At times ‘Kaiser Chiefs’ Easy Eighth Album’ feels uneven and grating. However, the band should be applauded for their risk taking and sonic shift and there’s no doubt that the album performed live will be full of the energy and polish that is synonymous with their shows.

A record that refuses to compromise, ‘BLUE LIPS’ presents ScHoolboy Q in unfiltered form. A creative accelerator, its commitment to the individual voice makes this the LA rapper’s definitive statement.

It has the power to give you these little, unexpected, rushes enabling you to fall utterly for this intricate, complex, but captivating album.

A new listener to Everything Everything may not be fully converted, but the synth-pop twinkles coating this record freshen up their sound.

‘Where’s My Utopia?’ is a musically diverse step forward for Yard Act, who refuse to be intimidated by their debut.

Psychedelic rock in its original form, the album is unlikely to win the duo many new fans, but as a testament to enjoying life, it’s unrivalled.

Real Estate emerged as a band renewed, the palpable unity in these performances amplifying their sense of purpose. A Springtime joy.

‘On Purpose, With Purpose’ shows an artist who continues to be authentic, whilst also realising that at this stage of his career he needs to adapt his style in order to achieve greatness.

The rugged, ragged ‘Twenty Things’ sits against the bolshy ‘Sad Lads Anonymous’, a record whose sonic breadth is matched to the assured nature of its construction.

As a whole, ‘Loss Of Life’ deftly balances the ability to appeal to the hardcore fans who have stuck with them, all while winning back the hearts of those who may have been lost along the way.

Nestled amongst some of her most nuanced and carefully placed moments of Americana and joined by a host of backing singers and musicians from Connor Oberst to Hand Habits‘ Meg Duffy, Segarra manages to take solace in the fact that while we are victims of our formative years, there is always scope to heal.

‘Under The Sun’ isn’t an album to play while doing something else. It might start off as this but eventually you are listening intently, lost in its dense fug of sound and delicate melodies.

A project that demands to be listened to in one sitting, there is an immersive quality across the tracklist that instantly strikes through. Each track is submerged in a nocturnal wash of acoustics, playful in its use of distance, textures and melody.

Itasca’s ‘Imitation Of War’ is a wonderful record, one whose spell only reveals itself over countless enraptured listens.

Wise’s third record is a glossy-smooth addition to a stellar discography, oozing with infectious melodies, tempered production and lashes of sex appeal.

In forty minutes, the band not only reminds listeners why they became scene heroes but also why they’re one of the UK’s most thrilling exports. For our money, it’s another home-run of a record.

In terms of consistency, ‘Venus’ doesn’t quite match her previous work. Sure, it’s heaps of fun at times and packed with plenty of euro pop bangers to satisfy the faithful, but this time around, otherworldly, celestial highs compensate for moments when Larsson surrenders to commercial viability during its unfortunately frequent lows.

His third is a fun yet wonderfully composed record that sounds radically different to what he’s produced before. If a little odd at points with a dialling down of immediacy, patience is required to fully appreciate the pay-off.

While it may be hard to place genre-wise, it’s not hard to see its quality and sense of ambition.

While it’d be difficult to proclaim it her finest work, ‘She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She’ is certainly Wolfe’s most ambitious and careful-constructed album. Deliciously-dramatic in its nocturnal flair, it cracks open a whole new set of tantalising sonic possibilities for Wolfe’s and her collaborators’ future.

The record holds a conciliatory anger at a civilisation that can’t save itself from itself. And through an exploration of war, bloodspill, loss and confusion Vera Sola has continued to tell her story, and invite us into her arresting world.

This is an album is subtle transition. Broadening the dynamic between light and shadow, rock crunch and synth splendour, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes grapple with their sound, oozing confidence at every turn.

It’s a delightful, towering debut that will indeed leave you ecstatic.

While hardly reinventing the wheel with ‘What Do We Do Now,’ J has yet again delivered a set of songs that only an enigma like he could.

Arresting, yet often unexpected, ‘Fairweather Friend’ pilfers from the indie pop lineage, while daring to stamp out a unique identity of its own.

A bold work of evolution, ‘EVERYBODY CAN’T GO’ utilises some fantastic production – notably from Hit-Boy – to piece together a seamless record, one that hauls his sound forwards into a fresh era.

One of Kirby’s key strengths is her lyrics, but even with her voice front and foremost her repeated appeal to “wait, wait, wait, listen” seems like it could be genuine. On the other hand, the fact that a first spin inspires a kind of relaxed inattention just makes ‘Blue Raspberry’ more of a slow burn, one which rewards listeners who come back for more.

‘What an enormous room’ is an amalgamation of its title: an expansive collection of tracks, difficult to define, but somehow remains undeniably TORRES.