Peckham three-piece Little Cub make electronic music with a human heart, Dominic Gore’s observant lyrics adding depth to the analogue synth lines and snapping beats that propel them.

Sitting somewhere between say Beyoncé’s auteur-like use of collaborators on ‘Lemonade’ and how Grimes’ ‘Art Angels’ saw the contrary Canadian flex shimmering, glossy pop nous, ‘Caprisongs’ has twigs throwing out hooks left, right and centre.

Anagrams is the product of a musician fast maturing.

It’s all very here and now.

It’s a charming and defiant debut, and one that encapsulates the GIRLI mindset, heartbreaks and all.

Parker's vocals have taken a noticeably more prominent role, often duetting with herself rather than her husband.... Songs like 'Four Score' and 'Holy Ghost'--where Parker takes the lead--are buoyed by unashamedly gospel-inflected chorales. And it works, wonderfully.

Both playful and powerful in its delivery, ‘Kitchen Sink’ may be built around the challenges so many of us still face - and are angered by - on a near-daily basis, but it also offers a bit of light and - most importantly - liberating relief.

Hayden Thorpe is still feeling out the next leg of his musical journey, but has the distinct advantage of making every left turn he takes sound assured.

Not only are many of the tracks here vocal driven, there are some single-worthy hooks too.

‘Marriage’ is the sound of Deap Vally tapping back into what makes them tick, and lays the groundwork for their most exciting era yet.

Although initially self-released, Alvvays' lap of honour is about as road-tripping, beach-friendly and lazy day-appropriate as any album comes.

‘Beginners’ and ‘Radio Tokyo’ lead the way in the clout department, and increasingly, Hookworms sound like a band comfortable with being immediate as well as complex.

They’re not re-writing the rule book, but on ‘Chopper’ Kiwi Jr lift off towards becoming cult favourites.

It may not have the global appeal of his OF stable mate’s Channel Orange, but it is certainly his most accessible and enjoyable.

Just as the record threatens to get Too Much, as ‘How Do You Sleep Tonight’ wrings out its last notes, the crowning glory that is ‘Tonite’ kicks in.

Krauss is on delicious vocal form throughout, sounding both as fierce and feminine as ever, matching cutting lyrics with sounds so girlish they almost risk being cutesy.

A record that intertwines effortlessly whilst showcasing flair beyond belief, Alone For The First Time is authentic, new and first and foremost captivating.

Familiar yet new and exciting, individualistic without being exclusive, ambitious yet welcoming and engaging, and inventive without becoming the sound of being clever for being clever's sake.

Ultimately Once More 'Round The Sun may not be as brilliant as last album 'The Hunter', but it's a fine piece of work and shows the band are not only ready for, but moreover deserving of their success.

Eighth studio album ‘Endless Summer Vacation’ emerges as a clear indication of someone who’s finally figured out who they are, resulting in a bold pop record oozing with the confidence and style that results from a period of self-discovery.

More often than not, musicians determined to avoid old tropes are exhausting. But 22, A Million stands out as Bon Iver’s finest moment yet, a cross between invention and beauty that’s delivered without compromise.

Willowbank is utterly charming, shimmering and another step in Yumi Zouma’s quietly fascinating evolution.

Last Building Burning is Cloud Nothings embracing a harsher component to their sound--almost recalling the likes of recent Oh Sees releases--which has grown into something unsettled, bold and reckless.

Rich, imaginative, and more than a little strange.

With Primrose Green, Walker has created a mystical record, balancing idyllic sonics with moving sensibility.

Whether they’re railing against the establishment or helping us escape, LIFE’s debut provides comfort and support for us all.

The most uncomfortable elements of life, colliding to create frantic, disorganised, but completely coherent mess, this record isn’t basic. It’s anything but.

[The Haunted Man is] beautiful, daring, and captivating, the sound of pop's dark heart carving out its own niche and cementing Khan's status as one of our most inventive, ambitious artists.

QTY is as timeless, compelling and clever as you could hope for first time round.

On the surface it may appear comparably safe in tone; a softer and arguably less frustrated sound runs throughout. Yet it never shies away from the unmistakable fact that Shamir has something to say, and that it’s always worth listening to.

While Sick Scenes is a record that questions its authors places in the world in tandem, it’s also one that shows that, for as long as they’re here, Los Campesinos! will always be able to express a certain character type better than most.

His most experimental release to date.

Both heavy and cumbersome and light and uncertain, it will prove difficult for some to find an entrance to it, but once you’re inside you’ll find yourself enveloped by its bold experimentation and the stunning way they execute it.

While the album ends with an echoed sigh of melancholic relief: “Finally I’m on my own”. It’s indicative of the confidence that runs through the band’s long-awaited debut, one that paints ‘Teething’ as both the party and the comedown.

It’s novelistic. It’s smart. Of course it is, it’s a Destroyer album.

Not consolidating or scaling back their ambition in the slightest, mewithoutYou continue to be one of indie-rock’s most consistently fascinating voices, and on ‘[Untitled]’ they’re as weird and wonderful as ever.

Sometimes gloriously messy, sometimes just simply glorious, it is probably the most fun you'll have all year rhyming with harpists.

he 2 Bears have once again triumphed at what they do best, serving up a vibrant and joyous take on the music that has shaped them.

The Inevitable End accepts its own strengths and faults in one fatal blow, just like any last gasp should.

The first half of the album is a joy. The second half is even better.

Amid an existing height of musical Afrofuturism, ‘Sweet Justice’ is a crowning achievement - an assertion of self through distinct and precise perspective at the apex of a movement.

It’s the most eclectic punk record to emerge in ages, and even though it incorporates elements that might seem incongruous in a style that thrives off its simplicity, they’re carried off with enough class for it to sound intriguing rather than jarring. In fact, there’s a refreshing elegance about the whole thing.

There’s a diversity of stylistic approach and yet a singularity of vision that few artists are able to combine so early on.

Not the finished article, but as close as the (still) youthful band are likely to come at this stage.

‘Alpha Zulu’ is a fun record, on which the creators’ own enjoyment is audibly palpable.

Highly recommended.

While a very strong album What Do You Think About The Car? definitely is, it’s impossible to extricate it from the songwriter himself.

While ‘Yellow’ mixes it up nicely with freak-outs, group chants, P-funk and mellowing R&B, it is lyrically where the album wearies.

Tribes are simply proving that they have an ear for writing brit-poppy rock, and in summary, Baby is a complete belter.

‘MK 3.5’ is an often unwieldy and curiously warming project that sees both contributors embrace discomfort in their art.

‘The Kick’ doesn’t try to run or distract from feelings of loss and loneliness, instead it faces them head-on while celebrating the joy of being with others through it all.

The most interesting element of his chosen samples is the way that more classical instruments and acoustic guitar strums are looped, while his vocals occasionally get the remix treatment and judder along.

It takes a while for Preoccupations to find their new groove on ‘Arrangements’. But, when they hit that stride in the latter half, it’s a terrific one.

Groove Denied captures the finer points of Stephen Malkmus’ craftsmanship in wildly esoteric and robotic form.

Everything they touch holding a vintage sheen of some kind, but it’s such a broad and masterful selection that there’s no sense of pastiche. The lyrics across the record let it down - they match the random patchwork of the sound, but take a step too far in the direction of gibberish for the most part.

Playful, weird and genuinely experimental, The S.L.P. is a ride worth getting on.

Granted, even now it's difficult to assess his work wholly objectively given his recent, well-documented struggles, but strip away any unnecessary contextualisation and the record stands up proudly and defiantly on its own two feet.

IDER are back at what they do best, providing a glimmering sense of hope that we aren’t alone with our anxieties.

No, ‘Think Later’ doesn’t come close to reinventing the wheel (or pop), but it does drench itself within a pop maximalism full of fuel, energy and modernity.

Dude York are doing absolutely nothing new on Falling, but when they do it this well, the throwback is a welcome one.

This is eccentric indie pop with a slightly off-kilt flavour.

Vocals, sparse acoustic backings, gentle snare brushing, the occasional stab of a mellotron all create a very pristine listening experience.

A solid improvement from "All Our Kings Are Dead" but they will need to do more if they want to break into the big time.

What Duologue should be most proud of in Song & Dance is the variety and the consistently high quality.

There’s a sense of the trio reaching for a comfort blanket, turning back towards the intellectual pop that inspired them as youngsters in the ‘80s.

Stop analysing too far, and what you end up with is a genuine contender.

This eponymous debut is a well-rounded effort for a band that clearly has a knack for stadium-filling melodies and angst-ridden confessions. Anthemic in most parts and enjoyable in all, Various Cruelties deliver a debut that's moving and memorable.

While there are certainly no grand overarching themes designed to tie the whole album together, the collection has a coherent unity both musically and lyrically which more conceptually defined and led works would struggle to match.

Be Strong may not offer any invention or progression but as a collection of exuberant, joyful and uplifting dance music it is certainly the perfect record to light up those dark winter nights and look forward to the summer.

This record could well have been made 20 years ago, such is its timeless quality.

It's the perfect embodiment of their character delivered at an often frantically infectious pace.

All those who lapped up ‘Tracey Denim’ will be satisfied here. ‘The Twits’ may yet charm a few more besides.

It’s a rousing ending, and one of the few mesmerising moments on the album: it’s just a shame that the band don’t commit to one route or the other.

His voice is stunning, a far-reaching, emotive vibrato evoking Roy Orbison that keeps the often surface-level nature of his lyrics from reaching full saccharine.

This is a varied album that combines old and new musical styles without the fear of pastiche.

Purposefully lo-fi, it would be easy to dismiss as self-indulgent nostalgia, yet its quirky charms and understated directness more often than not outweigh its faults.

This may not be what we were expecting, and it may not be the Paramore that we’ve come to know and love. But, at the same time, here are a band still discovering who they are, and this album may stand as an important step on that path.

Spend any element of time with it and each passing play opens the album up, showing it off as the special, if often-understated record that it is.

In the wider picture, this may not make the impressive strides 'Visions' or Purity Ring's 'Shrines' did, but there's every chance Lesser Evil can find an audience to smother it in all the affection it deserves.

Its meandering ways may endear or annoy in equal measure, but it’s hard to argue that there is a consistency or pure quality to see this album rank alongside its illustrious predecessor.

It’s only when he tries to amp it up that ‘Chew The Scenery’ falters; ‘Stuck’ might possess a standard freshers indie chorus, but when it aims for Oasis-level swagger, it meets closer to the Gallaghers’ recent solo endeavours than bucket-hatted air-punches. Similarly the euphoria of ‘Yeah!’ misses the mark. Still, there are more than a handful of stellar moments.

‘Friday Forever’ is a solid record with an intriguing concept that unravels fantastically under Russell’s loosened leash.

Machineries Of Joy isn’t [the truly vital album], but what it is is a touching, ambitious and inventive album, and one which stands head and shoulders above most

Come LP3, maybe they’ll reinvent themselves as a more wholesome proposition; for now, ‘Welfare Jazz’ stands as a document of a band that are perhaps more in limbo than they might first appear.

Dead & Born & Grown is a record perfect for those long dark winter nights, an emotionally rich collection of songs that deserves to put Watford firmly on the musical map.

For all its ambition, however, it occasionally leans a little too heavily on the cliched conventions of certain genres, particularly pop and dance. ... Nonetheless, its ambition and creative concept can still be applauded, and there are some hidden gems to be found

Hot Motion’s only pitfall comes from frankly how safe it feels. Sure, it’s bigger and brighter than anything Temples have done before, but its whole aesthetic is still nestled deep in their sepia-tinted comfort zone. ... Nevertheless, it’s a solid statement that Temples are alive and kicking, drawing fresh inspo from the past without fading into it themselves.

There's an unabashed sweet sincerity to Dent May’s music that makes Warm Blanket a joy to listen to.

Where ‘Spirituals’ - which both marks a return from a four-year break and Santi’s first release as an independent artist - works best, is as reminder and introduction. The cut-and-paste, mixtape ethos that shone through in the first place is still there.

The Terror stares back at you like panicked faces underneath a frozen lake, visible, but distant. It’s giant metallic bugs filling an apocalyptic sky and blotting out a blood red sun.

Some of the extremes on the album feel awkward--the heavy metal too heavy, the loops of death overlooped, the calm too suddenly silent--but overall it is a deep, yawning collection of exciting musical experiments to dunk yourself into.

Khan's state of the world message might be slightly obscured, but there's an obvious feeling of hope and refreshing lack of restraint on this hugely enjoyable return.

This album, for a short time, will make you question your sanity and the world around you.

Toeing the fading line between R&B and inner-city soul, ‘AFTER DINNER, WE TALK ABOUT DREAMS’ is flecked with hints of pop greatness.

We’d never want CHAI to lose their pep, but there’s something pleasing about watching them grow into something new.

The only thing lacking is a greater presence of the crowd on the record that seems to be have mixed down, but it is the audible ecstasy of audience participation that truly makes a live album, though here the delicate simplicity and precise execution of the music more than makes up for it.

That MCII can jump from sound to sound isn’t a surprise; but at times it does make for a slightly schizophrenic listen.

A glorious mix of the human and machine where you don’t know what you’re going to get until it happens. It’s the best kind of surprise.