It is an astonishing album, cohesive but wide ranging, sometimes presenting Low as they were, more often seeing the trio forge on until guitars dissolve, words dissolve, flesh dissolves and everything becomes pure light.

While there may not be any surprises here, this is a small record holding some big thoughts--and Beam doesn’t need a big band sound to do them justice.

If this truly is the end, Sauna Youth should be more than proud of the work they've created. It is an oeuvre many would be lucky to have, and this album detailing the struggles of balancing your art with every day working life is at once frustrating but relatable and rewarding.

This is a superb album by three supremely talented musicians. More than that, it is an ideal reminder of the perfection that--even in today’s digital climate--can still be reached through letting three such talents simply play in a room together. Undoubtedly one of the true highlights of 2018.

It might be six years since the last album, but it was worth the wait.

Three albums in, and the four folks who identify as Terry continue to defy simple categories, even when their zigzag pop songs take you for a leisurely cruise.

You can argue that it doesn’t break new musical ground, and you can keep your noses upturned if you like, but with consummate poise Alkaline Trio have cemented their reputation as this genre’s premier songwriters. It’s not too late to get a heart-skull tattoo.

Thou’s consistency makes their records somewhat overwhelming. Magus’ arrival via Sacred Bones makes it likely to become many listeners’ first Thou album. Whether it is suitable for such a position, given the more concise appeal of the band’s first three full-lengths, is questionable. Nonetheless, much like the question of whether this is the band’s finest work to date, such doubts should not distract from the fact that Magus is a successful affirmation of Thou’s place as being amongst the greatest heavy bands on the planet.

It’s not just that Darwin Deez have recreated their first record, but made a more mature work, building on the intellectual learnings from the music they created in between.

By the high standards of Mogwai’s soundtrack work--and therefore their work in general--it’s a bit tread watery. But it’s still bloody Mogwai, a band never less than magical.

Treat it like a work-of-art, you might be moved to see shapes too. Treat it like a comeback album, and you might find you miss the point. Open your minds, your ears, your energy--and it will show you incredible sights.

Joy As An Act Of Resistance is everything anyone could have wanted or expected it to be: Idles have released the most relevant and at times gut wrenching album of the year.

Nearer My God is daring, flamboyant and consistently thrilling. It won’t make Foxing the biggest band in the world, but it probably should.

This is not a flirtation but the sound of the Necks entering genuine rock territory... and it’s brilliant.

Perhaps a little soft in places it is nevertheless beautiful and gently bruised, a welcome rush of emotion blowing across the borders of adulthood rather than a visceral shove between one state and the next. A solid album from a band beginning to bloom.

By the time of Smote Reverser's finale 'Beat Quest', it's plain difficult to not be impressed by this insanely talented band yet again--may their reign long continue.

His third studio album, Astroworld, feels like the grand opening of a vision that took a half-decade to perfect, still using the same psychedelic synth warps, diamond-cut drums, and reptilian hooks that initially skyrocketed him to stardom.

Stanger Today is the sound of a band doing what they want, knowing how to do it and, most importantly, having a blast doing it.

In truth, Animal Collective didn’t really need to depend on the visual accompaniment to Tangerine Reef as the record does extremely well to capture the essence of the life aquatic on its own.

A Broke Moon Rises takes a totally different tone and is all the better for it. The overall impression of sitting with A Broke Moon Rises is one of music being created as a comfort blanket: Pajo weaving a warm, familiar and enveloping sound world in order to soothe himself. Fortunately, it’s a generously proportioned blanket that can cover the listener too.

Outsiders contains all the summery charm that made The Magic Numbers so vital all those years ago, but by golly they've matured in their songwriting too. This is a full-blown adult contemporary pop record, in the best sense.

Qualm is a record of fiery, analogue experimentations and jams, executed by one of the most informed specialists in weird, retro gear and obscure electro rave. Hauff turns up the Hauffist sound up to ten. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but the kids in Berghain will love it.

When they push the boat out and go prog on the lengthy title track (which clocks in at a wildly indulgent near-four-minutes) the effect is one of ethereal loveliness, a lysergic suspension of normalcy as the band’s warming lo-fi offers a moment of transportation.

While Gurnsey still keeps his tunes all tight and trim like the most on-point DJ, Physical sketches out enough of the night life to convince us that anything could still happen.

The album is certainly steeped in the synthpop and post-punk genres so associated with their feeder groups, so much of this album feels very much in its comfort zone: a solid and pleasing sound with few surprises.

It’s an example of a glorious spoken-word-music jive that’s becoming increasingly popular. It’s an electronic update on whatever happened to the eponymous Jonny from ‘Lust for Life’s lyrics. It’s a piece of nostalgia.

Ordinary Corrupt Human Love is a waypoint in an increasingly divided world of niche cultures and categorisations, and it’ll capture the imaginations of those secure outside their comfort zones while further alienating detractors. Mission accomplished.

The group do not always connect perfectly on this album but when they do, it’s magical. Hive Mind celebrates musical collectivism and succeeds when it is at its most collaborative.