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The Cure: Songs of a Lost World
New album: Powerful, moving and dark, on grief, loss and the passing of time, this milestone release by the British cult band of Robert Smith is their first LP of new songs for 16 years, but is worth the wait with its emotional depth and strength
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Lola Young: This Wasn’t Meant for You Anyway
New album: A set of catchy, cutting lyrical diatribes against disappointing exes punctuates this eclectic, clever, darkly ironic release of pop and other styles, in a second LP by the south London Brit School graduate with a strong powerful voice
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New album: After 2022’s acclaimed debut, Reeling, another searing, scorching LP by the Merseyside rock band fronted by Lia Metcalfe, once more dark and smoky, and produced this time in LA by John Congleton, yet with more confidence, range, and also vulnerability
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Paul Weller: 66
New album: This 17th solo album by the restless, ever-changing stylish mod-rock veteran is one of his mellower, more reflective releases, marking his age, a classic number, and year, distinctively depicted by Peter Blake on the cover art
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Jordan Rakei: The Loop
New album: Silky, soulful new work by the falsetto-smooth London-based New Zealand-Australian musician, singer-songwriter and producer with a sophisticated cocktail or perky pop, jazz, and R&B
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Nadine Shah: Filthy Underneath
New album: The charismatic Tyneside-raised singer-songwriter of Norwegian and Pakistani heritage returns in fabulous, rich-voiced form with a powerfully dark fifth LP, resilient after a tumultuous few years of family grief, failed marriage, attempted suicide and rehab
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The Last Dinner Party: Prelude To Ecstasy
New album: A much hyped, but also arguably merited debut by the London five-piece of luxuriant, theatrical rock-pop with some echoes of Abba, and lavishly super-produced by James Ford
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LYR: The Ultraviolet Age
New album: A beautiful, profound, utterly absorbing second LP by the trio of current British poet laureate, Simon Armitage, singer-songwriter Richard Walters and multi-instrumentalist and producer Patrick J Pearson
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Feist’s sixth album, Multitudes
New album: A beautifully intricate, delicate, intelligent and innovative new LP by the Canadian singer-songwriter with among others, a theme the many selves we possess and present, now, in the past and future
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Stomzy returns with his most mellow and candid album yet
New album: Smooth, mellow, self-healing, candid, with many nods to his faith, the third album by the south London rapper is far from his edgier grime origins, and particularly mixes soul, R&B and spoken word alongside gospel choir and keyboards
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Loyle Carner’s third album, Hugo
New album: The British rapper returns with one of his best LPs yet, a candid exploration of his own identity, from seeking out his estranged biological father, how that reflects back onto his own son, ADHD, being mixed race and fearing inner-city violence
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Here Is Everything, the third album by The Big Moon
New album: An emotive, hooky, candid third album by the London indie-rockers fronted by Juliette Jackson, with a running theme around her experience of pregnancy and its life-changing consequences
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Brian Eno’s 22nd solo album
New album: An unusual vocal 22nd LP by the acclaimed producer marries his ambient, evocative, sonic landscapes and his full, rounded rather beautiful delivery - slow, chant-like but filled with profundity, emotion and dark humour about our ultimate, apocalyptic fate
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The Mysterines: Reeling
New album: Dark, loud, and powerful, the much anticipated debut LP by the Liverpool rock band finally lands with a set of searing guitar riffs, stadium-filling sounds and an electrifying lyrical sizzle provided the vocal range of frontwoman Lia Metcalfe
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Awash and wet with disco fever: Ollie Alexander
New album: Now the solo project of Harrogate’s Olly Alexander, this third album is an unabashed set of catchy commercial disco pop numbers, ticking all the usual boxes, successfully doing what it sets out to do with gay abandon
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Elvis Costello’s classic sound on The Boy Named If
New album: Classic Costello, with a vigorous new LP that rolls back the years, recalling all the the sharp, fast, clever punk-pop of the late-70s, 80s and 90s albums with the Attractions, including old friends Steve Nieve on keyboards and Pete Thomas on drums
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Agnes
Album: Released in October, a fabulously stylish LP of retro pop by the Swedish Agnes Emilia Carlsson, her fifth, but first since Veritas (2012), rich in orchestration and with echoes of ABBA, but with a result far superior to her forbears’ own 2021 return
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Blue Banister’s is Lana Del Rey’s eighth studio album in 11 years
New album: The American singer-songwriter returns with her eighth LP and second LP of the year with further slow, cinematic piano-based numbers filled with her soaring voice and vivid, heartbreak stories and images
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The Lathums’ full debut LP How Beautiful Life Can Be
New album: Breezy, sunny, uplifting, melodically beautiful as well as melancholy songs in this full debut by the Wigan indie band reminiscent of The Smiths and The Coral with that impressive, if familiar, jangly guitar sound that still resonates
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Solar Power is Lorde’s third LP
New album: New Zealand’s Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor returns with a far mellower LP than her previous mega-selling Pure Heroine and Melodrama, concentrating on simpler pleasures - relaxing and escaping the public glare though not doing much with any eco theme
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