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There is so much going on, and the ambitions shown are so bold and brilliant, that you can’t help but root for the record even when it’s falling a little short.

IDLES’ most considered, sonically thoughtful, and complex release to date, taking the band down a new path while preserving their strengths.

As much fun as its riffs and crunching tone can be, the album feels like a product of veterans going through the motions. For a really long time.

Romping rock and roll sounded like a breeze for Marc Bolan, and when you add some vintage Visconti wizardry into the mix, you can’t really go wrong.

TBD

Another commanding and deft iteration of Godspeed’s lauded post-rock style. Although lacking the range of previous records, it still offers space to think.

A blend of teenage angst and a primordial, animalistic sense of something lurking beneath a thin surface, a beastly shape clawing at the other side.

Tracks swirl about at a slower pace than in Bicep’s debut. It often feels as though in creating a ‘home version’ they have instead cut out the excitement.

Unabashedly grim, but reassuringly gentle. The album's striking cover art of a menacing but fragile old man is a good indicator of what to expect.

Relentless and unpredictable, the album's like the spawn of a Satanic ritual in a theme park. It’s oppressive and challenging, but also warm and charming.

It seems that a template was drawn up and filled in ten times over, such that every track sounds like the last, only wearing a different hat.

The album is so delicate that it feels too fragile for its own good. It’s like a frozen wildflower - beautiful, but could shatter at any moment.

A pleasant, consistent, and enjoyable listen. Here’s hoping Nas and Hit Boy build on their clear chemistry with a follow-up.

Along with a supremely confident and symbiotic backing band, Neil Young imbues each track with this and easygoing courageousness. A true classic.

The album is purposefully provocative, and whilst this brings exhilarating and hard-hitting moments, it can also result in disorientating frenzies.

Despite extended musical passages and eccentric lyrics, The Sophtware Slump is remarkably accessible. It's pop music for art students.

Thundercat rides the album like a surfer hanging ten on the world’s smallest, smoothest, slowest wave. It’s drifting with style, an uneventful good time.

The richest and most melodious harmonisations of four men since John, Mark, Luke, and Matthew collaborated on their bestselling project 2,000 years ago.

The album's all a bit clean cut, a perfectly pleasant smorgasbord of gothy synth pop which goes in one ear and out the other.

With Harvey it feels like you’ve stumbled across the ad hoc performance of a travelling mystic. It’s black magic with a smile.

Kevin Parker’s latest project has all the hallmarks of what came before, and it pushes harder on his more avant garde sensibilities.

Throughout much of its run-time, There is No Year seems content revelling in its own (admittedly awe-inspiring) ambience.

As far as straight up heavy metal goes, Black Sabbath's Paranoid is one of the very best. It's very sincere and reliably silly.

For all its instances of greatness and undeniable beauty, MAGDALENE gets tangled in its own pop epic aspirations.

The album is enthralling in the same way a vampire's glamouring might be: warm, cold, hypnotic, enticing, and foreboding as all Hell.

Krafty Kuts and Chali 2na seem to lack conviction on this album, never attempting anything overly exciting, content with being serviceable.

Layers upon layers of sensuous strings, steady soundscapes, and ghostly vocals combine to create an record that is impressive, yet fatiguing.

Gold & Grey strives to be an epic of sorts, with its sprawling tracklist and adventurous sonic deviations. Despite some frustrations, it largely succeeds.

The heated, high-tempered attitude that Curry carried on 2018's TA13OO has been replaced by a less hostile outlook. ZUU is a fun ride.

When I Get Home feels like neither a continuation nor progression from its predecessor. Here Solange’s airy delivery is empty rather than angelic.

There is plenty of anger in the album, but it is used constructively. At a time when much music was obsessed with rejection, The Specials gave affirmation.

Midnight Marauders’ tracklist is an exhibition of seemingly boundless creativity, each track distinct, original, and memorable.

For every moment of serenity there's a feeling of incompleteness, and the result is an album that's sadly unmemorable.

The whole record has an easiness of manner, content to be the sonic backdrop for a wanderer with no particular destination in mind.

QOTSA’s debut serves as a glimpse into their career as princesses, before being made queens. There's always time for good ol’ sleazy rock’n’roll.

A constant stream of static with blunt edges, and the glitches are rarely more than a few moments apart, but it doesn’t come off as overbearing.

From its ludicrous track names to its filter-free kitchen sink instrumentation, *Smote Reverser* is an hour-long marathon of pretentiousness and tedium.

As enjoyable, sometimes euphoric, as Dirty Computer is, it’s far from perfect. Some of the trap-tinged beats will likely sound redundant in a few years.

While the riffs and breakdowns are charging, raucous, and spine-tingling, the range of influences can often be distracting. There's no clear vision.

Tapping into the bohemian sensibilities of the era, Led Zeppelin feel like a sonic equivalent of the Beats in their indifference to the status quo.

There’s a mindlessness to the instrumentation, lyricism, and vocals that is devoid of surprises. The 32-minute runtime blasts by as a blur of repetitive noise.

Visions of a Life is a triumph of contemporary British rock. The riffs roar and the melodies soar, with the band playing beautifully to Ellie Rowsell’s strengths.

Luciferian Towers’ rolls through sonic aesthetics lifted from Scottish Highlands and the streets of dusty towns in the Old West, inviting listeners to fill in the gaps.

American hip-hop melded with house, techno, trap, and UK garage is an interesting approach, but as an artistic expression it’s frustratingly restrained.

Doolittle balances boisterous oddness with sweet and sugary pop tunes, making it not only Pixies' most intriguing record, but also the most accessible.

Growling beats, echoing synths, and dark use of space lend themselves well to El-P and Killer Mike’s delivery: severe, angry, and macho, yet also great fun.

The album’s songwriting is fairly subpar, trying to say everything at once. Humanz is by no means a terrible album, but it’s definitely a disappointing one.

This is the end, beautiful friend. Of the year that is. Which means it’s time for us to rank our favourite albums.

A lot of things about 2021 somehow managed to be worse than in 2020. Not the music, though. The music has been terrific. These were our favourite singles.

Music took on new meaning this year. For many of us it was the only remedy; at times, a vital kickstart. New releases became sources of vigour and inspiration

This year has been... testing, to put it mildly. Music's magic has been a valuable support for many of us. Some would say essential. Here are the songs that kept us afloat.

The end of the 2010s is upon us, which means we are bound by obscure 16th century law to rank our favourite albums of the decade.

The decade had some doozies. Here were our favourites.

It's the end of the year, which means we're legally obliged to round up our favourite albums. Here are our picks in the year of our Lorde 2019.

From haunted hip hop rides to lunar cruise muzak, this will likely be the most un-single-like list of year-end singles we ever do.

It's the end of the year, and that means it's time for fond remembrances. From hip-hop to folk, and R&B to rock, here lies our favourite albums of 2017.

What would the end of the year be without some lists? Here lies our favourite singles of 2018.

It's the end of the year, and that means it's time for fond remembrances of the best bits. From hip-hop to folk to R&B to rock, here lies our favourite albums of 2017.

It's year's end, and that means it's time for fond remembrances. From lovesick shoegazing to rock epics, here lies our favourite singles of 2017.

It's time to put on our cynical hats. The artists featured here have set such a high standard that it's upsetting when they fall (considerably) short.