If this truly is the end for Dillinger Escape Plan, they've ended things by throwing down the gauntlet with such force that the reverberations will be felt for generations.

At 12 tracks, Radyo Siwèl doesn't overstay its welcome and is speckled with enough gems to leave a lasting impression. It's a bit cliche to say Mélissa Laveaux is "one to watch" yet, here we are.

Miss Colombia displays an artist who has a clear vision combined with a desire to experiment with sounds.

Midwest Farmer's Daughter will almost certainly stand among the best country records of 2016.

Luxury Problems is a highly impressive full-length album of dark, atmospheric techno.

A record this sturdy in composition and delivery has the resilience to stand up to countless plays, and that timeless ache for a good, hard cry.

While both rappers have met their match in terms of lyrical prowess and old-school ethos, the cavernous difference in their tones (Gibbs, deep and rough like a stormy sea; Curren$y, squeaky and smooth) keeps Fetti dynamic and wards of redundancy. Better still, however, are the moments when these rappers elevate the proceedings beyond street side cypher-style spitting.

Alex G is a genius at crafting intimately familiar feelings while injecting off-kilter miscues that satisfy the oddball compulsions living in our heads. The level of restraint routinely becomes unbalanced in an instant, yet the results are more reassuring than anxiety-inducing.

By making the geographically distant feel welcomingly familiar, Tinariwen have made Elwan a can't-miss release for curious audiences from all corners of the globe.

Double Negative asks much of listeners, but what you get in return is positive to say the least.

This compilation feels totally unnecessary and impersonal, neither satisfying for old fans nor will it convince new ones of the band's greater legacy. They deserve better.

Raven's unstructured, experimental feel may be unsettling for some, but the project's only other downside is that eventually, it ends.

While the shock has worn off for their follow-up, Deeper Than Sky makes up for the lack of surprise by being even better executed.

It's not a perfect album — at times it seems only a taste of the power that Porridge Radio will eventually wield — but it's an important album, a statement of purpose from a group with everything before them.

It's a shame to find Grizzly Bear spinning their wheels.

Across U kin B the Sun, Ford's first record in six years, she offers affirmations that are deeply touching and inspiring.

LP1 is a fantastic debut from an artist who is quickly becoming the curator of her own mental museum.

Sound Ancestors is a mixed bag if ever there was one. It's funky, it's psychedelic, it's jazzy, dirty, clean, and mean. It's Madlib.

Always honing and building upon their sound, Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism is an outstanding testament to Napalm Death's continued legend and evolution.

Exploring so many sub-genres of hardcore while simultaneously telling many different stories, Diaspora Problems vaults Soul Glo into the conversation as one of the most important heavy bands in 2022.

It's too familiar-sounding to be revelatory, but six years on from A Moon Shaped Pool — the longest-ever break between Radiohead albums — it's a pleasure to hear Yorke and Greenwood's talent undiminished as they hit the sweet spot of their sound.

Celeste put out a sludgy doom-inflected black metal record; this year, Indian turned the equation on its head and put out a blackened doom record, that's equally depraved, nihilistic, and crucial for any fan of truly heavy music.

This debut album stands on its own as an artistically daring personal statement.

To the Sunset is relatively brief, but it marks a substantial--and very successful--shift for Shires towards a progressive, literate and ambitious blend of rock, folk and pop music. It may also just be her finest album yet.

Soul of a Woman is a more than worthy farewell by one of the hardest working and talented women show business has ever known.

He's probably too modest to just come out and say that Present Tense is where beauty lies, but he should; this fourth Wild Beasts album is a stunner.

All the controversy gives elements of DAYTONA some delicious extra novelty, though thankfully its core ingredients are more than fulfilling on their own.