‘Dragon New…’ is largely an epic of intimate, stripped-back proportions. Put simply, it’s a masterpiece.

As every track twists and turns, building upon their previous musical accomplishments, this feels like a band who have finally truly found their stride.

Endlessly creative and euphoric, the MacGyvers of music have created a record that’s not only politically charged, but brimming with the joys of life and creativity.

This is hyperactive music, pushed to its limits.

It’s not all perfect: the previously-released title track clocks in as a fairly innocuous hoe-down, while the slightly uncomfortable spoken word midpoint of ‘Florida’ makes for a jarring addition. Still, when ‘Homegrown’ soars, it acts as further proof that few in history can reach the emotional peaks that Neil Young can.

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

Expect to cry - then get fired up.

There is a genuine timelessness to the thirteen tracks of ‘Everything Harmony.

Sampha’s voice might be the most instantly recognizable piece of magic in his arsenal, but it’s his patience and craft that makes ‘LAHAI’ such a stunning experience.

Julia Holter always stood out as a left-field crafter of melody; this album establishes her as a unique lyric voice, too.

Taking stock of the dizzying array of touchstones on this record, this also the sound of an auteur hellbent on short circuiting all convention. ... Dirty Computer might just be the record that finally elevates her to pop’s highest echelons

From challenging, in your face exploration to beautifully light-as-air soulful ballads, there’s a constant idea that there’s no clue as to where the next track will swerve. There’s a feeling that Bowie is having fun too.

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.

It feels darker an offering than some of their earlier work, more textured and full of otherworldly sound effects that often only become obvious on multiple listens.

Contradictory, complex, and worthy of endless re-listens, Angel Olsen has crafted her most compelling record to date.

If ‘Carrie & Lowell’ is set to remain as Sufjan Stevens’ best, ‘Javelin’ takes a confident stride back into personal territory and certainly gives 2015 a run for its money.

While ‘The Hum’ proved a logical step forward for Hookworms, ‘Microshift’ pays little attention to the script, and is all the more thrilling for it.

It’s not so much a Meat Wave as it as an all-consuming fleshy tsunami. Although this breed of cut-the-brakes punk is obtrusive and in-your-face in all the right places, it offers little else in terms of versatility or gear changes.

An undoubtedly influential album.

It does everything a debut should, dipping into multiple pools but uniting them all with a consistent outlook and a clear voice. Joy Crookes, by rights, should be riding ‘Skin’ into the big leagues.

It’s a joyful listen from start to finish; a playful, experimental, and carefully crafted debut, which is hopefully just the beginning of what Bullion has to offer.

Frank’s rich sense of storytelling is still here, it’s just fragmented. But once Blonde’s ambiguity begins to piece together, it becomes something remarkable.

Brave in its deeply honest expression, it’s a beautiful record that tactfully captures the often confusing and contradicting feelings when truly in love.

A vulnerable, accomplished but, most importantly, empowering debut.

The result is a deeply personal album, at once beautiful and mournful, and rarely straightforward.

While Hop Along’s frontwoman’s vocal still acts like a pummelling, emotive and unmistakable instrument, Hop Along’s sound has expanded accordingly on Painted Shut to fully accommodate her storytelling.

While the troubles are integral, ‘Pain Olympics’ also manages to find moments of lightness and creative joy throughout.

Too Bright is a diverse, multi-faceted and all-absorbing slice of sheer mastery.

The music is the same gorgeous blend of folk-rock in the vein of Joni Mitchell and Stevie Nicks as on previous albums, and indeed, many of the song titles, such as ‘Children of the Empire’, feel lifted from the dusty cover of a forgotten LP of ballads.

Puberty 2 leaves no stone unturned in its attempt to make grim tales seem even worse than you could possibly imagine. It’s a brutally tough shock to the system, one that will leave its trace for years to come.

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.

Still, for all his determination to thumb his nose at convention, I Love You, Honeybear finds Tillman falling face first into perhaps the most expected of musical tropes: the “mature” sophomore release.

As a self-contained piece, just furthers her ability to create immersive worlds to fall into.

A masterclass in grandiose ferocity, the album harks back to the urgency of their early days and collides with the expansive melodies that underpinned much of their more recent output. Although on the surface the most aligned to their turn-of-the-century sound, ‘Ohms’ is filled with the twisted flourishes and unexpected juxtapositions that have guided the band’s lengthy career.

Produced by acclaimed synthpoppers Hot Chip, the record creeps and sizzles with their circuit-board infusions to layer an added eeriness upon Ibibio’s Afrofuturist vision.

It’s the slightly wonky worldview of the band themselves that really elevates ‘Wet Leg’ into the realms of the truly special.

Random Access Memories is, for all the DJ-on-camera dancing hype, an album in the proper sense of the word; these aren't thirteen dancefloor ready bangers, it's a grandiose statement of intent.

The title of serpentwithfeet’s debut full-length soil is perhaps literal then: a return to his roots and a celebration of finally having found his feet.

Whether it’s a modern California of wildfires and livestreams, or a nostalgic glance at a James Dean, Marilyn Monroe make-believe - it’s Lana Del Rey’s world, we’re just living it.

The message of US Girls hides under an instrumental output which is far more intriguing than its lyrics--the music is a bit too good for its political musings to be wholeheartedly focused on.

Exploring further realms--both musically and lyrically--with familiar hands, heads and hearts, this is an album, and a band, ready to give survival a go.

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.

It paints a deeply personal portrait of romance and intimacy, underpinned by an ever-present sense of fun, not least on lead single ‘Daddy’ or the piano-led ‘Please Be Friends’.

Young Fathers haven’t done what was expected of them on Cocoa Sugar but in dodging expectations once again, they continue to triumph.

A showcase of his ability and the things he loves most (Romy and Oliver Sim’s guest spots are a vital part of the LP), it’s the most confident he’s ever sounded.

On ‘hugo’, Loyle Carner proves his willingness to take risks and it pays off. While it feels like we’re still waiting on a total knockout from him, his lyrical progress and appetite for new sonic territories on ‘hugo’ suggests he’s verging ever closer.

Five albums in and The Horrors have obviously found a new lease of life. This V is for victorious.

Expanding upon the electronic foundations laid so deftly with EP ‘Hallucinations’, there’s an assuredness to PVRIS’ latest move - especially during the affirming closer ‘Wish You Well’ - that shows off just how much she’s conquered.

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.

Unique, raw and totally joyous.

‘Where’s My Utopia?’ is as much a joy intellectually as it is musically, a leap in the right direction from one of our most promising groups of the day.

This is her most defiantly disco record to date. Where ‘Overpowered’ or ‘Take Her Up To Monto’ might veer off on prog or avant garde jaunts, ‘Róisín Machine’ is lit exclusively by the glitterball.

The sea change in Sharon’s personal life has given rise to a tidal wave of ambition in her music; that she has harnessed it so masterfully surely confirms her position as one of her generation’s most compelling voices.

Van Etten has gained in confidence and widened her scope, and the results are impressive.

There’s enough originality pumped throughout each track that ‘Tension’ will undoubtedly stand as one of the most favoured contemporary Kylie eras. There’s no pretension to its greatness, just our Kylie, once again, humbly proving how easily she can forge gold and transform into pop culture phenomenon.

This is a landmark album for a previously forgotten musician, an incredibly neat and satisfying collection of songs.

If the hype machine had previously inflated letlive's worth beyond their means then with this LP they are most certainly redressing that balance.

Their newest full-length feels both quintessential and refreshing, a modern classic which sees the band growing into more confident versions of themselves.

They continue to create and deliver captivatingly unique songs, further cementing themselves as one of the most exciting bands in British alternative rock.

While the off-kilter rhythms and cowbells of ‘This Love’ give way to a central chorus line that’s almost Bowie-esque. They’re big reference points but ‘Turn The Car Around’ uses them masterfully to drive down its own sonic motorway.

The sheer number of curtain-drop moments is remarkable, somehow never overused or superfluous. There’s a mastery in the songwriting, too: simultaneously gut-wrenching and incredibly cathartic, continuing a thread that has underpinned the band’s material this far.

It’s a breathless record, one that threatens to last an eternity--such is the speed and dazzling depth at which James expresses himself.

This is the first Hot Snakes record since 2004 and it sounds every inch as if it was formed in the same mould as the last three, despite all of the work that John and Rick have done together and apart since then.

As stirring as some of the material is, there are a number of tracks where the weighty lyrical themes are coupled with languid and ponderous melodies which drag the pace right down to a deathly crawl.

There’s so much going on here that it can be borderline overwhelming. It’s a record that’s enigmatic, a little deceptive in places, and thoroughly gripping throughout.

Sampha’s journey to now has developed a wonderfully versatile artist, and on Process he succeeds in tying these strands of his musicianship together into a record that’s concise and focused.

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.

‘DEACON’ confidently celebrates love in all its spiritual glory, with an unwavering focus on the good. In his sweetest moments, serpentwithfeet’s joy is palpable, paired with an unwavering sensuality that underpins each of the album’s eleven tracks.

It's a swaggering victory lap for two artists at the peak of their creativity; it's a record that sees their talents fused in the most cohesive way; it's a coming together of immense talents.

Yves has carved out their own, trailblazing sound amid the racket of modernity and it truly feels like an awakening. Trapped somewhere between visceral punk, Oneohtrix Point Never and Dean Blunt, ‘Praise A Lord…’ is in fact like no other.

The narrative drawn by Marling throughout is at times heart-stopping, segues and recurrent motifs creating effortless enjambment.

An album that will follow you for hours, if not days.

‘To Hell With It’ is a heady mix of ’00s genres and references that only seem to work together because it’s delivered with just the right amount of earnestness.

There’s no question that a little bit of Lido’s formidable live energy is lost in the translation here, but ‘Miss Colombia’ remains a vibrant, accessible introduction to her boundary-defying body of work.

It’s a testament to his talents that he can produce an album that encapsulates his weird and beautiful world, which is full of more questions than answers.

Fontaines DC have crafted a clear, unedited picture of who they are and what they’re made of. It’s a joy to witness.

It’s cleverly written and produced too, with motifs (both sonic and lyrical) seeping from one track to the other. In all, this makes ‘Raven’ completely alluring, and offers a soundtrack for melancholic late-night drives through buzzing cities.

Few albums carry the raw emotion of ‘Every Bad’, and carry it with such musical confidence.

With Koi No Yokan the band have not only delivered on their promises, but exceeded them so, whilst remaining one of the most engaging but remarkable heavy bands of our times.

Pushing nearly 30 years in the game, JARV IS... still an absolute one-of-a-kind.

LP1 is a brave first step that she had to take. It’s not perfect, but anything this expressive and personally vital rarely is.

At the end of the day, what Matt Maltese does best is conjure kitchen sink dramedies. And with ‘Krystal’, his ability to do that is as strong as ever. The melodies feel more like accompaniments to the stories; a canvas on which to paint. But the wry yet heartbreaking lyrics that accompany it shows an artist who has grown. As enviably funny as ever, but this time a little more self-aware.

It all feels remarkably familiar, but given the record’s pedigree, that’s far from a bad thing.

In its refusal to sound anything like its alt-pop predecessors, ‘With A Hammer’ is a breath of fresh air: innovative yet familiar, lackadaisically cool yet brave, a brilliant and sparkling window into the future. Its idiosyncrasies, consistently and wonderfully oxymoronic, are its greatest strength.

Their most complete record by a serious stretch, it's a work that laughs, cries, detests, adores and above anything else inspires.

William Doyle is unafraid to bring intellectualism into pop while never letting it feel like an exercise. And ‘Your Wilderness Revisited’ shows that he's kept his knack for mixing the two into a heady blend that’s easy to get lost in.

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.

The singer-songwriter’s most comprehensive release to date, turns up the production slickness while sacrificing none of his affable, boyish charm.

There’s an expert tenderness to her stories and their delivery, one cut through by often-unexpected melodic switches. Her ability to hold back, to seemingly cut a track short, brims with confidence.

Much of Cavetown’s fifth album is as one would expect. ... However then arrives ‘a kind thing to do’ - featuring Pierce The Veil’s Vic Fuentes - which plays with punk-pop revival tropes in captivating ways.

‘Loud Without Noise’ is flawless. Wildly ambitious, it works to showcase perfectly why the Merseysiders have garnered such a fervent fanbase to date – and just how far they could go.

This stylistic clusterfuck is likely to satisfy those who gobbled up Crack Cloud’s similarly ambitious shift to expansive instrumentation. And if you’re just downright confused by the whole preposterous thing, that’s probably just fine too.

For a project that could have held unreasonable expectations, it overdelivers time and time again. Both parts of the duo are on their A-game in equal parts.

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.

The band’s trademark sampledelic sound provides a tasteful glimpse of the familiar, while also sidestepping overt pastiche, remaining consistently fresh throughout.

With PUNK, CHAI have defied all expectations, decreeing that everybody to them is cute--and they don’t need to be.

PVRIS might have been to hell and back, but a new era is here, and it’s utterly brilliant.

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