Jassbusters is the album of a musician who has been around the block a bit, knows what he wants and more importantly how to get it.

Quiet River of Dust won’t be for everyone, but you can’t help but marvel at its ambition.

Barry Johnson’s vocals remain huge, and riffs are still catchy, but in trying to expand their palate, their identity might just be starting to slip.

Full of lilting indie-pop, often swelling with trumpets, string sections and a sense of wistfulness, European Heartbreak sounds nostalgic for a dream, the realisation of which has long since passed.

Jungle have largely played it safe here; the feelgood alt-funk of ‘Heavy, California’ could sit seamlessly alongside anything from their debut, while the ominous nocturnal strut of single ‘Happy Man’ is just ‘Busy Earnin” Mk II.

While not wholly consistent, Teleman’s third LP contains some of their best work yet.

Language could afford to lose a few numbers--particularly the low-energy likes of ‘Body’ and ‘Girlfriend’--but there’s more than enough evidence here that MNEK is a potent force in his own right.

This is an offshoot of Waxahatchee that may fail to bring in fans anew, but offers plenty for those wanting a return to Katie Crutchfield’s more acoustic roots.

hile ‘Back in Brazil’ is a tad baffling, ‘Caesar Rock’ doesn’t quite hit the right notes, and ‘People Want Peace’ feels a tad trite, even from one of the (probable) pioneers of the peace hand signal. Still, it’s hard to leave Egypt Station without a grin.

While Dance on the Blacktop won’t mean everything to everyone, its considered construction, intriguing philosophising and plain old barbed-wire hooks mean it’s certain to mean everything to someone.

An album, according to Dev, about “black depression, black existence and the ongoing anxieties of queer / people of colour”, Negro Swan is a record that radiates these tensions; subtle and amorphous, it’s not the most immediate listen, but it’s undoubtedly one with real weight.

There’s plenty to discover here on a diverse record that takes a lot of interesting turns, and while there are some unsuccessful moments, there’s also plenty for indie-pop fans to get their teeth stuck into.

With its high concepts and bold instrumentals the album feels a little heavy at times, but you really can’t fault its ambition.

With just about enough sonic variation to keep things interesting, there’s a more pristine, altogether more polished feel to this collection of tracks no doubt the result of an artist who’s getting closer to refining their craft.

When so much of what Juanita had written for Until the Lights Fade clearly involves a folk-rock flavour, it’s a shame it wasn’t fleshed out accordingly.

Honne’s crystalline, Mura Masa-esque beats will see them through--though only as easy-listening, nothing more.

Invitation to Her’s is an occasionally jarring listen, thanks to its stylistic restlessness, but there’s enough substance behind the silliness to leave you feeling they’re following through on their early prom

The events of two years ago might have left Cullen dejected, but he’s managed to spin beauty out of those bad times.

Named after a match-winning wrestling move, Coup De Grace isn’t quite going to do that, but it’ll get Miles through to the next round

Far from a disaster, Ben Khan’s long-awaited debut is a necessary one, feeling like a cleansing of the palate.

Taken on its own merit Rituals is a bright and bombastic record that harbours a darker underbelly. ... And though there’s a chance it will alienate a small portion of established fanbase, it will certainly earn the band more than it loses.

Julia’s vocals are still the centre-piece here but they take a more playful turn and, at nine songs long, the record serves as a short but promising introduction to a band still in their relative infancy.

The songs themselves are invariably linked through a series of euphoric crossovers and trippy interludes that create a strong sense of life within the music.

Granted, his sixth effort is as bonkers and creative as ever, but it could be that less really is more.

It’s punk music with the intelligence of wizened old jazz musicians, and as a chronicle of the band’s hardships, it’s a much-welcome return.

The frustration comes from Stains on Silence's propensity for a feeling little bit too rough around the edges, unfinished almost, despite it’s reworking.

If there’s anything to criticise Hope Downs for, it’s its risk-averse approach, and tendency to become a one-dimensional listen, but as a debut record, it presents a band that know exactly what they’re doing, and proceed to do it very well indeed.

There’s a further sense of spiriting when harps show up on the tracks ‘Limbs’ and ‘Take Him In’, and ultimately this album succeeds as an ominous exercise in atmosphere.