Her second, now with indie Bella Union, is a precious mix of childlike insouciance and adolescent anxiety.

A volatile brew of uneasy drama and emotion from a band that, on this showing, should always record live.

Fittingly, the emotional alchemy that Opeth muster on album number 13 is a sonic brew that could sedate a herd of buffalo.

Her music is smart, rich and thoughtful enough to pull it off.

Smart; savvy; insanely resilient: 'Waterloo To Anywhere' is just the ticket.

They’re still genre-twisting, but their focus has shifted slightly from complexity to short, punchy riffs that recall some of the bands that producer Gil Norton has worked with previously: Pixies, Foo Fighters, The Distillers.

Godspeed’s new album articulates dark times, but it also presents the countermovement with breathtaking power.

For all its musical philandering, unbridled excess and shrouds of irony, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a record with more musical depth and warmth all year than this one.

Cathartic in its honesty, There Will Be No Intermission is not dressed up in the same theatrics as her past work, but loaded with the drama of real life. Her fans have allowed us this record, and she’s given the world all of herself in return.

Significant Changes is at once both ludicrously fun and inquisitive, knowing exactly when to fuse Jayda G’s learnings and passions into music that’s, quite clearly, full of heart and wisdom.

Tinashe and her fans were kept waiting a frustratingly long time for Joyride, but perhaps it was this extra time that gave her the opportunity to craft the album into the sensual, star-ridden offering she’s released.

By drawing heavily on some of the masters in the game and executing those styles with beauty and ease – Nation Of Language have unearthed a vibrant space of their own.

The result is an excellent follow-up to the breakthrough that was ‘Any Human Friend’. Hackman raises the stakes in her music in a way that feels natural; it is conceptually bigger and more creatively mature, while the songcraft makes this transition feel earned.

A career-best statement of Shah’s songwriting prowess, where inner struggles are rendered with maturity and relatability, supercharged by a fearless, expansive sonic palette.

‘Talkie Walkie’ deserves to do as well as ‘Moon Safari’. There’s no question that it’s a better record, a different record, written by a pair of supremely talented and greatly improved musicians enjoying total mastery of their studio and sound, who aren’t afraid to take risks for fear of offending their audience.

Despite being a good 30 years out of time, it's absolutely brilliant.

Johns’ 10-track debut solo album is a placid but gutsy amble that pitches him as Bill Callahan dealing with a lazy hangover the morning after a pub crawl with Guy Garvey.

Shoegazing in origin, barn-storming in conclusion. [24 Jun 2006, p.43]

On the whole, Red Hot + Fela works both as an introduction to Afrobeat, and as a reworking of the genre, making it a fitting tribute not just to Fela’s music but also his indomitable spirit.

Less interesting songs like ‘In My Feelings’ and ‘Hold Me By The Heart’ should probably have been chopped, but they don’t prevent her from making a great first impression.

‘Pink Friday 2’ feels like a consolidation and refinement of everything Minaj can do – including dropping pop culture references that no other artist would think of.

‘Teething’ sees the quartet level up their sound without losing what fans have come to love. A swaggering collection of complex-but-catchy cuts, you won’t hear any teething problems here.

Sure, it’s not as relentless as 2015’s ‘The Monsanto Years’ – his concept album about the evils of the monolithic, genetically modifying agriculture business – but his commitment to a better way of doing things seeps through each of the 10 songs here.

Sexy, fierce and occasionally very, very silly, this is an album made to be played on jukeboxes in backwater biker bars the world over, loudly.

The vocals are as limber as the glitching, swaying soundscapes and the whole album is a mesmerising listen that constantly surprises.

On the intoxicating Heard It In A Past Life, Rogers sounds in love with art, nature and life itself.

If these pals enjoy bugging out to clusters of dizzying breakbeats and/or swooning, sad house chords, so much the better.

Filled with crunchy, complex tunes that elegantly interweave a host of unusual influences, Miss Universe is an impressive and bold record.