By stripping back the layers of overbearing electronic production of the past, they've recorded an album of lush and elegant pop music, beguiling and gloriously cinematic.

A dance party to release your demons to, they cast yet another lyrically beautiful and musically capitulating spell.

It’s the sound of ‘60s experimentation smashed stunningly into the present day.

‘Jubilee’ sees Zauner fully unshackled for the first time, keeping the emotive core of her songwriting and marrying it with boundless energy and ambition. It’s truly a triumph.

It's hyper real hip-hop made just in time for the end of the world.

‘star-crossed’ demands to be listened to in one go. ... She has calcified a range of difficult, overwhelming, sometimes liberating emotions into a time capsule marking the most turbulent time of her life. This is heart on sleeve storytelling.

It’s a magnificent experience. ... If you’re not a fan, or never heard of them before this is the perfect album to start introduce yourself to them. ... Because: trust me on this, it will hold your attention.

A final project that is both delicate and explosive. Whether curating the voices of those around him, serving as the production-backbone of a track, or cultivating and polishing his own voice, Lil Silva delivers.

Compiled by Nick Cave and founding member Mick Harvey, the three-disc editions offer 45 tracks to explore the thrilling journey of one of the planet’s most uncompromising and enigmatic groups. All your standards are here.

It’s a truly fascinating listen.

As faithful as these songs might be to their back catalogue, OMD have never been ones to repeat themselves, and everything here shines with an intense and neon-lit originality.

As lyrically profound as ever, yet with a tinge of detached romantiscm. Pioneers they remain.

Full of self-aware wistfulness and post-ironic references, it avoids the pitfalls of many other flash-in-the pan internet culture records by also being genuine; genuinely nostalgic, genuinely sweet, genuinely interesting, and genuinely great.

While ‘My Name Is My Name’ was a great album, this is a masterclass in design: in contrast to the 20+ track albums of this streaming era, Kanye’s ruthless editing ensures every song, every bar and every sample have purpose.

This is the kind of record that inspires new listeners to explore unfamiliar sounds and musical histories; the kind of record that bodes very well for the future of British jazz.

It contains some of his finest work, and this lengthy package is a profound expansion on the sessions, live shows, and experimentation that took him there. A terrific piece of Dylan lore, for casual fans and Dylanologists alike.

It demands your attention, but more importantly, it deserves it too. This is the sound of an artist in complete control, full of confidence and dazzling flair.

Brilliant – if overdue – debut album. ... Welcome to Alison Goldfrapp’s paradisiacal, tempting, thrilling vision of the sublime.

The Eel Pie Islanders' sees the band mature as songwriters, which should attract the mainstream attention that's so overdue them.

Charli starts and ends with hard disorienting club bangers, leaving the middle of the album space to expose her tenderness and vulnerability while still retaining her futuristic, unpredictable sound and penchant for an irresistible pop hook.

Despite its meticulous and grandiose instrumentalization, this record is Nandi Rose’s 'Camelot', a masterclass in her own interpersonal gut-wrench, where she has finally figured out how to build a wall of sound that compliments her breathtaking vibrato.

This mature, experienced point of view on the nation’s favorite pastime is bound to rock clubs this summer.

The twenty-track project, dedicated to his late mother, features Headie’s strongest, most reflective writing to date. Distance offers clarity, and the further he navigates away from his past life, the more vivid the pictures he paints of it.

Just as grand as one would expect from the German rockers, ‘Zeit’ is a disorienting, glorious dose of Neue Deutsche Härte. Thick with charisma and a sharp sense of theatricality, this is another certified classic.

This is a slow-burning, deeply resonant collection with a stirring potency and the capacity to truly wow.

Soaring vocals and clean-cut production allow for an easy listen where listeners can grasp the feelings of the collective. This new release was needed, not just for the fans who have been dying to hear new music, but needed for the music community in general. The current climate is dark, moody, uncertain with the pandemic in mind, but this new album brings joy and happiness in a time where it is needed most.

Out of devastation, Loraine has pieced together an album to cherish.

C'mon is such a delight, simultaneously luscious in their orchestration and muted in their delivery. Beautiful.

A peerless left-field masterpiece.

The interplay between Young and Promise of the Real is great and dare I say, they somehow manage to out ‘Crazy Horse’ the actual Crazy Horse. This is a greatest hits selection worthy of Elliot Roberts’ 50-year friendship with Neil Young.

'Cruel Country' is neither ironic, nor frivolous: it’s a sprawling double-album that stands as one of Wilco’s best, an ever-moving meditation on the quest for connection in a country that’s often cruel but always worthy, in Tweedy’s eyes, of forgiveness.

‘Gold-Diggers Sound’ is an effortless and easy listen thanks to the high production value, Bridges’ velvety-smooth vocals, and the strength of his songwriting, it’s set to be one of the albums of the year.

The 13 smooth jams showcase Joy Crookes not only as a vocalist or candid writer but as the new face of British soul. While many artists chase nostalgia, Crookes offers a different way forward by disregarding the traditional boundaries of classicism.

Whilst lyrically, it is a portrayal of insecurity and pain, sonically it is a bright, glistening piece of pop magic that merges the quintessential style seen on The Japanese House’s three EPs with new points of exploration that only increases the excitement around this enigmatic superstar-in-waiting.

Some listeners may find fault in the looseness with which the mix is put together and the unexpected results that the track pairings create (see the transition from the heavy rhythms of ‘Nocturne’ to the Craig David-sounding vocal samples of ‘So It Seems’, or the unashamed ‘70s funk of ‘Vs’), yet it is in these very moments that Snaith’s creative bravery and vision come to the fore, subverting t

This is an album encompasses everything Klein has experienced so far. It is rich with texture and ideas. Let’s hope it doesn’t take her another lifetime to create something as singular and enjoyable as this.

Bonito Generation is likely to be the most fun album you’ll hear all year. The production is disarmingly joyous and, thanks to a predilection for early ‘90s dance, some of the tracks here are absolute bangers.

Porridge Radio have not only written the album of their careers but possibly of the year too. Their new project ‘Every Bad’ is full of the catchy songs that are overflowing with lo-fi ramshackle post-punk guitars and uplifting vocals.

Pom Pom Squad seize these influences and DIY them to fit their own Gen-Z aesthetic. In other words, ‘Death Of A Cheerleader’ is a tour-de-force that toasts to all of our own Dumb Bitch Selves.

Art-rap that refuses to be hemmed in, ‘LP!’ excels by tapping in to the rapper’s undoubted verbal virtuosity, while augmenting it with blistering production. Another triumph from one of rap’s true creative visionaries.

A collection that is deeply reverential to the Americanised folk music form, and which also gratefully repays the debt that Rufus Wainwright owes it.

It’s a phenomenal record, undoubtedly one of the finest to be released this year – in its mood, kineticism, and an adorned darkness, ‘Untitled (Rise)’ captures something truly remarkable about this chaotic era.

This polished set is pure aural candy from front-to-back and firmly re-establishes Jackson as one of Britain’s premier pop talents.

There is a risk that we might take such quality for granted. Just one listen will remove any such complacency.

This [‘I am William Corder’], the pinnacle of a truly masterful, sonic annihilation of a record, is a murder ballad not in the melodramatic gothic tradition, but something else, something transcendent, and like the rest of the record something terrifyingly transfixing.

She may not take life too seriously, but when it comes to making divine music, Beth means business.

Gimme Some, sixth album from Swedish indie pop types Peter, Bjorn And John, is absolutely superb; sunshine and a hundred beach parties stuffed into thirty minutes, sprightly and joyous, cool, confident and glossy.

Martha are everything you want a great pop band to be: students of their trade, people with something to say and the vocabulary to do it, a distinctively joyous sound and a grand sense of humour.

It’s a dense work that’ll be discovered thriving equally happily in the niche of teenage bedrooms as in underground cults and a nebulous haze of mushrooming Mixcloud communiqués extending over the horizon.

It’s a delightful, towering debut that will indeed leave you ecstatic.

Yes, 22, A Million is painfully, painfully sincere. Yes, it’s also hopelessly oblique, grandiose, and pretentious. Yet it’s also an absolute diamond of a record, at once fragrantly beautifully and also hopelessly complex, easy to disregard and yet thoroughly hypnotic.

With its heady hooks and exuberant riffs, ‘But Here We Are’ is ambitious, poignant, and vivid in equal measure. The emotive and raw sonics are painful but positive at the same time and we as listeners feel every note, line and beat throughout this ten track album which ranks as one of the best Foo Fighters albums in their history.

The album marks itself as one of the most special and singular of the year and beyond. With a cohesive tone of lysergic, hypnagogic soupiness, yet plenty of variety, the genre traversal is almost seamless. The only major struggle from ‘partygatorpurgatory’ is the impatience induced in waiting for more.

Somewhat removed from the robust radio friendly pop of their first Hoffer collaboration The Life Pursuit, this latest record inhabits a more delicate sonic framework, reminiscent of early B & S.

Ronson’s ability to tap into each artist’s strengths and dig out their particular prowess allows each voice to shine through and own each individual track. This is what elevates the record to a guaranteed award winner and a truly empowering listen.

It immediately stakes its claim as the rock album of 2015.

His are fragile, beautiful songs floating over warmly alien, sometimes seemingly formless musical structures yet it's an effect borne through unconventional levels of space and patience.

Finely crafted folk is elevated towards greatness by the stunning voice of Alessi Laurent-Marke.

The 24 year old wrote, arranged and produced this album all by herself. The work of an immensely talented melodic mastermind, Laetitia Tamko's second album touches on the magical.

The National are closer than ever, the type of closeness that allows individual growth, and this organic coming together is reflected in the collection of songs on ‘Laugh Track.’ Music that will no doubt stand the test of time.

This isn’t just a Greatest Hits set, oh no, throughout Young and Crazy Horse throw out hidden gems and deep cuts. ... Again, though, we return to the question “If Neil had this and ‘Homegrown’ in the vault, what else is there?”

An artist haunted by the prospect of his passing while still facing down new challenges, Bob Dylan remains above all else a student of America.

An impressive debut album which will both enlighten and entertain.

Elaenia is one of those rare albums that crosses genres and audiences with ease due in thanks to the sheer craft that's gone into its seven tracks.

Twenty-seven years on from their formation, their ability to convey the spectrum of both emotional and political feeling through the raw power of music remains unparalleled.

This combination of sounds and personalities diagnoses the band and album number four with bi-polar disorder. Let's pray they never recover.

‘Joy’All’ finds Jenny Lewis chasing her instincts, working with light and energy. On the closer, she warns “if it ain’t right it’s wrong…” – on ‘Joy’All’ everything feel’s right.

Cloud Nothings’ best work to date.

‘i/o’ takes us on a journey… of life and all of its experiences and is set to be one of Peter Gabriel’s greatest solo albums to date.

End Times may be a tunnel with no light at the end of it, but the bleakness is beautiful.

This debut album from the Manchester trio is a captivating Gothic Americana creation.

Never one to hide his emotions previously, Rufus Wainwright offers a sparse but staggeringly heartfelt collection of songs for voice and piano, influenced, at least in part, by the long-term illness and recent passing of his mother.

The intuitive, steady flow of writing in the studio means that the record can lack form. And yet, despite some generic meandering, none of the productions come across as derivative.

What Clipping have done on ‘There Existed An Addiction To Blood’ is show that hip-hop doesn’t need to keep to convention to be gripping and visceral; refusing to be placed in stasis for the sake of chart success, the group deserve all the plaudits that will come their way.

A gorgeous album, ‘Big Sigh’ is a winter treat for the long January nights.

A shift away from the sampling of his debut, Underneath The Pine keeps things sweet and traditional, leaving you lazily grinning from ear to ear.

The songwriting leged could easily be rehashing old songs and playing it safe, but instead he’s written an album full of catchy songs, searing riffs about hope for the future, rather than dwelling on the past.

It won’t be for the faint-hearted, but if the primal throb of Neneh Cherry’s ‘Blank Project’ ensnared you in the early months of 2014--and it’s hard to imagine how it wouldn’t have--then there is similar pleasure to be found in the utterly absorbing company of Rhythm.

Refusing to be hemmed in, it’s a record of real ambition, an example mirroring fan-pleasing tendencies with actual artistic growth. Sometimes the sequels really are better.

Intensely relaxing, wonderfully addictive, and ultra-mellow, ‘Moredechai’ is this summer’s sunset record.

A project with literally no skips, ‘Fire’ seems to lay down a marker for his peers – The Bug is back, and the bar has been raised yet again.

Kind is a heartfelt, fully realised collection of songs, embedded with optimism providing a much needed hope for our challenging times.

It looks to be a strong move in his transition to adulthood and proves there's far more to him than being a pretty face for schoolgirls to swoon over.

Together, this project might rank as a career high, a work of breathless yet intoxicatingly accessible complexity.

It's a more mature record, one that keeps the energy of its predecessor and filters it through new sonic filters. Thanks to its subtle mix of styles there's a timeless quality, the sound of freethinkers finding their feet in a very weird time. Get on it.

It's brutally honest, yet comforting and displays the freedom and catharsis she felt via making it. A compelling new chapter for old fans and a thrilling set for fresh ones.

It’s the honest messaging that makes ‘WORLD WIDE WHACK’ her bravest work to date. This is music to get lost in. Whack seems to have lost herself and found herself within it too.

Haiku Salut use instruments as a tool to tell stories, and the band’s emotional gravitas is symptomatic of how this type of music can triumph against all the odds.

A record composed of experimental dissonance and slick pop bravery, ‘PARANOÏA, ANGELS, TRUE LOVE’ ranks as the boldest aspect of his career to date. A project that searches for honesty, it places Christine and the Queens in a quite singular lane of alt-pop abstraction.

Viagra Boys stamp a great big watermark over this album as they engrave their aesthetic right down to its core. ‘Cave World’ sees them bounce back with another grandiose LP just a year after their last – true miracle workers.

Overall, ‘The End, So Far’ is a remarkable punch of sharp, sobering heavy metal. Slipknot yet again thrive in their signature darkness – however, there it no doubt that this album would be elevated by more cohesion.

With new voices, new avenues of exploration and new lyrical viewpoints, The National, alongside producer-director Mike Mills, once again show their ability to reinvent themselves to produce something that is more than just an album.

‘Cool It Down’ feels defined, succinct in a way that suggests complete confidence – it’s also a weakness. A smidge over 30 minutes, and with only eight songs, it already has you yearning for what might come next.

The record holds a conciliatory anger at a civilisation that can’t save itself from itself. And through an exploration of war, bloodspill, loss and confusion Vera Sola has continued to tell her story, and invite us into her arresting world.

Their astutely crafted synth-pop cements their place as Pet Shop Boys’ spiritual successors.

This is what we have come to the expect from Eno’s ambient endeavours, and it remains as beguiling and original as ever.

While the opening moog throbs of ‘No-One’s Easy To Love’ and ‘Comeback Kid’ are initially distracting coming from an artist once known for her sparse compositions, they quickly blend in to become just another part of the atmospheric scenery that add colour to her widescreen laments.

An album of subtle transformation, there’s much to cherish here.