A signature sound is all well and good, but in the future the duo would benefit from indulging their inventive side more.

This is a special album, make no doubt about it, casting its spell as it makes both a moving memorial and an example of raw talent. If techno with a soul is what you're after, then look no further than this.

Their first album was one of the strongest debuts in recent memory and this is an equally impressive follow-up.

If this is to be the band’s swansong, they’ve left behind something timeless and quite beautiful.

This is an album that definitely deserves your interest, one of the best that New Weird America has thrown across the Atlantic in a long, long time.

Whilst Miri may not have the insistence and urgency of its most recent predecessors, it has a consistently high standard of musicianship and a depth, maturity, subtlety and insight that rewards repeated listening. It is a beautiful collection of music rooted in place, culture, history and ideas.

A Bath Full Of Ecstasy might be a somewhat eccentric name, but it ultimately does sum the album up rather well (assuming it means the abstract emotion rather than literal pills stacked up in a bathtub): a lush, adventurous experience, immersive and refreshing.

It is a cohesive musical statement in spite of its length. His first-hand experiences mean Okumu’s sonorous tones carry powerful messages, in what is one of his finest musical achievements to date.

God’s Favorite Customer is the next chapter to Honeybear: the story of the hedonistic shroom-addled Hollywood waster who fell in love and started to grow up, even if the occasional pelvic thrust, sardonically raised eyebrow or over-dramatic fall to the floor wouldn’t go amiss.

Black Country, New Road are no gods, but this inventive and likeable album should earn them a million or so disciples.

So from no albums in 13 years to two high quality long players in the space of six months - the star of Gil Scott-Heron is very much in the ascendency again, his influence on today's culture thrown into ever greater relevance by one of its finest new producers. It's that rare thing--a properly fine remix album.

None of this will come as any surprise to seasoned Costello watchers – indeed, it could be argued he’s been on a creative purple patch since 2018’s Look Now. For those who thought that age may have dimmed the fire that’s always been Costello’s trademark, A Boy Named If is proof positive that the opposite is true.

At times, there seems to be almost too much to process in Nikki Nack, and it’s true that this is certainly an album that repays multiple listens and complete immersion. That immersion will pay dividends, for Merrill Garbus has produced yet another deftly thrilling listen.

Songs Of Praise distils the best features of classic British alternative music into a vital band passionate to enervate, communicate and entertain.

There are numerous highlights to be found across these songs but Herod 2014 and Fetish stand out in particular.

Daniel Lopatin’s eighth album as Oneohtrix Point Never finds him splitting the difference between the synth-based abstraction of his previous albums and a more visceral, abrasive style. While neither of these are bad templates to work from per se, the result is an album that doesn’t know what it wants to be.

It has a daft title, and a few daft songs with hammy lyrics. It has variety, diversity and its heart on its sleeve. It has pretence, artifice and ambition. It has, basically, everything.

It may only be eight tracks long, but each song contains so much invention and ideas that repeated listens bring their own rewards. As the seemingly interminable wait for a new Radiohead album goes on, The Smile are making music that, at times, is equally extraordinary.

Forevher is the sound of a woman happy, in love, and going from strength to strength as a songwriter.

The Long Goodbye is a fiery yet thoughtful and nuanced record, with artistry and political consciousness on a level above most British rap.

Every track is quite full of life and holds no lack of energy that characterizes good, classic British rock ‘n’ roll.

There are plenty of power-punk melodies to ensure What A Time To Be Alive isn’t condemned to an early shelf life, even if to put it amongst their best work would be a stretch too far.

Stripped back tracks, smart beats, punchy bass, and Williamson’s dextrous barked delivery are all in place, and it seems that the band are in their dis/comfort zone.

Exploring increasingly adventurous songwriting terrains and expanding their studio capabilities whilst managing to retain some of the fire that once sparked up their engines, Iceage have delivered another tour de force.

For now, this is a hypnotic, well executed, if not altogether thrilling collection.

Shifting moods and voices effortlessly, Harding is an often technically astonishing performer, and Party is a work of quiet power. An inviting, captivating darkness.

In short, every song is an earworm, and Lianne La Havas’ third album is haunting in the way only inspiring music can claim to be; a beautiful ghost to soundtrack your life to. ... Truly captivating.

World On The Ground has an accessibility and lucidity that should see Jarosz win new fans. This is a highly accomplished outing by an artist very much in the ascendancy.