Each song feels like a separate vignette, but putting your finger on the exact theme isn't easy; more often it's left entirely to the interpretation of the listener.

Throughout, they still manage to delve into the perfectly-formed vignettes and clear-cut imagery that litter their early efforts, but the striking instrumentation allows their lyrics--and more importantly, their stories--to hit that much harder, making Holy Ghost a truly brilliant full-length.

A near-perfect album if there ever was one.

‘10,000 gecs’ is a thrilling ride from start to finish, catapulting through genres across 10 unrelenting and imaginative bangers.

With the few songs that feature the vocal backing of Condon the fullness that immediately hits the ear makes me realise that introducing another voice or even another medium to the mix would enhance the listening experience of this album by at least 75%.

Her raspy tones give way to huge notes, effortless in their delivery. No moment feels forced or out of place.

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

At 71 captivating minutes, ‘Heavy Pendulum’ provides a touchstone, alongside new-wave, disruptive tracks that seek to tell tales of political turmoil, the ‘new reality’ of grief and posthumous brotherhood. A long-overdue homecoming.

Jungle’s latest is more breezy bops than all-out sum­mer smashes, but nev­er­the­less extremely rich and warm in sound.

Much like Lorde’s ‘Pure Heroine’ before it, ‘Cheap Queen’ possesses the perfect amount of devil-may-care attitude to counter the heaviness with which it feels its emotions.

Innovative, cerebral and yet totally accessible, Total Strife Forever is an incredibly impressive record.

Circling around Eva’s sharp, twangy vocals, the band’s second album is a gargantuan step forward, and one packed full of iron-clad mantras.

The guitars are still awash in reverb, the percussion remains propulsive, and the deceptively complex vocal harmonisation is the axis around which everything else revolves. What’s new is a feeling of genuine exhilaration - on the freewheeling standout ‘Something to Do’, the infuriatingly catchy ‘I’m Far Away’, and on the gentle breeze of ‘At It Again’ especially. ‘Memory’, is music for the love of it, and unabashedly so.

There’s something invigorating about how audibly Porridge Radio stare their demons head on, step up to the plate and turn them into something big and ambitious and beautiful.

The overall ethos for this collection of songs is that less really is more. Leading to an absolute triumph of a record. Incredible songs, performed with honesty and passion.

The intricate layering of warped guitars and echoing vocals is all well and good for the background to summer fun, but for No Joy to be more than this More Faithful relies on these more intimate moments. Although these are sparsely scattered throughout they’re just enough to make More Faithful more than just a half-listened to soundtrack to road trips and festivals but an album with heart, confidence and intimacy.

Expect Delays chugs along at a pleasant pace – ‘Bad Year’ is particularly cheerful, considering its title. If there’s a delay to be had, it’s probably the fact that it takes a few listens to warm to the album as a whole.

A bright and inviting pop album that brilliantly captures the emotional snapshots of life.

While ‘Painted Shut’ saw Hop Along forcefully establish themselves as a band to be reckoned with, LP3 shows they’re just as enticing and attention-grabbing when practicing restraint

A punch drunk brawler with a heart, it's the pay off to a perfect evolution.

The fire will simmer out, and one day this record will sound ridiculously dated, but for the time being it is everything 2013 requires.

What you see is what you get with Kero Kero Bonito. Instant sugar rush pop with extra icing on top, they’ve perfected the quick fix formula.

There’s no difficult second album syndrome here. Visions Of A Life is a gorgeously twisted beast that keeps Wolf Alice on the path to being Britain’s best band.

When they strip things back and leave space for each element to breathe--as on the purely orchestral title track--Open Here can be a joy, a deeply astute pop album that’s also often brimming with fun. While pushing their boundaries as far as they can go though, it sometimes makes for a record that can feel frustratingly cluttered.

Enduringly addictive and devoid of arty pretentiousness, MIEN is evidently an album made by true connoisseurs of psychedelic music both old and new. Like-minded audiophiles will find plenty to cheer about across these ten tracks.

An album that values intensity and tenderness in equal measure, You Will Not Die is a multi-faceted and fascinating introduction.

It’s hard not to commend Nova Girls for the gripping collision of influences that make up their debut, and their commitment to doing it so forcefully.

A full project that transcends his current reach.

Where ‘SUCKAPUNCH’ was a bold move to reforge their identity and rejuvenate their dedication for the band, it’s with ‘Truth Decay’ that they seem to have found their sweet spot.

‘I Thought I Was Better Than You’ proves a valuable insight into who Baxter Dury is.

‘Blood, Hair and Eyeballs’ is a level, if somewhat uninteresting, addition to the Alkaline Trio lexicon. Fans will find pockets of the band they fell in love with, while less seasoned followers may be better served diving deeper into the back catalogue instead.

That there’s nothing particularly ‘new’ about Morning Phase is by no means a fault: this is acoustic Beck, and it’s acoustic Beck at his most sublime.

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.

Often doesn’t even sound like a record at all, and more like a live set.

It’s testament to their skill and commitment that it all hangs together so well. What could brush off as mere novelty instead thrives as an almost unique ability to mix anything and everything within arms reach. By being almost completely unrestrained and unmoderated ‘The Talkies’ can exist in its rawest and most vital form.

Diviner is an intensely intimate album that leaves Hayden with nowhere to hide. Thankfully, stepping fully into the spotlight and laying himself bare, he’s resplendent.

Star-spangled and confident AF he may be second time around, the Declan of yore isn’t quite lost in a sea of sequins. ‘Zeros’ is a lot of fun.

The songs are strong--varying from ‘I Just Don’t Understand’’s jazz bar mood-changer to closer ‘New York Kiss’’ emotional farewell--but Spoon can be better than that.

It’s an intense, dizzy trip that takes quite some digesting, but with brilliant results.

In a landscape that often places image over genuine attitude, here is a consistently solid record with its fair share of gems.

This is one of the most engaging dance albums you're likely to hear this year.

With Holiday Destination, Nadine puts a critical magnifying glass over why we should do just that [fight for something better than what we currently have].

Exploring all that we give up about ourselves to make others feel comfortable, Shamir’s new take on pop songwriting is one that finally suits. Leaving enough scuffs around the edges to mark it out as his own, this is more than just album seven - it’s the start of a whole new era.

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.

They aren’t going to be for everyone - and this might not be a record that converts new fans in their droves - but pre-existing fans should be happy.

At once bleak, grey and obsessed with morbidity, and lush, blooming and gorgeous, it’s great to have them back.

Releasing two similar albums in such close proximity might seem like a cynical attempt to double-down on the success of the first, but rather than feel like a re-release thrown together by label execs, these were the tracks as they should be; rich, nuanced, and steeped in major key melodies.

Goon is gluttonously full of rich sounds, but it’s the running thread that counts: That voice, and its ability to sing about experiences like they’re universal stories, not a means of self-indulgence.

There are some wonderful moments, the single ('We No Who U R') and the title track are starkly magnificent, but the general feel is a bit of a comedown.

This is an album to intently listen to every single line and every single syllable. There is a strange kind of hope and joy to the album's warmest moments that belie the, at times, dark themes.

The whole record initially comes off like a collision of crackpot thoughts; abstract lyrics; abstract synthetics; all abstract everything. Eventually Lese Majesty exposes its rigid structure, giving hints of ‘Black Up’ but overall daring to go further and deeper than anything on the debut.

Each track could essentially be classified under a different genre, yet there’s a unifying atmosphere throughout--a kind of balmy warmth to the production that allows the duo’s treasure trove of ideas to knit together in one harmonious package.

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.

Collaborations here, there and everywhere, for the most part Kaytranada pulls the strings. But it is a work that threatens to find him in the shadows, leaving the spotlight to bigger names.

Their debut shows Haiku Hands doing what they do best - making huge dance bangers made for partying along to. However, the three-piece also have some surprises up their sleeves, adding in moments of calm amongst the party.

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.

With the lyrical focus on family life, this record is their most personal, powerful and cathartic yet.

It’s a creative, deeply introspective record that makes up for in depth what it doesn’t quite reach in soaring heights.

Sprinter is a bruising, brilliant record from a singular talent. It won’t soothe or placate. It’s all teeth.

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.

Monomania is an easy album to become monomaniac about.

An elegiac, introverted release that feels more like a late-career meditation than the victory lap for "NFR!".

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

This album is one of empowerment and regained vitality.

With jubilant tie-dye riffs and squiggly guitar lines around every corner, And Now For The Whatchamacallit is every bit the celebratory psych-rock album it strives to be.

Though not a flawless effort, musically speaking, this band’s baby teeth are not far off falling out.

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

With each track melting into each other, LUMP feels like a self-contained trip, giving no hints as to the future of the project outside this release, but holding plenty of wonder inside.

Adding another installment to a successful legacy is always a risk, but with ‘McCartney III’, all the icon’s beloved songwriting quirks are out in full force. A more than worthy third prong of the trilogy.

Aside from the brutal norm its twenty, overwhelming tracks follow, Mutant is also capable of digging up gold.

They use a quiet/loud formula to epic create drone-filled symphonies, which rumble, crackle and erupt perfectly.

An overwhelmingly intimate record that makes you wonder just what Years & Years could be capable of next.

Anxiety might still be rooted in Ought’s foundations, but by looking beyond it the four-piece have made their richest, greatest work yet.

The material on offer ranges from the piano balladry of ‘The Cruise Room’ to the ‘80s synth pop of ‘Best In Me’ - in other words, every flavour John Grant has to offer. And that’s an exciting prospect on paper, so it’s a shame that the record frequently suffers from songs too long by half.

While ‘Big Fish Theory’ saw the rapper centre stage, relentless and omnipresent, on ‘FM!’ he lets us tune in to a calmer world, one which he dips in and out of when he pleases, filling in the blanks and staying in the fast lane.

While the celestial sound-effects sometimes make Saturn’s Pattern sound like the soundtrack to Lost In Space or a retro computer game, generally what you can clearly hear is that Weller is creating music confidently again.

It’s an engaging listen and a jarring template that perfectly captures a disquietened and uneasy era.

‘Bronco’ flits between theatricality and poignancy, almost every song sounding like it could score a Western’s pivotal moment with ease. Helmed by the singer’s powerhouse vocals, it’s impossible not to be drawn in throughout the album’s 15 country-rock-song run.

‘Tough Baby’ gives us a distinctly moving experience of serious artistic intent. It’s like watching a wound open, flowers growing out of it.

Across the record, all prop each other up to create something that’s more than the sum of their parts. In this case, three in a B.E.D fits just fine.

Torres is a promising, impassioned debut.

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

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

Picking favourites out of Segall’s catalogue is purely a matter of taste but Manipulator settles right in with his finest work, and will serve as an excellent entry point for newcomers to the weird world of Ty Segall.

The ideal meeting of brains and brawn over a journey that manages to feel both concise and exploratory.

Fusing an eclectic mix of genres together, Virginia Wing’s definitive experimental style continues to be electrifyingly alluring.

Why Make Sense? is a stripped back affair, an album of emotionally intelligent, lithe, pared back R&B.

While so many albums today are front-loaded, this one saves many of its treasures for the final stretch, ending on a high with ‘Highland Grace’, an appropriately elegiac closer euphoric horns and vocals.

While at times he toys with jazz (‘Velvet Dreams’ and ‘Oil Slick’) these moments are fleeting enough to be endured, safe in the knowledge that we’ll be taken back to the fluffy R&B dreamland before long. Sunday nights might never be the same again.

This is the sound of a songwriter in transition.

Sneaking under the half-hour mark, Time & Space is a comprehensive thrash that places Turnstile as the most inventive, forward-thinking band in hardcore.

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

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

It’s the kind of stylistic pick’n’mix Mykki has made their name on: ‘Ketamine’ with Slug Christ nods to the latest iteration of pop-punk; ‘Your Love Was A Gift’ shows a fragility to Dianna Gordon’s vocals amid ghostly production; ‘Trust A Little Bit’ shimmers with a tender nature. And best of all, it works as a whole.

With Sore Dilly Dally prove themselves as a hungry, relentless band ready to make a lasting mark.

One of his strongest bodies of work to date. It’s a richly textured piece of work which sees him expertly display his ability to make listeners find intimacy in vast soundscapes.

The diary-entry nature of Bea’s songwriting - over twelve tracks she dips into hair dye as empowerment (‘Dye It Red’), self-harm via blistering highlight ‘Charlie Brown’, and a not-particularly-well-hidden reference to her boyfriend in ‘Horen Sarrison’ - makes the fuzzy, bubblegum grunge of ‘Fake It Flowers’ a perfect brooding soundtrack.

While the record does, on occasion, feel weighed down by its own existentialism - the more explicit musings on existence that open (‘I Am’) and close (‘Human’) the record notably - the rich sonic palette and Jehnny’s steely delivery ultimately win out.