This is Shearwater taking a leap out of their usual rustic world and it's a world in which they could thrive in the future. If they don't come back here again, Jet Plane and Oxbow presents a wonderful snapshot.

The rest is beautiful, sure, and there's moments that are truly intoxicating where you just want to stop what you're doing and let it wash over you, but it's also an album that, once it reaches its end, sort of fades away. There's nothing here that really sticks with you for any longer than the album's duration.

Unlike its predecessor, the new album is expressed with a confident ease rather than pent up frustration.

Feeling comfortable is not something neo, and by extension So Pitted, is concerned with. Instead, exploration of the darkness and sickness of life are the key drivers and if neo is any indication, it is pretty compelling material.

Operator is a very strong and interesting record, mixing glittery platforms with darker horizons. It is also a very "safe" one, for it sounds very calculated and lacking in risk.

Flashy records are always exciting, but the merits of a solidly constructed and alluringly dreamy album like Life of Pause should never be underestimated.

A Season in Hull is a cast-off gem, another diamond in a career of low-key marvels.

Hiccups aside, Begin is an otherwise highly enjoyable album, one that sees Lion Babe fearless in their willingness to experiment with various styles in order to see what works and what doesn't, and it's through that process of discovery that they will eventually find their groove and hopefully the hit singles they are striving to create.

After seven manic albums attempting to prove his perfection, Kanye is seeking penance on The Life Of Pablo. Here, he delivers 18 heavenly hymns.

There may be simple logic behind the phrase quality over quantity yet here there is clear cohesion and thought.

The marathon middle section paves the way for the record's standout final songs. 'Padova', in particular, slows Plaza's propulsion peacefully and formlessly.

TEEN has been a solid band for several years, but Love Yes has almost certainly elevated them to being a great one.

Though it offers only one "new" song, Pond Scum freshly adds (even more) depth to the Bonnie 'Prince' Billy cannon as if it were another studio album.

His intensity is consistent and his affinity for recognizing his fans favor is respectable. He doesn’t change things up much sonically, which is a welcomed critique.

Grasque sometimes manages to make average pizza from excellent ingredients. When COYB are tenacious enough to boil a track down to a workable size, the result is a triumph. Often it can resemble unleavened music, stripped of the necessary rise and fall.

This is a lush, intellectual and brilliant collection, constantly teeming with sounds, innovations and ideas.

What it lacks, though, is a sense of purpose, which is the precise thing this new version of Bloc Party needed it to have; they needed to make a convincing case as to why they still deserve your attention. Instead, they picked the worst possible time to lose their nerve, and turn in something so bereft of conviction and new ideas.

Songs in the Key of Animals lacks the focus of A Love Extreme, but then again, we're talking about an album that was supposedly written on the fly.

SVIIB is an utterly beautiful piece of work that is all about finding joy and hope in even the darkest of times. Supported by bold synth pop tunes in their own right, it's a record that you're unlikely to forget.

This is a gratifying song collection.

The comforting warmth of cassette fuzz binds itself to the entire work, making the gamble an intimate experience akin to anything that Nils Frahm has laid his hands on. This has allowed nonkeen to find the perfect balance between experimental and familiar.

Though as a collection Moth is both fascinating and fun, demonstrative of what can be achieved when you focus on substance over style.

After a three year album hiatus, Rih has rendered her most profoundly authentic and effortless act of rebellion yet – she’s making the music she wants to make without a singular fuck. Anti-pop, anti-album, anti-industry, anti-expectation, anti-perfection.

Whilst not enjoying the same amount of attention or hype as her first few releases, My Wild West finds Lissie experimenting but still within the confines of her slick pop writing. It's an album made by an artist who is still top of her game.

Daughter--and Tonra in particular--have elegantly lowered their defences with Not to Disappear. Emotional literacy and gripping theatricality lie behind the wall.

The year’s first R&B masterpiece.

The Waiting Room is Tindersticks on ravishing form. For die-hards and newcomers alike, it's hard not to be drawn in by the lush facade it creates.

Certainly their best record since 2001's Standards, here Tortoise sound revitalised--concise, playful and sharp. They may move slowly, but when they do, it is always with renewed purpose.