This is a powerful, memorable collection. Accessible from the get-go, ‘Life Under The Gun’ carries a universal message while staying true to its hardcore roots.

Another blistering, brilliant missive from one of rock’s most fearless bands, on ‘Social Lubrication’, Dream Wife prove two things. Firstly, social commentary and exorcising your fury at the world don’t have to be joyless, and secondly, they’re still one of the most vital acts we’ve got right now.

‘ÁTTA’ is at least the band’s best album since 2005’s monolithic ‘Takk’ made them a household name, and at most a record that gives Sigur Rós plenty more reason to exist in adding some pure and natural soul to this cold and unfeeling world.

They’ve pitched their comeback between an emotional exorcism for Homme, but with enough fan-service for the die-hards; this is up there with their darkest, knottiest material to date, and will be appreciated all the more for it.

The boundaries for African music are constantly moving, and across this album, Amaarae pushes them even further.

Poet Toi Derricotte once wrote that joy is in fact an “act of resistance”: listening to Monáe’s liberating latest album, you start to believe that pleasure is, too.

‘Joy’All’ proves that she’s maturing into one of pop’s foremost storytellers.

If Squid can make daring, experimental music sound as fun as this, then they will take some stopping.

This collaborative foray successfully breaks new ground in terms of Marshall’s solo work, further ensuring that ‘Space Heavy’ will assume a lofty standing in King Krule’s already glowing discography.

Protomartyr are at home here: growing, expanding and putting up a mirror to humanity’s driest and bleakest parts, inviting their listeners to reflect on it all.

Unlike Shears’ 2018 heart-on-sleeve solo debut, it’s pure escapism and his most effortless-sounding set since bursting out of the traps nearly 20 years ago.

It’s the brightest, most listenable collection of songs he’s pieced together in some time.

It’s gratifying to hear Young push her idea of pop beyond the spacey atmospherics of her earlier material – this is the overdue arrival of a completely credible new talent.

‘The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte’ is a reminder that even now, Sparks are completely content with boldly going first, taking their music into ambitious territory no one else has been before, making it easier for other acts to (hopefully) follow suit.

‘But Here We Are’ is a beautiful, noisy celebration of brotherhood and a stark, painful exploration of loss. It is messy, gut-wrenching, ambitious and gorgeous, as the remaining members of Foo Fighters push themselves to their limits and beyond. Through it all, ‘But Here We Are’ is an undeniable reminder of the healing, unifying power of music.

There are signs on ‘Aperture’, Jadagu’s debut album, of a songwriter who is beginning to find her feet in this world. Characterised by warm, crisp synth production that will speak to Arlo Parks fans, ‘Warning Sign’ spotlights this maturity: a minimalistic, R&B-fuelled anthem of reflection that grows in leaps and bounds as more elements make their way into the mix. There’s a newfound swagger and breath of fresh air, too.

It’s an ambitious, emotional monolith of a record, with all the hallmarks of future classic status.

The 15 impressively arranged tracks on ‘Tracey Denim’ will only bolster Bar Italia’s discography to date, ushering them, whether they like it or not, even further into the spotlight.

The band dub these 2022 sets as works-in-progress, and say that none of its members are precious about the songs, a problem that thankfully doesn’t bely this release. You sense even better is to come. ‘Live At Bush Hall’, then, offers a remarkable snapshot of a band in transition, one willing to push on and not let circumstances stand in the way of what they love doing most.

‘Good Lies’ puts the pair on the edge of a major breakthrough. Its pop-leaning moments are also its most exciting, and the creativity and skill with which they bridge these worlds is thrilling.

As albums go, ‘ATUM’ is an ambitious body of work and does ask a lot of its audience. But there’s also plenty on here to please any diehard Pumpkins fan.

‘Everything Harmony’ plays like the next progression from their promising debut, and what stood out about them then is what stands out about them now. With their fourth album, The Lemon Twigs have honed in on their ability to not just lift from the past but transmute what inspires them into something imaginative and new.

It’s a record that’ll please newcomers and existing fans alike, but, given the backstory and heart poured into ‘Wait Til I Get Over’, the record existing for Jones feels like a triumph. Whether or not he brings these sounds or elements back to the group is yet to be seen, but this record will shake the walls of Hillaryville and beyond.

Personal yet relatable pop music that makes itself heard thanks to its intricacies, ‘& The Charm’ is a remarkable evolution.

Fans of Maltese’s typically lucid approach may find this impressionism frustrating, but it gradually builds an effective picture of fear. Here, his sense of scale is more nuanced and outward-facing than ever before, and in turn, Maltese’s writing will continue to become all the more captivating for it.

This is The National back from their brink and at their absolute best.

On ‘All of This Will End’, she lasers in on community, mortality and how where you’ve come from impacts where you’re going all with her indie pop prowess intact. ... A wonderful album.

‘That! Feels Good!’ is a maximalist tour de force of glossy pop sounds. A liberating collection that seeks to paint a three-dimensional picture of Ware – as “a lover, a freak and a mother”, as she sings on ‘Pearls’ – this album sees her embrace a Sasha Fierce-like alter ego in a celebration of dancing and female agency.