The juncture of influences and styles found across Sampa the Great's new album, As Above, So Below, is tripping and magic and Sampa’s immense ability to play hard and soft is the driving core of the album.

If you already enjoy the band's sound, whether in fervent adoration or in a passing fondness, Keep On Smiling won’t turn you off. It might not be a game changer, but if you already like the game, thats not a problem.

Kinetic and unpredictable, whatever has instigated such an about turn, this idea-packed collection provides an evolution from the ambient, new age music Smith has become known for.

While her captivating vocals remain, Donnelly’s lack of bark and bite from the debut means this record, as the name suggests, mostly washes over you.

Authentic, intricate and wholeheartedly personal, Julia Jacklin brims with poise at every turn on PRE PLEASURE.

Witty, uniquely Australian observational songs such as 6L GTR, Ticket Inspector, and the particularly ferocious The Price of Smokes are testament to the trio's power-pop-punk.

The decision to front-load the album with singles means that you experience a jarring drop in energy and quality three songs in. After that Freakout/Release settles into songs that, while alright, sound a bit like the product of an AI program that has been made to listen to 100 hours of Hot Chip and then generate its own imitation.

It was inspired partly from the loss of close friends, but the mood is rarely sombre. More it seems to have galvanised McCombs' focus, adding a heft of sincerity to his occasionally flippant style.

At the very least, Cry Sugar acts as a reminder of Birchard’s originality but, at the most, it’s a broad and diverse exploration of the many faces of electronic music past and present.

A few later tracks don’t quite land the punches that others do. Still, the band's maturity is audible for all ears, as Pale Waves continue to carve their own path and embrace their best fiery and forthright version of themselves.

While it might not be pushing too far beyond its own boundaries, No Rules Sandy makes for an enjoyable and affecting listen, whatever the weather.

The results are rewarding. Could We Be More is a finely crafted unit that takes KOKOROKO’s span of influences (highlife and afrobeat in the vein of Fela Kuti and Ebo Taylor; a solid education in jazz; the entire city of London) and spins them through a dream machine of sorts.

Florist already feels like an album to live and grow with. It's a warm hug which asks the listener to smell the flowers every now and then.

The baggy mid-section gives over to pared back singer-songwriter fare that reigns it all in, the record’s bright flame burning out rather too fast.

It’s been a long time, but Riderless Horse is a timely reminder of what Nina Nastasia has always done. Great songs, performed brilliantly, to devastating effect. A record of powerful simplicity, and a stunning return.

This is an acutely refined album fuelled by energy and agitation from a group way ahead of their age.

Laus bravely embraces her imagined world through not only sonic exploration but its successful discovery too. She soars through a variety of tones, including lullaby-like ballads, jittery jazz-infused pop, moving midwest emo and, of course, prickly post-rock.

This is a stunning vocal experiment, one that constructs immaculate, dreamt and abundant worlds.

On the whole it finds the sweet spot between chaos and structure, silliness and depth, and it’s a banger.

Pensive, resting beats provide a backdrop to the album's many experiments with it really popping in its quieter moments of lyrical reflection and confrontation. Loggerhead requires repeat listening to discover its true depth.

It’s excellent, and filled with momentum, even if she could have gone a bit more ethereal on the 'ooh-aahs' at the end – we know she has it in her.

Viagra Boys are still copping from the William S. Burroughs playbook when it comes to surrealism and degenerates, but there's a confidence and heft throughout Cave World that keeps it sounding fresh.

Occasional spoken word excerpts add nice intimate touches with themes of love, heartache and introspection at the forefront of Nutini’s endearing lyrics. It's not faultless, but Nutini still glimmers with magic on this magnetic new record.

This is a thrilling and beautiful return well worth the four-year wait.

An album of just Danilova's entrancing voice would be sufficiently good, but ARKHON shows a restless creativity that warrants all of your attention.

Few artists can toe the line between melancholy and miracle like Allison, making Sometimes, Forever a record worthy of accolades for some time, perhaps even forever.

If creating something uncomfortable was what Butler was hoping to achieve with In Amber, then it certainly succeeds in its mission. Unfortunately, though, it doesn’t achieve much else.

The constantly shifting mood makes it difficult to settle into a rhythm, which may be due to the missing visual element, but there are more than enough well-executed left turns on Ugly Season to make a solid standalone album.