daring.

Can we still say ‘wow’? The evolution in Joseph’s work is restless and searching. This release is no different as it serves us another intuitive and unexpected turn in her style, instrumentation and vocals.

Altogether, Working Class Woman is an incredibly cohesive art-house album with a perfect combination of electronic music and spoken word, and if it doesn’t punch through the roof of clubs everywhere at least Davidson will be sorted as a kick-ass life coach.

Distinctive and likely divisive, some spots showcase the most original beat-work you'll hear this year.

Semper Femina continues her decade-long hot streak with another collection of finely wrought vignettes on love, loss, and the empowerment that can be found in both.

It was inspired partly from the loss of close friends, but the mood is rarely sombre. More it seems to have galvanised McCombs' focus, adding a heft of sincerity to his occasionally flippant style.

CMAT is a pop tour de force who knows exactly who she wants to be and has all the talent to deliver it.

The record is a bit slow to get going, and at times meanders into excessive atmosphere – next to The Slow's Bullet's ambient fuzz, the urgent jungle rhythms on Higher and Devotion in particular pop. But Avery is engaging with the art of the album as a sum of its parts, and from start to finish conjures a fantastical, dreamlike world.

Through it all, Let’s Eat Grandma encapsulate the agony and ecstasy of youth--and even more besides--in constantly dynamic ways that demand your attention. You’ll be all ears.

The production is pristine, while none of her lo-fi charm has been lost. My Method Actor is a triumph on all counts.

There's a great album in Fontaines D.C., and Skinty Fia takes them one step closer.

This is untethered, uncluttered music, made with real heart by an artist at her peak.

Every song on People Watching is carefully crafted to remain with the listener. The bittersweet lyrics intertwined with catchy heartland rock and seamless vocals make this album Fender’s best yet.

From start to finish Parasol Peak delivers a unique and fantastic experience that just has to be listened to in order to be fully appreciated. It's accompanying film is bound to be just as captivating.

The result is less revelation than stress test – a popstar proof-of-concept. In that, Thirlwall proves herself pop’s newest chameleon: brash, uneven and impossible to ignore.