It is a record that keeps listeners in mind, attempting to make sense of all of these painful feelings and moments in order to offer all-encompassing advice on life’s fleeting nature and on whether or not it’s still worth investing in love.

The Undivided Five is slow, meandering and intelligent. ... A Winged Victory for the Sullen produce breath-taking works of sumptuous beauty which will no doubt bore the shit out of those who are not equipped with the patience, cultural competence and time to delve into the work properly. That sounds wildly elitist but so be it.

Amidst the swathes of memorable hooks, pulsation of electro-beats and persistent homage to acts like New Order and Iron Curtain, Bigger Than Life proves to be much more than an amalgamation of pretty and fun sounds. There’s real emotional weight, rooted in nostalgia and that in-between feeling of well, being in between.

There is no insight into what brought him here, or how he feels in this place on a spiritual or even human level. Instead, it offers a shallow rush of, essentially, “WHOO GOD!” complete with an admittedly fantastic choir, but little else.

Although she’s got a considerable back catalogue behind her, and she’s not exactly reinventing herself here, this feels like a new beginning for Caroline Polachek – and it’s an unmitigated delight and success.

Like a gong bath that actually works, Sunn O))) are an entirely preternatural entity who exist within a state of liminality, sound created within but also between time, in contrast to the banality of music as narrative. Pyroclasts is best listened to loud, obviously.

Despite the mechanized nature, the depth of texture on show here is astounding, and HIDE definitely know how to play with space as well as sound.

Gira, with the help of many talents, has concocted Swans’ most beautiful yet most bleak sounding record of its 30-plus years existence.

There Existed An Addiction to Blood is shocking, insightful and unlike any other hip hop release this year, and quite possibly Clipping’s most impressive work to date.

Juice B Crypts is certainly a decent-enough math rock album, but when you have people as experienced and talented as Williams and Stanier “decent-enough” doesn’t cut it.

The 45 minutes of his new record are a textural deep-dive into the patterns and pleasures of the psyche, and it is both fascinating and fascinated in its results.

Vagabon is clearly searching, and she's managed to create something of a shelter for all of us within her new work. It's difficult to listen to Vagabon and not feel at home.

This brand of tell-all genreless rock may seem impenetrable at first, but a few listens is all it takes before you’ll be hooked by Richard Dawson’s paranoia, honesty and poetry.

There is restraint here, an alien concept for a band of Lightning Bolt’s usual undiluted abandon, but there is also the gleeful harshness which makes them such a force of the underground music scene.

No Home Record is impossible to listen to without making reference to her former band, yet it stands alone as the finest work of a magnificent, imposing talent.

You can’t say that Two Hands is an overtly hopeful album, but it is far from hopeless. Rather, it is realistic and grounded. Big Thief’s restraint in adding the production wizardry they showcased on U.F.O.F. is a key move to making the songs of Two Hands really hit their mark.

The reality of A Pill For Loneliness is that it gets carried away with flights of fancy that are, more often than not, boring. In the past 14 years City and Colour has released some vital albums, and while this certainly alludes to them, it isn’t quite on a par.

Look Up Sharp is a defiant, singularly challenging work, and it infinitely rewards those bold enough to venture into its maw more than once.

Though it’s DIIV’s most consistent record so far, a step in the right direction and a more radical a gear shift than either of those releases, the tracks on Deceiver offer only wide differences in quality and little variation in style.

It’s difficult to escape the fact that there is little to commend Ode to Joy for beyond its exceptionally competent loveliness. That is, however, no reason to completely disregard it.

uknowhatimsayin¿ may not immediately shine as brightly as the grandly ambitious and fearlessly experimental XXX or Atrocity Exhibition, and some of its tracks and vocal hooks are a little undercooked, but Brown’s latest reveals itself more and more with each listen.

Angel is unprepared to commit to anything in the long term, but is always fully committed to now, and this has allowed her to make her boldest and most purposeful step yet.

The Talkies is rough around the edges, is of a debased, primal nature, yet is incredibly on-point with the unsettling atmosphere it communicates. Girl Band is officially the crown jewel of Irish punk, if a beautifully horrific crown jewel.

Contrasting One True Pairing’s sleek sound, Fleming is consistently willing to dampen the mood with world weary, starkly honest observations as to our current cultural reality. Whether it’s toxic masculinity, paranoia, or an all too real fear of global collapse, the record lays all things bare.

It may be a bit of an inscrutable debut, and certainly one that invites critical thinking far beyond a casual listen, but it’s an infinitely rewarding, promising one. You may just find yourself wanting to retire on its shores more often than you expect.

What made M83 so great was its inclination to look forward as well as backward. Unfortunately, DSVII —like Junk— looks backward without bringing anything new to the table.

You might not revisit this record often, but when you want to step back and step out Altid Sammen in its quiet contemplation will be the record to open up new avenues and expose what it was you were searching for.

Lookout Low provides 10 outstanding tracks, each one making clearly apparent the effort put into creating this album was not in vain. This album is certainly going to be tough to beat.