Blending a history of gospel, soul and rap, NO THANK YOU cuts and shifts, showing her irrepressible force and talent.

Vocal highlights aside, the band's simplistic metal techniques fail to materialise the "Catholic sex dungeon" vibes Mahony hoped to summon.

Its exceptional use of Radio Serial-like synth wobbles and pulses paint a vivid vision of mind-bending power and the destruction left in its wake; amplified by gorgeously dramatic bursts of symphony and chorus. A real gem.

The pandemic is the ghost at the feast, lyrics dotted throughout about the deep personal upheaval we have all endured both publicly and privately these past two years. Penultimate track The Worst Is Done lifts up the mood with wistful optimism, setting up the stage for the third and final album of this heart-rending saga.

There may be nothing here that hits with the immediacy of You or Junk City II, but the sense of control and restraint is well-suited to this kind of headphones music.

Exploring retro music as inspiration can sometimes anchor acts to a sound, but in addition to the overarching transformation into this suave stranger, this artist’s ability to reinvent the album’s genre – hip-hop, R’n’B, synthpop – with each track makes Christine and the Queens' debut as Redcar transformative and enticing.

Constance’s empathy is radiant as her lyrics are brought to the fore by way of a minimal guitar-led backing. Her emotional intellect is demonstrated through her articulation of mental health and personal struggles.

Come Around doesn’t have the tonal or the sonic variety of that previous record. Instead the record polishes to perfection dal Forno’s specific sound-world, feeling more like a jigsaw, the songs forming a kind of composite dreamscape.

Some tracks do repeat the same tricks or perhaps linger a little too long, yet Myself in the Way, while not one to excite fans of the old Turnover, builds upon the simplicity of Altogether to produce an alt-disco record full of intrigue.

With Where I’m Meant To Be, the jazz quintet have crafted a supremely effective call to surrender yourself to the present and celebrate life through dance.

The record is a bit slow to get going, and at times meanders into excessive atmosphere – next to The Slow's Bullet's ambient fuzz, the urgent jungle rhythms on Higher and Devotion in particular pop. But Avery is engaging with the art of the album as a sum of its parts, and from start to finish conjures a fantastical, dreamlike world.

Alpha Zulu is everything a Phoenix album has been already: slick, silly, maximalist. ... They mine nostalgia for call-backs (Tonight); find comedy in impending doom (Alpha Zulu). But the boys are ageing and, separated initially by lockdown, an emotional core burned a hole in the centre of this new record instead of a six-minute space-bound instrumental.

The only weak portion of the album (relatively) is two consecutive rockers towards the end (Today, I Will), because you've come to expect something more experimental. But this is a minor quibble in what's otherwise one of the most exciting albums to come out this year, regardless of genre.

Is Inner World Peace going to change the history of music? Probably not. But it will absolutely become a comfort album for many.

The Loneliest Time is still a solid leftfield pop album, showcasing Jepsen’s ability to draw across eras and genres to push the boundaries of what pop can be: ultimately, this is what makes her such a compelling artist.

The Arctic Monkeys of old are long gone and so too should any expectations of them returning to dirty dancefloors. With The Car, the band become increasingly comfortable in their lounge-laden musical attire.

Each instrument is put to use across multiple genres, experimenting with a collection of new sounds. The result is a moment of exciting expansion.

Stay Close to Music is captivating. Unable just to play in a background, Mykki Blanco has created an album that needs your full attention. It constitutes a narrative that is not only guided through words, but also sounds.

YTILAER meanders through moods, from melancholic to tumultuous to mellow and easy. Often, the songs take time to reveal their true nature: Naked Souls begins as a gentle jazz ballad over piano, gradually building as other instruments join to become explosive. But elsewhere (Coyotes, Natural Information), it is simply joyful listening from the first beat.

Here Is Everything presents a band laid bare (the whole record crafted together in drummer Fern Ford’s spare room studio). And, like the Harvest Moon casting its welcome glow, it’s a beacon of endurance and survival. Celestial magic.

Being Funny... serves not only as a reflective and refined record, but a showcase of The 1975's almighty journey to their peak, and how much they still have to offer.

A pandemic baby, the album is a mixed bag as the singer explores new paths for herself.

The record ultimately feels like something of a minor work in James’s already imposing output, but remains a pointer to both her and Eastman’s sparkling talents.

Blue Rev is a return that, in a strangely radical way, simply meets expectations. ... If you wanted to experience an etherealness that was anchored in experience, it was always Alvvays. And it still is.

The record ultimately comes across as a series of experiments compared to the steely focus of their previous offerings, and perhaps in future will feel like a stepping stone record, but their sheer ability of songcraft means it never drags in its exploration.

Shygirl has created a project that screams for attention. It slithers through a jungle of sound. Tracks reminiscent of a shattered lullaby, or a disjointed reflection on a past relationship. Shygirl has basically created an entire genre all her own.

Pixies needn’t ever escape their core identity, but they can enhance it like they have done here.

Cool It Down is topical without getting too deep, and fun without overstaying its welcome, but even for a band as mercurial as YYYs, it feels a little too ephemeral.