And so it brilliantly goes. ... These are classic Sparks moments, full of comedy, clever wordplay, deft explorations of all the myriad issues of the world, with arrangements that sound as current and fresh as a dew-soaked spring daisy.

The choice to make the album half fun, half sincere was a smart one, and the admirable trait of honesty through hardship definitely deserves praise.

Disjointed? Slightly. But who cares. He’s conjured something mischievous and joyful. A record that feels like it’s been beamed in from a distant star, sounding something like a near and possible future.

There is a heady optimism to the album. Instead of claustrophobic soundscapes, Lake has built elegant drones around pockets of space that allow the songs, and listener, to breathe.

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.

Loss, regret and shame are wound up in this album’s DNA, but they are balanced out by a generous dose of hope, a solemn promise that someone can go through the darkest of times and come out stronger, steadier and more complete than ever before.

The album's arrangement of serenading beats and jazzy undertones has genuinely proven that Kehlani is a force to be reckoned with.

’Ignatius’ is the album the hip-hop scene didn’t know it needed, the raw voice and understanding Jadakiss delivers here offers much-needed respite from the shallow music we seem to be swamped in at the moment. What a way to make a comeback.

The first half of the album is particularly monotonous, with the one-man band fervently spewing similar hooks that show very little dynamism and only serve a purpose to maintain a foot tapping rhythm.

Through channeling their frustration into their craft, Boston Manor have not only made their finest album to date, they’ve lent a voice to the disaffected youth of modern Britain at a time when that is sorely needed.

t’s open season on genres here. There’s the puerile punk of ‘Hollywood’ (“makes me wanna puke”), and the misguided balladry of ‘What’s With You Lately’. But they’re the only real bum notes. This experimental streak finds better pay off on ‘Hymn (Remix)’, crammed with juddering synths, and the delicious 80s pop of ‘Can’t Cool Me Down’. Sometimes, they veer almost to the middle of the road, radio-friendly hit ‘Martin’, warmed up with muted brass and intricate looping.

With this, Ghostpoet has created another fantastic, authentic body of work, meeting those high expectations.

No two songs are the same - each one brings something new and tells a melodramatic story to the album. There’s a good mix of more punchy tunes and sweeter tracks, making it a well-rounded record that's been worth the wait.

Tom Misch’s vocals return towards later in the project for stunning standout ‘Last 100’. The piano chords brighten the mood whilst a raspy yet soft vocal line glides down, with quick-fire guitar peppered throughout, while album closer ‘Storm Before The Calm’ rounds off the mood with bittersweet nostalgia.

Eight immersive and somewhat melancholic numbers that still evoke a great sense of calm. It’s a reflective record, made during a pensive season, British winter.

'A Billion Heartbeats' perhaps lacks the cutting perspective or lyricism of classic protest records, while managing to present the revolutionary spirit of old in a modern context.

It’s an accomplished album, but it feels like a debut and there is nothing here that gives any kind of excitement or majorly distinguishing feature that comes with time.

With a new sharpness, Hazel English has delved into a sophistication that dynamically blends her previous music to create an oscillation of hard and soft that exudes in her tonality.

While that album was littered with features, seeing artists put fresh spins on their classic material, this project is completely stripped down in comparison with the sole features being from Lil Tjay and Mansa respectively.

With their modest personas and its subtle production, it could be easy to disregard dvsn’s third record as more of the same, but repeat listens reveal a warm and unpretentious record, from an act confidently starting to evolve.

Unlike the release of his second studio album, KIRK released last year, a major fraction of 'Blame It On Baby' lacks effort and even originality.

Fiona Apple on a career of highs might just have produced her finest work yet. An album that we will surely look to as a cultural text, with its cutting commentary of contemporary culture and its feminist narratives.

It’s when EOB dares to experiment that 'Earth' really lifts off. The erratic, rumbling distortion of 'Mass' is as eerie as the thought of space itself, where his sounds tell a greater story than words ever could.

‘The Don Of Diamond Dreams’ is a glorious album that yields more and more with each listen. And listen you need to, because if you don’t you might miss something.

Enter Shikari have the tools and drive to create something potentially mind-blowing, it’s just that they fell well short of the mark on this occasion.

Raw artistry paired with rich heritage makes for a magnificent, spine-tingling first album for Rina Sawayama.

Anna Burch fills ‘If You’re Dreaming’ with deft allusions, enhancing her voice with jazz-tinged chords, soft rock blemishes, and singer-songwriter tropes. It’s all handled with her customary grace, however, resulting in a subtle record that gently overwhelms.

There is no doubting the power Roddick and James are wielding on ‘Womb’. The talent of Purity Ring as songwriters, instrumentalists and visionaries is clear to see – it will be interesting to see where the band can take their sound in years to come.