Soundgarden moved admirably forward with a strong new L.P, and while the performances missed some of the vitality of their youth, they still were able to invoke a tone and vibe all of their own.

Some of the tracks are so light and delicate, you worry they might blow away in the breeze. But the pace occasionally picks up, as on ‘Highway Blue’ which whistles along on a jaunty groove, while a punchy horn section on ‘Good Ol Night’ adds further colour.

With a low-fi high-five feel, The Black Keys appear to gentrify the rock’n’roll rodeo with an album of carefully poised tunes adhering to the rock-pop formula they spent their golden years trying to avoid.

Madame X isn’t just an album (if it is that at all) – it’s an opera, or a comedy of errors. It’ll make you feel confusion, frustration, happiness and maybe joy, but it will definitely make you feel.

Not without its faults, In Plain Sight sees Honeyblood explore new avenues and break-out of any box they were previously placed in, with a genre-less collection of honest, futuristic-sounding songs.

Third Avenue feels like a transitional project for Fredo, from his grittier street mixtapes to hopefully something more expansive. His inability to escape from his street-focused comfort zone is sometimes frustrating, especially when the project improves after he opens up later on in the album. But he gives us glimpses of a great project further down the line.

A valiant and partly successful attempt from K-pop’s biggest band to move forward in their music. While they undeniably remain a success, the recycled sonics and multiple references to past music makes it hard for old listeners to let go of past glory and for the new to connect with their current music.

At times this record appears confused and lackluster but its solid moments show GIRLI’s capability at being a rebellious and riotous pop star--qualities that were so prominent on her early singles.

Dusty Notes is an easy listen, but a Meat Puppets album shouldn’t be easy--it should be a hot mess. Somewhere along the way the Kirkwood brothers lost the ramshackle charm that made them everyone’s favourite musician’s favourite musician.

Cosmic Wind still manages to set a mood, languorous and lush, perfect on a capital’s rooftop, cocktail in hand, the last sunrays hitting perfectly. But you can all too easily imagine this slotting into some Spotify algorithm, a mood playlist titled “Summer Vibezz”.

The lush arrangements highlight his sophistication as a songwriter--‘Impossible’ comes on like ABBA gone synthwave--if sometimes verging towards the saccharine with repeated exposure. Yet this latest collection finds C Duncan in rude health.

Whilst for the most part this jam-session approach results in captivating instrumentals and intriguing points of sonic experimentation, at times it can become rather muddled, confusing and drawn-out.

In these trying times, it’d benefit from being a whole lot more confrontational.

This album is a black-belt in terms of song writing and instrumentation... but when McCombs’ lyrics can’t match up, Tip Of The Sphere sounds like it’s limping.

Whilst her lyrical ability is still under question, there’s no doubting her ability to arrange a band and alter the mood and meanings of some undying classics.

A deeply mixed return, then, and perhaps not advisable as your first entry point to his solo work. We all know that Ian Brown can make waves; today he has chosen to make Ripples.

Why You So Crazy? is a mixed bag, but the scales are tipped too far towards the underwhelming. Too much is poorly executed and feels incomplete, with an air of self-indulgence.

Collaboration with Rancid’s Tim Armstrong, huh? Sounds right up plenty of people’s streets. But that “sweet spot” (in the main) seems to boil down to some cheesy scratching in amongst the ska pop (see ‘My Name Is Rat Boy’) and Jamie T-style vocals. But all is not lost. The keys of ‘Follow Your Heart’ are dreamy and unexpected.

This album captures an occasionally combustible but largely uncomfortable sound of a previously fearless and pioneering band caught in a crisis of confidence, overriding their own musical instincts to pursue an idealised version of themselves they picture in their own heads.

The world of hip-hop and rap is changing and, while Future’s pattern works well, it becomes slightly repetitive with every listen.

The moments of nu-disco are superb, yet are weighed down by the sometimes-cringey segments of auto-crooning.

Though its DIY production takes some getting used to, it’s an interesting insight into where Smith is as a songwriter today.

As it stands FM! is little more than a placeholder--an interesting but self-indulgent sketch from an artist who could be creating masterpieces.

No Tourists is unlikely to win The Prodigy any new fans but it’s unlikely to upset any existing ones. And really, if rave-influenced industrial dance is your thing, these old heads are still a cut above anyone else out there.

It feels staid, played out, and more than a little boring; despite Ashcroft’s pleas for energy, it feels absolutely zonked out, the wire-thin production helmed by the songwriter himself.

Flawed but unbowed, it is a fascinating but frustrating listen.

Sadly, this lack of innovation seriously dampens those moments of electronic beauty.

Album stand-outs ‘Heavy, California’ and ‘Happy Man’ would have slotted into the last LP seamlessly and, considered as a whole, For Ever feels like an opportunity missed.