From the moment it begins, Double Negative sounds like being inside a violent storm, holding up a mirror to the turbulence of the world right now.
At times, this record can feel uncomfortable, with its abundance of vocal falsettos and staccato synths, but it is in this discomfort that IRISIRI reveals itself.
While she isn’t the first in recent years to shun hi-tech production tools, Hauff makes her machines bleed better than most.
Typically dense with historical reference points, as well as contemporary interrogations of real-world issues, Dirty Computer is the ecstatic protest album for an era that will keep people pondering its cultural significance for generations to come.
It’s clear that through this album’s 16 introspective, tender and heart-rending tracks, this is the kind of world Dev Hynes is striving to create through his music: one where the negro swan isn’t only desired, but allowed to soar.
With Age Of, 0PN has once again taken things up a notch.
On her debut album as Snail Mail, Jordan pines for a series of former lovers throughout the album, and it’s refreshing to hear the emotions which we usually thrash out in our own heads being clearly communicated with no shame.
This is an album that navigates the ambiguous waters of sexuality and identity, relationships and selfhood, with a steady, sure hand.
DJ Taye’s creative, rich debut album Still Trippin’ is footwork at its best.
While Beyondless is a record that honours the lineage of the great musicians that came before Iceage, this music is too alive and too lustful to be sterilised by the praise of rockist bores. It’s the sound of a band who’ve been bound together by music since they were kids, and they’ve not lost an ounce of passion along the way.
In an era where women are no longer afraid to speak up, Invasion of Privacy is an extension of that movement in her own vision. With bold authenticity and self-awareness, Cardi B proves that a little self-confidence goes a long way.
There’s ... a certain sense of growth from her breakthrough album, 2016’s Puberty 2 – this is bolder, more ambitious and experimental.
A heady, confusing rush of present-day fury and hope for a brighter future, Joy as An Act of Resistance is a record that bristles with the political and emotional energy of punk’s very best.
OIL OF EVERY PEARL’S UN-INSIDES is every bit the full-length statement of purpose SOPHIE’s fans have waited years for; a maturation and refinement of her brand of meta plasticine electro that reflects the sharpened sense of focus that accompanies its creator strutting purposefully into the spotlight.