It’s strange then that in its opening stages it feels so lifeless. .... Then there’s the one-two of immaculate singles Girlie-Pop! and S.M.O., and it’s like the record has put its finger in a plug socket.

If Panic Shack has a constant theme running through it, it’s an appreciation of the power of female friendship, as crystallised on the disarmingly earnest closer Thelma & Louise. This is one of the debuts of the year.

On Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You Cain has once again been able to translate incredibly personal experiences into deeply universal feelings that come from young love and heartbreak.

This is a magical release with far too much on display to communicate; it’s worth trying though.

It was just a few years ago where her calling card was that distinctive wailing falsetto, one that could crash into a ragged growl in a moment's notice. It's noticeably absent on a record being held from anonymity by a single safeguard.

Like its name, Billie Marten's fifth album is one to be dog-eared – revisited, rediscovered, and cherished.

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.

It ["Black Orpheus"] is powerful, but in truth, it's the one track that doesn't feel unfinished, as Barnes' voice finally rises above the overwhelming mix that he's buried under throughout the album.

With Loner, Barry Can’t Swim cements himself as a boundary-pushing voice in electronic music, one fluent in mood, movement, and meaningful reflection.

Cate Le Bon and H. Hawkline join Gwenno for the spiky, feline Y Gath, sliced between the celestial ballad Utopia and the windswept desolation of War. Finally, on airy closer Hireth, the album seems to take off out of the city streets and into an otherworldly reverie, delicately strung together with harp and flute.

There’s no sniff of second album syndrome here. moisturizer oozes confidence and Wet Leg continue to play to their strengths in style.

After an hour it can be a lot to take in. But for all the soft pads and skittering percussion, the cinematic flourishes that are begging to soundtrack a near-future dystopia (he's already done Black Mirror), there are still enough unique and surprising touches to justify the long runtime.

While it may not break entirely new ground, this album’s embrace of mordant textures and restrained warmth – weaponised on album closer and sonic bath David – cements it as consistently compelling and quietly brilliant.

Flowers is another lunch-line scoop of hearty 70s soul revivalism from music's most dependable dispensary. It's just on the underside of too pretty for its own good.

Moments of rock brilliance are scarce. Your Take On, with dissonant 60s-esque guitars and talk-singing, is a jolt from whisper-soft vocals surrounding 2022’s Inner World Peace. Later tracks see development sacrificed for quantity. Despite treading familiar territory, Different Talking’s soothing melodies are tailor-made to accompany life's quiet corners.

On I quit, HAIM are unbound. It is brilliant, then wandering, then brilliant again; an imperfect, burning, compelling work.

hopefully ! is a new sound, but the album is just as beautiful and personal, showing Loyle Carner’s progress not just as an artist but as a person.

On caroline 2, caroline have done more than just cut eight glittering art rock diamonds here; they've forged a genuinely new musical lane, one entirely their own.

Raspberry Moon brings out the best of what the Hotline TNT project can offer; it's an emo-shoegaze-indie-noise-pop melting pot that hits just right.

While some tracks like Panpsych and Eternal Return remain lost at sea – the latter's lurching tempo is a bit of an auditory mess – KGLW's experimentation with brass, strings, and woodwind definitely hits more than it misses. Drawing together calamity and fortune in a novel way, 15 years in, Phantom Island shows a band still having fun making music together.

Her voice remains gorgeous, but tracks like Banit and Elnadaha never lift beyond a plod; never seizing in the way you know her work can.

This is the group’s first album without founding member Brady Ebert, and the riffs feel less inspired across the board. There are glorious moments throughout, though.

A confessional album that owes more to belief and soul-searching rather than a sense of direction, Lotus sees Little Simz blossoming from a dark spell into new light.

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.

In Limerence is a debut album that is at once confident and vulnerable.

At the centre of Shura’s third album is the rousing anthemic piano ballad I Wanna Be Loved By You, and it captures the DNA at the heart of this yearning, vulnerable record.

Overall, Black Hole Superette contains a number of fun and novel songs delivered with a remarkably detailed writing style. What really lets the project down is a lack of variety across an overly long tracklist.

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.