What ‘Fleuves de l'Âme’ shows are that some albums are worth the wait as ‘Fleuves de l'Âme’ shows a delicate balance of killer melodies, tradition playing and contemporary electronica.

This is Hopkins’ strongest album to date. It is also his bravest. Which is saying something indeed.

It’s an eclectic mix, and the quality’s as variable as the sound. But by jumping from style to style, and showcasing artists who really ought to be better known, Snoop keeps the party as scrumptiously enjoyable as his recipe for Spaghetti de la Hood. And that’s all he’s really trying to do.

An album with novelistic depth, when ‘30’ turns once more for its London-rooted conclusion, Adele seems to reach a new level in her stratospheric career.

Brilliant album; an album that will become – in time – as significant and important to Gahan’s career as Johnny Cash’s ‘American’ series was to his enduring legacy.

That the groove will be locked down is never in question. Silk Sonic are gonna do what Silk Sonic are gonna do. The only question is whether you or the unnamed love interest are joining them. And you should. 'An Evening With Silk Sonic' is a real good time.

As ‘Red (Taylor’s Version)’ shows, this is an exercise in catharsis. Leafing back through the storybook of our own formative years, we feel it all.

Although both ‘Monument’ and ‘Terrain’ were made in the space of six months, the albums are as different as night and day. If 'Terrain' is the stream of consciousness after three glasses of wine, 'Monument' is the sharp energy welcomed after a detox.

‘Things Take Time, Take Time’ sees her breaching into a new territory while still residing in the safe net of her previous sound, making it an album to introduce her to a new audience and a pleasing one to entertain her already exciting fanbase.

IDLES' fourth record in just as many years is their most ambitious, most introspective, and most powerful to date.

Although 'Elephant In The Room' is not quite as diverse as his 2018 effort 'Pieces Of A Man' or as fresh as his breakout tape 'Wave[s]', there's a lot to love about the album, and it's likely to one that ages gracefully over time.

It won't appeal to those who prefer his party anthems and vibrant disco, but for those who want to see yet another side to this most prolific of musical minds, it's a voyage worth taking.

This album serves up Summer Walker’s best work yet. It’s brutal, yet romantic, it’s fun, yet flirty, it’s everything any listener could be wanting. A rollercoaster of emotions and she’s not even finished yet.

It’s a theatrical 10-piece song cycle that neatly extends their work, while nodding to what came before. At its best – opener and lead single ‘I Still Have Faith In You’ for example – it comes close to reaching the transformative peaks ABBA scaled all those years ago. Yet for a piece of fan service ‘Voyage’ remains confusingly slight.

Art-rap that refuses to be hemmed in, ‘LP!’ excels by tapping in to the rapper’s undoubted verbal virtuosity, while augmenting it with blistering production. Another triumph from one of rap’s true creative visionaries.

For all the album’s deliberate obscurity, there are small certainties and simple candours. She charts the emotional weather contained within four walls (Pale Interiors), the blue sky that sparkles above Kelso. How a lover’s skin can become a causeway, then a canyon.

Even what Jordan already excelled at – her vocal and lyrical expression, as well as her skill with guitar –does not stagnate, resulting in a fantastic example of how a second album should be.

O’Connell colours firmly between the lines. His ideas do not stray beyond the conventions you’d expect for each singer-songwriter outfit he puts on from song to song.

Always Inside Your Head is often a frustrating album, peppered with sparks of genius and disappointing dead-ends. Ultimately, though, it’s another example of an artist constantly – restlessly, you might say – developing.

A charming, timely return.

With ‘The Spiral’ acting as a key moment, a fusion of individual voice and collective endeavour, it’s clear that his journey has only just started.

Unashamedly broad, it can lack detail and punch; yet ‘=’ has something about it that is difficult to shrug off, while being hard to truly relate to.

On the strength of this ballsy behemoth of sound, they're easily holding onto that crown while adding yet another shining jewel. 'Hushed And Grim' is a reminder of what makes the band so beloved while boldly stepping into a new chapter. They've never sounded so good.

‘I Don’t Live Here Anymore’ sees no severe changes from the Grammy award-winning 'A Deeper Understanding,' but does make for a more nimble listen, the track's shorter running time creating a tauter experience.

‘Fast Idol’ sets out what it aims to do. It’s one of those albums that leaves you mulling over the lyrics, itching to find some kind of meaning but feeling ever more distant from finding it with every attempt.

A luscious record bursting with ideas, technical flourishes and unexpected turns - ‘Fun House’ is Duffy’s greatest achievement yet.

A project as mystifying at it is engaging.

Frothy, neon-soaked entertainment, ‘Future Past’ – when it works – is a blast of ridiculous 80s themed fun.

It’s an exercise in catharsis, providing an accurate snapshot into the minds and mentality of the band certainly, but also the general public of the last year and a half.

The whole record feels like a big sigh, a huge outpouring of personal tracks or long running loves that she’s finally able to release right. ... If there’s one criticism 'Blue Banisters' will draw, it’s that it’s the same old same old in its sonics. Playing the same chords and singing in her same tone, this might be one piano ballad too far for less lyrically-inclined listeners.

'Chansons d’Ennui Tip-Top' might be the strongest album Cocker has released since his 2006 debut, but that does the dirty on ‘Beyond the Pale’ and ‘Further Complications’. This is an album made with love. Love for the culture of his adopted home, but mostly a love of music in all its forms and styles.

Impactful and often unexpected, ‘PUNK’ breaks new ground within Young Thug’s identity.

Self-acceptance is a major theme of this bold album and her complicated emotions can be felt by listeners in this stand-out album from Self Esteem.

The 13 smooth jams showcase Joy Crookes not only as a vocalist or candid writer but as the new face of British soul. While many artists chase nostalgia, Crookes offers a different way forward by disregarding the traditional boundaries of classicism.

Full of self-aware wistfulness and post-ironic references, it avoids the pitfalls of many other flash-in-the pan internet culture records by also being genuine; genuinely nostalgic, genuinely sweet, genuinely interesting, and genuinely great.

Although this first effort can be seen as the bridge between some of her collaborators, such as the projects of Wallows and Dominic Fike, Wolf is in her own universe, creating a new style of artistry that will inspire many others for the years yet to come.

‘Music Of The Spheres’ is never less than listenable, but rarely raises the pulse.

Unsettling at times, with moments of quiet intensity – ‘Geist’ is the vulnerable soundtrack to a person’s self-discovery during a period of long, hard reflection.

A record that refuses to divulge its secrets immediately, ‘Life Of A Don’ is packed with immaculate sonic detail while also relishing a certain directness.

Abnormal and mystifying, audiobooks amplify bewilderment on a remarkable second album.

In all its floaty, seductively numbing glory, 'Good Morning It’s Now Tomorrow' is an exceptional work of chamber-tinged indie songwriting.

A nine-track opus of gorgeous musical exploration on their own terms.

The LP’s home stretch is up there with Blake’s best, not just in the tense penultimate title track and wet-cheeked closer ‘If I’m Insecure’, but on the lead single. ‘Say What You Will’ shows off the magic trick Blake’s perfected by now. Vocally, he’s unsettlingly beautiful.

Even in the albums more heightened and banging moments, there’s consideration and a message, lyrics worthy of a proper listen. By drawing on his own experience and stories, Sam brings politics to his music in a way that’s more impactful than anything Keir Starmer is doing at the minute.

Continuing to give airtime to these softer, more playful moments could see Showalter achieve greater success in mainstream circles.

Spread across 18 tracks, Meek Mill's creative contouring isn't fully consistent, leading to some awkward moments; 'Love Train' and 'Love Money' feel insubstantial, while the mid-section loses its punch.

The sonics are strange and hard to recreate: they are forward thinking but in some ways ageless, a natural fit for Tirzah’s magnetic voice.

Existing in a different realm to ‘Chromatica’, it’s testament to Lady Gaga’s astonishing breadth, and the timeless effervescence of Tony Bennett.

At times spread too thin across its 17 strong tracklisting. ... ‘Trip At Knight’ serves to finesse his sound and approach, allowing room for Trippie Redd to attempt new projects within his digi-focussed framework – it’s a chapter so many of his contemporaries have been cruelly denied.

It hardly moves mountains as a standalone effort, but is moderately impactful and somewhat befitting of its lofty pandemic-era presentation.

‘Dawn’ is the product of years of curation, brimming with emotion and beautifully articulated lyrics.

This offers an unparalleled listening experience. Each quality – the gorgeous vocals, the radiant tones, the graceful guitar – manifests enlightened bliss. The expertly blended transitions between each track transform them into puzzle pieces that fit smoothly together.

With Johnny Marr-Esque riffs, life-affirming lyrics that have a sincerity, depth, and wisdom beyond their years, the Lathums are cementing themselves as one of the UK’s top bands.

Poppy is ready to leave her mark upon the world again with this hook-focused album that favours front-to-back consistency over constant mayhem and it makes you wonder what’s next.

The 29-year-old’s skilful complexity as a musician and producer has undoubtedly progressed along with his self-development.

Big, bold and ambitious, it’s both a welcome return and a statement of intent.

The main takeaway from ‘Dawn Of Chromatica’ however is Gaga’s curatorial ability, and the even strength of talent on display. Capable of moving from Ashnikko’s playful digitalism through to the ballroom energy of the Jimmy Edgar and Bree Runway take on ‘Babylon’, it’s a relentlessly entertaining display.

While the pop-facing moments may not appeal to all, Tommy shows her dexterous talent and the extent of her creativity on ‘goldilocks x’.

González hasn’t changed much since his 2003 debut ‘Veneer’ but his fans won’t be disappointed by his new project and will surely be glad to have new songs after waiting six years.

It’s an impressive record, albeit one that’s often difficult to get a foothold on.

Injury Reserve’s new album is a truly dystopian impression of despair, smashing together polar opposite genres to create something wholly new.

‘MONTERO’ excels the marketing spin by delivering one of 2021’s most daring, riveting, and honest pop statement.

This isn’t a project for newcomers. ‘Springtime In New York’ – taken as a five disc whole – requires patience, and a degree of love for the core texts.

The amount of moments of contemplation away from the mosh pit benefits the listenability of the album, though its overall sequencing is blotchy and still more like a mixtape.

‘star-crossed’ demands to be listened to in one go. ... She has calcified a range of difficult, overwhelming, sometimes liberating emotions into a time capsule marking the most turbulent time of her life. This is heart on sleeve storytelling.

A hugely impressive achievement, ‘I’ve Been Trying To Tell You’ is technically exquisite, while remaining incredibly difficult to pin down. A project to bathe in, rather than simply enjoy.

When it punches hard, ‘Jose’ doesn’t miss. ... Yet ‘Jose’ – like Drake and Kanye’s efforts, previously – is led down by quality control. The creativity is undiminished, but it struggles under the weight of its 24 track span – clocking in at more than hour, the record at times tries the patience.

‘A Beautiful Revolution Pt. 2’ stares down the traumas that proliferate our lives, offering hope, creativity, and soul filtered through Common’s profound hip-hop vision.

Bar a couple of underwhelming or wholly unoriginal takes, 'The Metallica Blacklist' is a surprisingly solid listen considering its breadth. While the snobbier rock connoisseur out there might still view Metallica’s king-making album as when they ‘sold-out,’ this set just shows how malleable, how influential, and just how damn fun these songs still are.

The band are effectively building and complexifying their sound to keep things fresh. 'Comfort To Me' sounds like it could be played in a rowdy Australian pub the band are used to – or a colossal arena.

A very clever album that plays with musical codes and conventions brilliantly to create something greater than the sum of its parts. This could be the bravest Low album in recent years. It surpasses ‘Double Negative’ in a way that is surprising, but also feels obvious.

It’s this tight-rope walking of pop-maturity, moment-capturing awareness and beauty-in-simplicity attitude that has aided in Seinfeld’s rise to the top of the dance music ladder, and has helped him shape a record that showcases exactly where he is sitting in terms of sonic aesthetic right now.

While subtle, this album captures the evolution of a band in their element once more.

Aubrey Graham hands over his fifth project to cross 80 minutes, an hour and a half smorgasbord of all-new tracks. In his defence, the Drake cuisine is far too extensive and varied at this point, but this dilemma has been around for a number of years now and some sort of sacrifice for a better, more cohesive project has to be made if he wants to release another classic.

It’s truly miraculous that this experience formed in just eight days of work, and the engrossing journey passes by just as fast - if you survived the voyage, you’ll be pressing repeat immediately.

What ‘Septet’ really does well is show how accomplished Kirby has become in his writing. The music is fun, with a joyous bounce, but also hints at a deep melancholy. It’s not sad, but it’s also not happy.

Trend and time can’t touch them, and with ‘Senjutsu’ they’ve produced one of their best albums of the past 20 years.

With ‘Sometimes I Might Be Introvert’, the answer seems to be found in widening that scope and ambition in a way we’ve never seen before. The cinematic flourishes are cranked up and Simz is more confessional than ever, pondering what defines her as both Little Simz the artist and Simbi the person. It makes for addictive listening.

‘You Signed Up For This’ is the most developed offering the singer-songwriter has delivered so far, with higher levels of production really allowing her storytelling to come through.

A world of distortion and contradiction, blood and venom, ‘If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power’ is a singular statement, one of extreme power.

‘Any Shape You Take’, rich in the emotional palette that it’s genre-free conveys, gathers together sentiments that may be familiar to many but haven’t been depicted in the vivid and complex methods explored here.

Turnstile are flexing some of their heaviest hooks yet - gliding us across nonchalant bops and hellish riffs, the Maryland five-piece have yet again come out with a bang.

‘Fulton’ and ‘Morning River’ are early highlights, while ‘Circuit Rider’ seems to exude the characteristics of the album’s Los Angeles setting. Closing with the reflective ‘Ever Feel That Way’, Steve Gunn marvels with the lightest of touches.

‘Screen Violence’ is so striking it makes 2018’s ‘Love Is Dead’ seem almost blasé in its deliverance.

With echoes of everything from PIXIES to Declan McKenna, what Lang lacks in refinement he makes up for in a very obvious encylopedic knowledge of guitar music. His ambition and obsession with producing more cosmic chords will, with no doubt, make his second full-length a more radical, enjoyable listen.

A project with literally no skips, ‘Fire’ seems to lay down a marker for his peers – The Bug is back, and the bar has been raised yet again.

Despite appearing torn between a middle-finger attitude and something much deeper, ‘333’ triumphs in never having a dull moment. It’s a document of character and expression while hopefully pushing forward to something more focussed.

These 11 songs display the underrated skills of a multi-faceted musician taking a series of bold and brave steps forward – fortunately, they pay off in droves.

Deeply cohesive, conceptual and considered. Controlled while still being unexpected. Comforting within confines, placing a new level of distance and boundaries between her personal life and her fans as she focusses on feelings over stories.

‘Fever Dreams’ is very possibly Villagers’ most ambitious and endearing record to date.

There are some real moments of beauty on the record - 'In Blur' aches and sparkles, whilst singles 'Great Mass Of Colour' and 'The Gnashing' showcase a band adept at building beautiful soundscapes even with the guitars turned down - but at a certain point, the album suffers from the lack of depth in Clarke’s vocals, or range in his melodies.

This release feels infused with self-assurance and pride, merging know-how and passion with a strong vision that only seems to get bolder with each release.

It’s often difficult for pop-punk bands to bring something new to the table, but in ‘Model Citizen’ Meet Me @ The Altar have completely out done themselves.

Despite having occasionally moments of deflation, ‘Loving In Stereo’ is more refined than past work. Loaded with retrospective jams and summery hits alike, the record leaves their growth open to further exploration.

A rich, rewarding experience, this isn’t an album to be understood easily – uneasy listening, it could be their most enlightening record yet.

‘Different Kinds Of Light’ shows Bird navigating melody and emotion with impressive command, a musician in all senses of the word. Continuing to colour outside the lines on future material could make Bird a household name for years to come.

A strong project from Fredo who shows how to be successful by sticking to your own sound. The production of this album is perfect with the choice of beats getting better as the album progresses.

The answers aren’t as easily obtained as on its Grammy-winning forebear, but ‘King’s Disease II’ dares to ask questions of its maker, and its audience.