Stranger is at its best when it steps away from the safety of cloud rap melancholy in favour of Lean embracing his outsider identity.

Calling this 'No Waves' suggests a symbolic sympatico bond between the duo, best evidenced by the graceful way that Gordon and Nace hone in on controlling this beautiful racket with apparent ease.

Though her personal tragedy has been transformed into an affecting record of real beauty, one truly hopes Li’s next chapter isn’t quite so agonising.

From the shoegaze-tinged jangle-pop of 'Future Love', to the dreamy indie of 'Clouds of Saint Marie', Ride sound incredibly fresh-faced.

Less one-eyed compared to, say ‘Omega: Alive’, far less experimental than the last ‘Nighttime World’, ‘Victorious’ still leaves open the interchangeable nature of where Robert Hood starts and Floorplan ends.

The thrashing energy does relent somewhat towards the end, yet this remains an impressive introductory manifesto.

She embraces their words, often of death and reminiscence on youth, as if they’d come from deep within herself. It is, after 38 years, a fine reminder of her vital place in British musical tradition, as the essential elder stateswoman of folk.

Across its sixteen tracks, ‘Chromatica’ is entirely over-the-top, but in the best possible way. Every song is an anthem of defiance and empowerment, turned up to 11 and genetically engineered for maximum danceability.

Eight of these nine tracks constitute the best album for night driving under city street-lights since Growler's estimable ‘City Club’.

Ambitious, emotive, and completely open, it’s a gorgeous song cycle, drenched in jazz-leaning arrangements.

This teaser [is] no doubt just the beginning of a new strain of avant-footwork coming our way in 2016.

They’ve managed to meld together the grand themes of ‘The Soft Bulletin’ and ‘Yoshimi…’ with some of the experimentation of ‘Embryonic’ and ‘The Terror’, and it makes for a fascinating return.

At times soft, at other times thick with sinew, 'Not In Chronological Order' allows Julia Michaels to parade her immense talent as a songwriter, as well as her charismatic, oh-so-expressive voice.

Production-wise especially, this is The Weeknd’s strongest project yet, and deserves all the recognition.

Revelatory, raw but resplendent throughout, ‘Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran’ is one of Shakira’s best albums to date and is a fitting testimony to her strength and resilience turning what was a devastating situation into a beautiful body of work.

Dark, deluded and dangerously danceable, Paris Suit Yourself are the inspiration for wild dance floor seizures, or, at the very least, lucid gonzo dreams.

With lyrical viewpoints and musical references more diverse than ever, this set is his finest solo release to date.

Big, bold, invigorating stuff.

It’s not an Oasis record and it’s not a wholly experimental album either. However, it is his best work in an age and an interesting marker for a Weller-esque creative purple patch from an artist rediscovering their sense of purpose.

While human suffering or pain isn’t joyous, the special craft of nothing,nowhere. most certainly is, and ‘Trauma Factory’ is a splendid occasion for celebration.

Run The Jewels has again pushed rap away from regular rhythms and rhymes and into territories that they’re still calculating the dimensions of. May they never reach the sum of such remarkable parts and continue to exclusively Run Them Jewels fast.

You can’t tell that Bella Union founder Simon Raymonde and Wisconsin-raised vocalist Stephanie Dosen didn’t even make it into the same room for this beautiful collaborative record as Snowbird, such are its dreamy, enlightening and angelic qualities.

Altogether, 'Mood Valiant' is a joyous, frolicking ode to renewed life. It signals a strong return for Hiatus Kaiyote.

A record that refuses to divulge its secrets immediately, ‘Life Of A Don’ is packed with immaculate sonic detail while also relishing a certain directness.

Sleaford Mods have managed to express perfectly and effortlessly, what it feels like to live in 21st century Britain and from here, they can only get bigger.

‘How To Replace It’ finds dEUS facing up to their past and refusing to be hemmed in by it. At times daring, at others direct, this feels like the work of a band with nothing to prove.

A project that stands on its own, a work of engaging individuality, ‘Jackman.’ is his best, most in-depth album yet. Literate, experimental, and emphatically rebellious, it’s the sound of Jack Harlow operating on his own glorious terms.

Surefooted, revelatory, well-rounded and emotionally deep, ‘Council Skies’ cements his reputation as one of the best songwriters the UK has ever produced.

By tweaking the American seasoning in their long-simmering stew of English folk, Smoke Fairies have finally delivered on their early promise to create an album you can truly get lost in.

Allowing each artist to dominate the tracks in their own way, Girl Unit has curated a project so personal and progressive it’s no wonder he’s made us wait so long.

With echoes of Lou Reed in many of the tracks, including ‘What Makes Him Act So Bad’ and ‘Cigarette Burns Forever’, and faint hints of Green’s previous work with the Peaches in others - ‘Oh Shucks’ - ‘Minor Love’ sees Green marry his roots with the new directions he’s taking, and comparison to the tape recorder fodder of old isn’t so hard make anymore.

It won't be everyone's cup of tea but this could well be a guilty pop pleasure for many.

House music’s fire will never go out. And this pack of rhythmic aces can only help fan its hypnotic flames.

This is the album we've been waiting for, whether we knew it or not.

The opening three tracks are almost an EP in their own right, before a quick reset. Semi title track ‘The Art Of Starting Over’ begins anew, a straight forward bop that gets to the root of Demi’s recovery – her natural talent, her ear for pop magic, affording room for personal renewal.

The entire album is a beautiful assemblage of the ways we hurt, how we fall short, how we rise and how we begin again. There is a captivating dizzying quality when you listen, as if Salvat is transporting us to the inner bindings of his heart. There is inertia and there is quiet in the unraveling of the emotional.

Remastered and supplemented it has received a contemporary injection and doesn't feel out of place in today's scene with that Mould influence shining through.

[The music] shows you the lengths he’s still prepared to go, criss-crossing in lo-fi and between human conditions.

Yes, at times it is ungainly and crosses over that line into sheer noise, but it never stays there too long as Giant Swan is all about the tunes, despite all the distressed window dressing.

‘Beautiful and Brutal Yard‘ sees the Uju Militer remind us why he’s so adored. ‘Intro’ finds Hus sounding rejuvenated and full of new source material.

Bloody marvellous.

Remaining difficult to pin down even after several listens, it platforms a true artist whose creativity isn’t about to be hemmed by the marketplace – he’s got higher goals.

While British Road Movies can’t quite match the shock of the new provided by The Long Blondes’ early material, it’s a strong and confident comeback, and better than we’d any right to expect from someone who hasn’t been involved in an album release for over eight years.

Sure to be a hit with the disenfranchised, give the man a single bulb to perform under on stage and fans will be riveted.

Free For All is a debut album from a producer continually finding new perspectives on your favourite sounds.

This release feels like she is fully embodying her own skin – this is a release that aims for timelessness in its own right, allowing the true, unfiltered Miley Cyrus to step into the sunlight.

Iggy Pop is what it says on the tin and Iggy Pop is what every aspect the music revolves around.

‘That’s How Rumors Get Started’ shows that it’s possible to stay true to the genre but also engage in light touch experimentation and pursue other interests. This is why she is in it for the long haul.

With such grand ambitions achieved, great music produced, and a five year journey concluded and justified, Morricone would be proud: Rome was well worth the wait.

There's no doubting the commitment in delivery though, with solid musical cohesion and a thrusting triple-guitar assault that has an astounding clarity and is expertly choreographed.

‘Savage Mode 2’ matches ruthless entertainment to phenomenal artistry, a collaboration that works on a number of levels. Once more exposing fresh layers to 21 Savage and Metro Boomin.

The stabilisers are off for global fusion; the first ride could have been a lot worse.

Preaching the same elements on 'Different Scales', this EP shows us what is to come on Jenkins' forthcoming album. If 'The Circus' is just a prelude, then old and new fans alike are up for a special treat.

This is really an album about empathy, and feels incredibly necessary today.

Deranged and balefully bleak.

It’s a triumphant comeback.

With six of the fourteen songs already in the public domain, the LP tips its hat to familiarity whilst still creating a whirlwind of excitement from fans.

The tough guy act only gets you so far, though. And that is why 'Karma 3' really comes alive when East exposes his character’s soft underbelly. ... Memories tainted by regret and guilt – the flip side of nostalgia – resonate in Motown-style acoustic instrumentation and chunky Golden Era beats combined with a supreme cast of vocalists.

‘Silence Is Loud’ is unafraid to look beyond this hyper-focussed lens. As such, you’ll encounter jazz and neo-soul vibes, alongside bass-bin rattlers galore.

With ‘Hell Is Here’, HIDE have shown that a quick trip to the dark side might not actually be a laugh, but it can be somewhat enjoyable, as long as you don’t mind the static.

Black Panther: The Album is an instantly enjoyable project that allows its featured artists to shine under the watchful eyes and ears of Kendrick Lamar.

In an age of hostile austerity manufactured by moral panic-inducing powers, Ezra Collective’s debut effort is a polyrhythmic balm for disillusioned youth seeking a dose of musical dopamine.

It's a joy.

A record of real depth, ‘Wall Of Eyes’ closes on a sombre note. Distinctive, melodic, and defined, ‘You Know Me’ doesn’t so much pull at the heartstrings as slice right through them, Thom Yorke’s voice dissolving into a mesh of strings. It’s a suitably potent moment to end the record on – poised and suggestive, it becomes a bridge from one phase, to something as yet uncharted.

Down In Heaven is a great, hazy summer album.

This first true-solo effort sees the man responsible for some of rock's most iconic riffery joining forces with the friends he met on the way (including The Cult's Ian Astbury, Lemmy and Iggy Pop) and is a rocking riot from the off.

Cyrus conveys a jaunting and heartening honesty throughout her lyrics as she reflects on love, guilt, addiction and the business of breaking hearts. In a year shrouded by isolation and starved of social interaction, where individuals have been forced to discover the unexpected joy of solitude, “Plastic hearts” might just be the soundtrack to through this journey as you embark on your very own Rocky-esque beast mode montage of shameless self-empowerment.

Scratchy, inchoate electronics, heavy, almost-metal power gestures and subtle violin all conspire at different points to make this a beguiling artistic protest of an album, and singularly one of the most considered and thought-provoking records of 2016.

As pure and rich as milk and honey.

Self-consciously designed to echo a transformative lysergic experience, ‘Yellow’ comes to embody everything Emma-Jean Thackray strives towards, and describes: you emerge in a quite different space than the one you entered in, the world around you subtly transfigured.

Jazmine Sullivan makes her Everest-like task look deceptively simple. A woman speaking her truth in poetic, soulful fashion, ‘Heaux Tales’ could be her defining chapter.

Her very personal, almost rapper-like approach to writing and melody is at its best on the LP’s most emotional cuts.

Utilizing much fuller and considerably more electronic arrangements this time around, the album is uplifting and hopeful, though no less poignant; the tender self-evaluation of "What I Have To Offer" providing one of many particularly sweet moments.

A fine album that balances its expansive and experimental edge with rich, emotional musicality.

Presenting a portfolio of some of the best ‘rawk’ songs 2017 has to offer, The Amazons have remained consistent and have begun to embed themselves into the rich tapestry of rock ‘n’ roll with a bolshy stadium sound. If it ain’t broke...

An intense, ingenious and utterly insane listen, Murder Of The Universe is another brilliant addition to King Gizzard's already stellar and ever-expanding discography.

While this might not be the most pivotal ‘sad pop’ record from someone who arguably coined the genre, it can stand toe-to-toe with the best of them and few albums have ever been as appropriately named as so sad so sexy.

A 23 track double album, the compositional sense at show on ‘Old Friends, New Friends’ is worthy of Satie or Sakamoto; opener ‘4:33 (a tribute to john cage)’ blushes with intimacy, while ‘Late’ and ‘Berduxa’ are blessed with a twilight pensiveness.

Making Time is a solid album, but it's elevated even further by the presence of closing track, 'Dedicated'.

Crafted to perfection, Silhouette is outstanding in its audible beauty.

‘The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We’ is Mitski at her most emotionally raw.

The result of her personal awakening is an album that is cathartic, tender and heartbreaking in equal measure.

Mad and all-consuming, this is music for disillusioned youth with enough wry wordplay to back it up. In all its angst and menace, you can't help but feel liberated.

Authentic, uplifting and instantly enriching, ‘The Big Decider’ was absolutely worth the wait.

Haunting, visceral, and often beautiful 'The Great Dismal' is a record well worth checking out.

It’s energetic, diverse, raw and full of the forward- thinking chemistry and cool that The Kills are notorious for.

The concept enhances the experience but ignorance of it doesn’t affect it as one of The Coral’s strengths has always been the powerful imagery their music creates.

The lyrics are as sharp and malevolent as they've been in ages.

Her self-imposed solitude during its gestation period (she apparently spent 10 days in complete silence at a Vipassana retreat while writing) has led to a very introspective work that somehow still feels relatable.

Martyn manages to strip through countless layers, to absorb numberless ideas without losing sight of his own identity. A fine return.

it’s evident enough that Franz Ferdinand are masters at crafting stylish, guitar-driven anthems. Right Thoughts affirms this expertise, and is a very danceable fourth LP.

A remarkable talent, this is an album to cherish.

Sabbath have produced a muscular, urgent sounding record that does no disservice whatsoever to those early metal masterpieces.

Pure vaudeville, pure theatre--and pure Sparks.

‘Being’ is the most enjoyable album Maal has released to date.

Iridescence feels like Brockhampton have regrouped musically to create a great, if not perfect, representation and platform to build on.

Nothing Was The Same offers the listener a lot of what they’ve come to love (or loathe, indeed) about its maker, with the occasional flash of something a little more daring than might’ve been anticipated.

It again boasts a plethora of instruments and will likely remind fans why Belle and Sebastian are so great at what they do.