Nun is easily the most focussed and incisive record Teengirl have released to date.

In terms of its complexity and level of skill on display Breakthrough is a big step up for Bensussen.

There’s more than enough in this album to keep her in that position--so, come for the gay brostep, stay for the songcraft and character.

Z is billed as an EP, but that undersells the completion and cohesion of these 10 songs. Her voice may be gentle, the songs just left-of-center, but SZA’s lyrics demand attention.

At its most cleverly executed, Polysick's sound world is easy on the ears but never quite easy listening – entrancingly, exotically beautiful, but with a barb in its tail.

Considering her career so far, this is super cool, contemporary grown-up R&B that shows just how far Rowland has come.

It’s not a huge stride in a new direction, but its incorporation of new sounds into the established blueprint sounds like a band both mature and renewed.

It stands out as one of the year's most demanding, lasting listens.

Almost overwhelming in places, and certainly distinct, Light Asylum is, quite simply, a brilliant album from musicians who deserve immense respect.

As an independently made pop album, the debut of a new project and, essentially, an experiment, Love and Devotion may have weaker moments, but is very well accomplished overall.

I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up as the best dubstep album released this year.

Ultimately the genius of Kiss Land‘s production lies in its ability to literalise Tesfaye’s fractured state of mind.

Five songs coming in just under 18 minutes of superior darkly-stranded pop music.

Regional Surrealism will leave you with a sense of the unresolved, but that's no bad thing: think of it not as a neatly contained expressive statement so much as a window onto a deeply idiosyncratic meditative practice.

Ultimately, the album’s electro-house elements feel like comparative cheap thrills placed amongst the wealth of knowledge and craftsmanship elsewhere on the EP.

Although Gordian, as an album, doesn’t quite stun, the producer’s sensitivity to the form makes it a far more convincing prospect than most.

For the most part, it's content to lull the listener into a state of bliss.

[IV Play revisits] Nash’s usual tropes through a more varied sound palette that demonstrates a willingness to experiment and, at rare and glorious points, a raw sense of urgency fuelled by his bitterness.

At times, notably in Born to Die's first half, it's a little too perfect, with songs meticulous to the point where they become sterile, but when it starts to find form, I can't think of an album since My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy that was this big and sounded this good.

Lip Lock is exactly the kind of pop album that rappers set on crossover success should be making.

Tiffany’s voice at its most confident-sounding, it becomes clear that Rainbow Arabia have come on leaps and bounds from their debut, releasing an evocative, vivid album beyond the expectations of most.

It is satisfying--almost a relief--see potential in this record for something more from the group.

Their music is about 40 per cent less exciting shorn from the lurid splatter of their videos, but music in 2014 is a more interesting place for their presence.

While the final result may be uneven in places, if you leave your inhibitions at the airlock you're guaranteed an enjoyable ride.

For Years is very well made, especially for a debut, and has a lot of emotion--but it also feels applied to an existing context, and one that has dated quickly.

Better Living remains a repetitive, tonally monotonous album. But its a repetitiousness which works to further evoke a life of spirit-crushing routine, while reinforcing the idea of a permanent headache.