It seals the chapter of Jordan’s late teens, early twenties, and it lands up being his finest work by a country mile.

Despite all the doubts and the self-admonishing, in a strange way you won’t find a more affirming album all year.

‘Don’t Forget Me’ is the sound of an artist finally beginning to sink cosily into her own skin, and enjoying herself enormously in the process.

With a buoyant and self-aware use of slang that will have you opening up Urban Dictionary, paired with the one-track-per-week release schedule and the songs to back it up, Kim proves herself to be a true millennial pop princess in waiting.

Pip Blom haven’t changed their sound, but they do feel like they’ve got to know it better.

Seeking Thrills sees Georgia lean in much more eagerly on the late-night grooves that have been supporting her breakthrough. ’Started Out’ and ‘About Work The Dancefloor’ make for solid, established openers, but there’s no shortage of other ideas that make complete sense in the soundtrack of modern lives.

A tightrope walk between impulse and laser-point precision, Human Performance is Parquet Courts at their most knotted.

Being aware of the context, it’s not the easiest listen, but it’s extremely rewarding.

A racing sense fun propels much of The Julie Ruin’s latest, and it’s a more refined step forward from the debut.

The labyrinthine complexities of human nature are explored here in all their grit and glory, but it’s the combination of Stormzy’s charm and his knack for storytelling that allows ‘H.I.T.H’ to glimmer with a universal appeal that will please both his mainstream audience and grime fans of old; an almost impossible task that he’s amazingly pulled off.

Throughout, Andrew’s eccentric lyricism leans away from the paranoia of ‘MGMT’ and ‘Little Dark Age’ and towards a search for love in the midst of darkness; quietly, he and Ben continue to plough their strange pop furrow with aplomb.

1, 2, Kung Fu! is a fun, beautiful, and accomplished reminder of the joy of discovery. It’s the kind of record that encourages you to keep a close ear to its many layers, peeling each one back to reveal a Krautrock pulse here, a soul groove there.

Emotional Education is a thoughtful, carefully-constructed synthpop odyssey, based at its core around the vocal harmonisation by Lily Somerville and Megan Marwick and lent some tasteful gloss by production work from The xx collaborator Rodaidh McDonald as well as duo MyRiot.

Accompanied with her scatter board samples and untold charm, ‘Juno’ is a resounding celebration of existence and Remi Wolf is the MC.

There are whispers of similarity to her queer contemporaries, too, from Shura (’Pandora’s Box’) to Years & Years (’Nightingale’), that make this break-up record much more exciting than its conveyor belt competition.

Between sombre tones and esctasy highs, and with tracks like 'Folk Hero Shtick' and 'Reagan's Skeleton', this will leave you with a grin on your face and a confidence music will keep going.

Crimes of Passion is playful, real, genuine, and just a bit naughty.

Every single moment of ‘A Situation’ feels dreadfully real and groovy as heck, so prepare yourself mentally - you may start to believe the matrix is real.

The album’s most engaging moment arrives in ‘A Portrait Of’. Giving voice to anxieties and doubts only to shatter through them with a screaming crescendo of steadfast resolve, this is the sound of Sorority Noise at their strongest.

We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace And Magic is a great full-length debut that is far more than a nostalgia trip.

There's clearly something here, there's an evolution in what Shields is doing. But, is it any good? Yes. Is it better than 'Loveless'? Probably not--and it's unfair to compare it to a predecessor that we've had two decades to live with and love. Given its gestation, it perhaps suffers from being a less cohesive body of work.

This time around, she delivers more of the same: tracks for the club with a sense of restraint and melancholy, as well as a poppy accessibility.

Melody’s weird medley may not be as accessible as her debut, but it’s a work of art that deserves to be beheld for its impressive and unique innovation.

Their second record hits harder, digs deeper and lingers longer than that promising debut, and keeping all eyes on their art proves to be the best statement Preoccupations could ever have offered.

Taiga is more of an achievement than that; it’s the mark of someone who has truly taken their time over their work. Cooped up in a friend’s holiday home in Washington, Nika Roza Danilova crafted a small slice of perfection.

They channel the essence of previous decades. Throughout, the band use a variety of vintage synth tones and guitar and basslines that even Nile Rodgers would kill for.

While the classic Warpaint tropes - clever, heady interplay; four voices weaving as one - are present and correct, this time the more icy edges are rounded off in favour of softness and a nurturing sense of femininity.

Bikini Daze proves that MØ has pretty much mapped out every aspect of her identity; it's up to her which path she chooses to take.

Harsh, aggressive, hungry, and urgent, Adore Life is everything a Savages album should be. Unexpectedly - and this proves its greatest success.

The fact that Words To The Blind doesn’t really make any kind of conventional sense, though, is perhaps the point of the entire endeavour. On their own terms Bo Ningen and Savages have succeeded.

It’s the underlying sense of unease and something to prove that really adds the edge here.

A record that feels both raw and refined, this will shake you to the core.

A master of eulogising the grubby underbelly, Baxter’s is the kind of voice that’s utterly out of step with the modern, fearful, social media-courting world, and all the better for it.

The witching hour is here, and ‘Miss Power’ is mesmerising.

An ambitious double album filled with reverb and distortion this it not, but if a new, playful kind of Biffy Clyro take your fancy, there’s more than enough of Ellipsis to dive headfirst into.

A ten-track album that combines both of their styles to create something that doesn’t sound quite like either of them.

Margaret still sounds the most at home with her string instruments, but her foray into experimenting with electronic music has paid off.

‘Surrender’ proves Maggie can use motifs from the past to build worlds and stimulate memories while always looking forward.

‘Hotel Surrender’ must surely be one of the most cathartic records of the year. From the laid-back cool of opener ‘Oh Me Oh My’, it seems the Faker brand of chill beats is back. The self-production adds to the organic nature of the record, and is often quite bold, with strings and saxophones aplenty.

'Between The Times & Tides' is a beacon of craftsmanship and invention coated in [a] marvellously empathetic collection of pop tunes.

It’s not just its hooks sunny disposition that makes Bay Dream the album it is, however. From start to finish, this is one of the finest examples of punk rock songwriting we’ve seen in 2018 so far from a band whose momentum off the back of last album ‘Peach’ should only increase in velocity off the back of this

Relatability abounds on Blisters In The Pit Of My Heart, perhaps not least on retail romance tale ‘Precarious (The Supermarket Song)’ where “I’m like an unexpected item in your bagging area” emerges as a contender for lyric of the year.

Grant has a fascinating combination of wisdom, world-weary cynicism and righteous anger; it never grates.

Kid Wave succeed the most when they go huge on the hooks and choruses.

Father Of The Bride is a joyous, fearless listen that builds on Vampire Weekend’s steeped history while simultaneously paying less attention to it than ever.

In a year when the world’s biggest artists have put their necks on the line--Rihanna’s leave-me-alone, independent streak of ‘Anti’, Kanye West’s scatterbrained ever-changing doodle ‘The Life of Pablo’--Beyoncé can count herself as a risk-taker breaking new ground, up there with the bravest.

The uncompromising rave punk spirit that has driven them for over 25 years seems stronger than ever on a record that will delight old fans and capture a whole new era of angry youth.

A kaleidoscope of charming sounds.

‘Endure’ marks Special Interest’s debut for Rough Trade and manages to plant a foot in both worlds - the resolutely uncompromising punks of old, and a band capable of infiltrating at least the more alternative end of the radio - with gusto.

Deceiver is his first truly clear-eyed artistic statement - it’s also his most mature.

It’s ambition that’s realised in every form that it takes, offering enough distinctive moments of euphoria to win you over first time round, and enough in each new listen to have you coming back for more.

There is perhaps no band with a greater appreciation of the sheer joy and thrill of pop music in its purest form than Saint Etienne. 'Words And Music By Saint Etienne' is not only their own unique take on what pop means to them it is also an incredibly fine album.

Cemetery Highrise Slum is a maze; disorienting and satisfying in equal measure.

Concept albums may not be for everyone, and that's understandable, but they usually prove interesting at the very least, and this is no different.

In ‘Harry’s House’ lives a songwriter confident enough in both to start playing with convention.

On all fronts, this is a stirring return to form.

‘A Beautiful Revolution Pt. 2’ is a sweet paean to music’s mood-boosting properties, as well as it capacity to effect meaningful change.

Monomania is an easy album to become monomaniac about.

A curious collection of contrasts. Most notably, that between the protagonists’ own voices. ... That said, the duo know when to complement each other, too.

Subtle swells of synth and strings back up the album’s most emotionally intense moments, but her vocals can do the job on their own, especially on beautiful highlight ‘cradle’.

HO99O9 get it right far more frequently than not. This record remains incomparable to anything else being made right now.

WHY? have always been an acquired taste but anyone with a shred of interest in Yoni Wolf's idiosyncratic talents will find much to savour on a very impressive return.

A witty, succinct debut album.

Offering up another soundtrack for the disenfranchised and downtrodden, Sister Cities is a renewed example of just how powerful and poignant The Wonder Years can be.

Its lack of slickness and idiosyncrasies are where its charm lies.

Consistently, Short Movie is wonderfully unlike anything she has ever attempted before.

Slight emptiness aside, this is one of the most confident, self-assured debuts of the year--striking, exciting, and intimidating to Little Dragon fans everywhere.

The Sea & Cake could have been in danger of becoming an indie-band-by-numbers, but 'Runner' is performed with all the vigour and aplomb of fresh-faced youngsters and executed with the deftness of touch of grizzled old hands.

Expect to cry - then get fired up.

Beneath the familiarity, Tame’s fourth is operating in a subtly different world. Where ‘Currents’ doffed its cap heavily to R&B within its pop smarts, creating his most commercial work yet, ‘The Slow Rush’’s ingredients feel slightly more disparate.

For all the twists and turns that Rolo Tomassi have made, this is their first album that can reasonably be described as being, first and foremost, riotously good fun.

She’s created a world of her own, and on this latest record she sinks deep into its clutches.

Its second half is abrasive to the extreme, but by this point the hypnotic album’s already worked its charm. If Blunt is ever to settle into a routine, this should be his blueprint.

In short, the Canadian four-piece’s third LP is a terrific fusion of indie, new-wave and house that demands attention.

If the songwriting on Hitch is, to coin an old music hack turn-of-phrase, ‘mature’, it’s also concise--in a good way.

While some might mourn the loss of their one-time raucousness, ‘Gigi’s Recovery’ shows that their momentum swings only forwards.

At their core, Cymbals Eat Guitars is still the same band as before--just bigger and bolder, more sharpened and focused. And they’re better for it.

For anyone who’s ever wondered what sort of album a hybrid of Joan Jett and Janet Jackson would make, the answer is right here.

Dense to the extreme, a thick fog of emotions that concedes nothing, this is as uncompromising and potentially definitive as a break-up album could ever be.

This isn’t a band going through the motions, it’s a band going through a violent and explosive rebirth, a return to form that’s almost unparalleled.

The Philadelphia quartet’s appeal is built on an earnestness and an honesty that leaks from every sweat-channelling pore of The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us.

At times it’s a strange record. The rough tones don’t register as forcefully as the hooks on previous works. That said, it’s a rewarding listen, one that eventually embeds itself once given full attention.

It may not be entirely reinventing the rock wheel, but it’s certainly a more successful attempt at broadening their horizons.

Know It All isn’t perfect, but it’d be a challenge not to fall for even just some its charms.

Loaded with more jingles than a sleigh at Christmas, Brilliant Sanity is synth pop at it’s most intentionally addictive.

The glue between ten ambitious tracks, she holds her own and sounds more relevant than ever.

Grown up, spotlessly polished and now with full-fledged circuitry, these pirates are machines now, making Teleman’s debut nothing short of electric.

Lazaretto is perhaps the most conventionally made of White’s back catalogue. And for an artist as brilliantly unconventional as he, could prove itself more of a test than any of its predecessors. A test passed with flying colours (or at least various shades of blue).

Their fourth album, Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action is a thumping beast full of deliberate, sudden movements and big melodies.

If ‘Football Money’ was a full-hearted paean to the likes of Pavement and Archers of Loaf, then ‘Cooler Returns’ is the sound of Kiwi Jr moving forwards, planting their own flag in the power-pop ground.

Never sitting still or dwelling on their influences for too long, the third incarnation of Cheatahs in 2015 have harnessed the hyperactivity of their release schedule, channelling it into a collection of tracks that houses some of their strongest moments to date.

Kill The One You Love is a record built around hope, and around finding the optimism in fatalism, and the inevitable freedom that comes with such a discovery. As such, it feels much less a debut, and far more an aphorism from the mouths of a band wise beyond their years.

[Pa Salieu] The Ghanaian-British rapper is one of a handful of guests here, each of whom allow Ibeyi to reflect the past and present simultaneously.

The jaunty, energetic hints of Britpop cast aside, this is Gaz Coombes the adult man, writing adult songs, and they’re really rather great.

Danger Mouse and Black Thought’s long-awaited album arrives as a tribute to a whole scene rather than just two artists.

With the world often seeming like a bleakly real episode of Black Mirror these days, Losing--a record that expresses the paralysing feeling of helpless that comes from watching it all unfold--is both timely and cathartic.

There must have been temptation to settle into a groove--gorgeous grooves, too--but by rebelling against themselves, Coyes and Dunis have been handed the ultimate lease of life.

Not The Actual Events serves as an excellent primer for what is to come. But more importantly, and more pressingly, it asks more questions and takes more risks than any welcome back should. It’s not a postcard of a legendary past, its a battlecry for something truly epic to come.