Artists' rankings

A series of tracks dedicated to the most influential women of colour in history: this album is an irresistible mouthful of ultra-modern jazz, a melting pot of funk, folk, reggae and even grime, backed by multiple drummers, saxophone and the coolest-sounding tuba you're likely to come across. Combining glorious improvisation, choir-like hooks and an incredibly wide stylistic range, “Your Queen Is A Reptile” establishes Sons Of Kemet as the leaders in their field.

Brona McVittie – We Are The Wildlife (Company Of Corkbots)

Few debuts sound as assured as this opening salvo from kosmisch-folk artist, Brona McVittie. Fusing folk with a tinge of electronica, harp led, vocally distinctive and fundamentally Irish at heart, We Are The Wildlife contains a series of songs that secure a direct emotional connection with the listener. Both personal and psychogeographical in nature this album is reminiscent of (but largely out-guns) the best of Tunng and Colleen.

Few debuts sound as intense as this first offering from kosmisch-folk artist Brona McVittie. Blending folk with a touch of electronica, harp-led, distinctly vocal and fundamentally Irish at heart, “We Are The Wildlife” contains a set of songs that guarantee a direct emotional connection with the listener. Both personal and psychogeographic in nature, this album recalls the best of Tunng and Colleen.

Hackbridge Johnson has emerged almost unexpectedly in recent years as one of the major talents in orchestral music. This album brings together two powerful symphonies: the dark and tragic No. 10, cast in a single monumental span, and the three-movement No. 13, a fierce and fiery affirmation of life, complemented here by an orchestral motet that becomes a cappella through a kaleidoscopic mutation. A composer of remarkable scope.

The reissue of the year is this overlooked masterpiece from the singer-songwriter. First released in 1975, Howard's debut album shows his talent at its freshest and most sublime. Both ironic and passionate in outlook, this is a work and an artist long overdue for rediscovery. From the intimate opening ballad “Goodbye Suzy” to the watch-your-step foreboding of the title track “Kid In A Big World”, it's a complete joy.

“Lost Play” feels like a definitive work; the sound of a highly individual singer-songwriter at the peak of her powers. Garner simply and poetically reveals a complicated, damaged part of her existence with no self-indulgence or self-pity. What's even more impressive is that she does this in an almost haiku-like style of expressive, heartfelt, lyrical economy. “Lost Play” is meditative, melodically sublime, a thoroughly complete entity. Mood pieces that are nonetheless rich in genuine compositional substance. I guarantee this work will move you.

Every new Laibach album brings both anxiety and anticipation. Tackling this kitsch classic seems entirely fitting, and in true Laibach style it's simultaneously dark and funny. What's unexpectedly revealed is a genuine admiration for the musical material the band are reimagining. Among their very best albums, “The Sound Of Music” is worth hearing just for their reworkings of “My Favourite Things” and especially “The Lonely Goatherd”. Approach the video for “Goatherd” with care, because it's Laibach in full shock-mode.

The follow-up and evolution of his essential 2017 minimalist work "En Mouvement", "Mouvements Organiques" presents 5 pieces that echo the ideas and motifs of its counterpart, but eclipse the original interlocking melodies and shifting rhythms right down to their essential luminous qualities. Performed entirely on church organ, hypnotic and often transfigurative, it's an excellent example of the quality that modern minimalism can hold.

His first full solo album in fifteen years is a paragon of modern-era folk in which Hayter presents a series of heartfelt city scape vignettes delivered in an earthy voice, lyrically charged and embedded in startling arrangements. Hints of Roy Harper and Darren Hayman combine with the offbeat quirkiness of Kevin Coyne and a twist of Bert Jansch, especially in the melancholic, erudite flagship song "The Mulberry Tree".

All Paul McCartney albums are good, in my opinion. But "Egypt Station" is particularly good. Cool or uncool, I really don't care. Thumbs up!