As a soundtrack to watching those flames flicker, it doesn’t come much better than The Past Is Still Alive.

It’s a beautiful record to immerse yourself in and just lose track of time for a while – once its myriad charms have become apparent, you won’t want to listen to anything else.

Her instrument has aged with her like a fine wine, like Iggy Pop, or like Mr Jagger himself. It’s completely her, completely unique. The new version is gleefully bleak and unwieldy.

There is something new and exciting in Ellison’s bewildering synthesis, and something very original in his seemingly unlimited horizons.

The lack of ripe new fruit is probably what makes Homegrown a slight disappointment, but judged by most standards, it’s still a very solid collection that vividly reflects a turbulent chapter in Neil Young’s long and eventful career.

At over an hour long, this isn’t an album to dip in and out of--it’s that rare album that you have to commit to, and let it wash over you.

It's rare to be so gushing about a debut album--yet after living with this album for a few weeks, you'll be hard pressed to find any flaws.

It’s more conceptually consistent, more musically accomplished, more of pretty much everything that she’s ever done before – and what she was already doing was verging on masterly. Filthy Underneath is already a contender for Album of the Year, and it will take something truly exceptional to beat it.

Although there are a couple of songs on this album which don’t set up camp in your memory, the vocals always astonish, from the sound of Jeff Buckley floating on a soul bisque on It Must Change to the greasy gospel crescendo of Rest.

This is a joyous artistic rebirth, its creator shaking her tail feathers, pushing her own boundaries and immersed in emotion and whim brought out from within.

Everything Harmony is the sound of two men taking nearly 50 year old references and reframing them for today. For a refreshing twist on a vintage sound, nobody does it more impressively than The Lemon Twigs.

Mainstream R&B fans may be baffled at various points, but there will be few more engrossing albums this year.

I/O marks the return of one of this country’s premier musicians and, as befits a project with this long a gestation period, contains songs that stand alongside Peter Gabriel’s finest.

This may well be Holter’s most accessible album to date, but it’s this very approachability that renders it all the more intriguing, drawing you in with open arms. Stately and serene, it’s a wilderness that begs to be inhabited for some time, a country you’ll be reluctant to leave.

A stunning debut then, and one that will make Fleet Foxes one of the most sought after bands of the year.

It’s Prince’s ghost that reigns supreme over the record, and while she nails both absorbing his spirit and infusing her own, there are times when you wish she would push the envelope a little harder, as she has on previous records.

This is a sumptuous and rewarding way of spending 60 minutes. YTILAER shows how he keeps raising the bar creatively, consolidating his place in the upper echelons of alternative rock in the process.

It's a brilliant exploration of the inevitable interaction between sound, the passing of time and the active process of listening.

At just eight tracks and clocking in at 40 minutes, Former Things is never in any danger of outstaying its welcome. There’s an argument to be had that some variety could improve the record, as there’s a definite template being stuck to. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though – LoneLady’s third album is the sound of an artist expanding her musical horizons and reaping the rewards.

It’s an album that sums up Bowie as an artist--restless, audacious, constantly looking forward to the next new idea. January may only be a week old, but that ‘Best Of 2016’ list already has a slot filled.

The legend behind m b v, as well as its songs, have created something many will talk about for much longer than it’s taken to arrive.

This all may be too intense and striking for some people (the last 70 seconds of closing track Magic Dealer are simply ambient noise), and those who were pulled in by the warm sound of Saddle Creek on the band’s first two albums may find this switch to 4AD to be too jarring. Yet, for most Big Thief fans, UFOF is a natural, welcome progression, and one that you likely won’t want to tear yourself away from.

With every album she releases, Angel Olsen seems to step up a gear. As My Woman will comfortably be seen as one of the best albums of the year come December, it’s a head-spinningly exciting prospect to think where she’s going to go next time around.

This is a magical, magnificent album – one of the best of Sufjan Stevens’ career.

Microshift finds Hookworms drawing a line under their history and taking their first step on a new adventure. They’ve not put a foot wrong yet.

Ten Love Songs is an enormously creative, endlessly surprising album.

It’s funny, thoughtful and catchy as hell.

Musically it is arguably the best thing the band have done..