A decade after her debut-proper, Because I Was In Love, Sharon Van Etten has delivered her most accomplished and most compelling record to date.

Arriving five years after her last LP Are We There, the songs were written while Van Etten was pregnant with her first child as well as juggling acting work and studying for a degree in psychology. Given all that, it’s perhaps no surprise that Remind Me Tomorrow is her most direct work. Made with producer John Congleton, best known for his work with Blondie, Honeyblood and St Vincent, the album features a string of bonafide collaborators, including Warpaint drummer Stella Mozgawa, Mini Mansions bassist Zachary Dawes, Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart and singer-songwriter Heather Woods Broderick.

Written and recorded in what must have a chaotic period in her life, Remind Me Tomorrow sees Van Etten distilling the tumult into something totally cohesive and daring. The record finds the singer tentatively embracing electronics, giving the songs haunting atmospherics and brooding soundscapes. That said, this album isn’t a radical departure and doesn’t break the tried and tested formula that has made so many people fall in love with Van Etten over the years. It has subtle flourishes, experimental dabbles and an expanded sonic palette, but that none of that distracts from the singer’s power and poise.

Unimaginable tragedy can take many forms. It can be a driving force and an insurmountable climb all at once. Nick Cave’s response is many things; a warm, more melodic companion to Skeleton Tree with equal measures hope, sadness and all perfectly nuanced. The Bad Seeds are on fine subdued form, giving the songs the delicacy and ambience needed. As stately as it is exquisite, Ghosteen concludes the trilogy that began with Push The Sky Away in 2013. Having now received the conclusion, allow yourself to step back and appreciate where each album fits within a journey so evident in process and presentation. No, it’s not an all-time great party album, however, it’s a tremendous work of art that demands your attention.

Two Hands is Big Thief’s fourth studio album, as well as the second album that they have released THIS YEAR.
Coming just five months after U.F.O.F., the release has been described by singer Adrianne Lenker as “its Earth twin”. Filled with slow rhythms, clean and reverberated guitars, gentle soft vocals, this LP us a must-have for any indie folk fan. It is such a rich and mellow album, with some of the most emotional lyrics I’ve heard in recent years.

For her third album, New Zealand born songer-songwriter Hannah Sian Topp, aka Aldous Harding, re-teamed with producer John Parish, the British musician/songwriter best known as PJ Harvey’s key collaborator. The apparent ease and harmonious nature of their working relationship affords Harding complete freedom to explore and evolve, resulting in a more experimental, liberated collection of songs. In their four-star review, NME proclaimed, “A breath of fresh air in a time dense with noise and algorithmic hiss, this is an open-hearted deep dive into Aldous Harding’s colourful imagination.”

When Alex Petridis described Psychodrama as “the boldest and best British rap album in a generation” in his Guardian review, few doubted the validity of this glowing endorsement. Confirmation, as if it was needed, came when the album beat out stiff competition to become the 28th winner of the coveted Mercury Prize. Born David Orobosa Omoregie in Streatham, South London, the 21-year-old rapper has cemented his reputation as one of the UK’s most prestigious talents. Building on a solid debut and a slew of non-album singles, Psychodrama is lyrically challenging, intelligent and amusingly self-aware.

Written, produced and arranged all by Tyler. Simply put, this is his best work. This album hits you with a bang with the heavy drone of ‘Igor’s theme’ leading into the crashing drums and layered vocals that create a powerful soundscape. Broken into three parts this album describes the story of someone falling in love, becoming addicted to the person they have fallen in love with and then eventual fallout of the breakup. It’s hard to say this is a rap album, when even Tyler himself describes it as more of a pop album with the occasional bar on it, but when he does rap you know it’s for a reason. The best part of this album is the instrumentation and the emotions that are created from these. The flowing synths in ‘Gone, Gone’ create a sense of melancholy whilst the hard-hitting bassline of ‘What’s Good’ creates a sense of unease about what’s about to hit you. Listen in one sitting to fully take in the story and emotions.

Just four years on from the release of her 2015 debut, A Curious Tale Of Trials + Persons, Little Simz delivered an astonishingly accomplished and sophisticated third album, Grey Area, picking up a well-deserved Mercury Prize nomination along the way. Grey Area presents an artist at the peak of her powers, delivering on her early promise and expanding their horizons exponentially. Incorporating soulful grooves and punching bass to her razor-sharp lyrical delivery, this is undoubtedly a contender for rap record of the year.

Mainstream success has been a long time coming for Lizzo, the Detroit, Michigan native, born Melissa Vivianne Jefferson in 1988. Her third full-length album, 2019’s Cuz I Love You, Lizzo finally delivered on the early promise of her previous records, 2013’s Lizzobangers and 2015’s Big Grrrl Small World. Powered by the sleeper hit Truth Hurts – 7 weeks at No.1 on the US Hot 100 and 138 million views on YouTube – and the deliciously playful Juice, Cuz I Love You has spent 26 weeks on the US Billboard Album Chart.

Twenty years on from their self-titled debut, Slipknot delivered an unexpected UK No.1 album in the summer of 2019, dethroning Ed Sheeran in the process. It’s testament to the band’s staying power and prowess that their unique brand of ‘nu-metal’ has endured when many of their contemporaries have fallen by the wayside. We Are Not Your Kind received exceptionally positive reviews, with Kerrang! stating, “Slipknot are as bold, fearless and exhilarating as ever,” before awarding them a five ‘K’ review.