Muna \u2013 Dancing on the Wall<\/p>\n
The album is a fun, punchy dance record that will definitely be the soundtrack of my summer. It\u2019s propulsive, full of queer joy, cheeky lyricism, and relatable insecurities as they ruminate on \u201cbeing past their prime\u201d as pop stars in their early 30s. It will undoubtedly be an amazing live show and is a testament to the importance of artists taking breaks, going out and living and resting before coming back with new things to say and experiences to detail. Jane Tytla, New England, US <\/p>\n
Maya Hawke \u2013 Maitreya CorsoMaya Hawke\u2019s fourth studio album \u2018covers a lot of less-common songwriting ground\u2019. Photograph: Josefina Santos\/The Guardian<\/p>\n
Maya Hawke\u2019s Maitreya Corso is the first album of this year that reminded me of the joy of just getting really into a record. I\u2019ve seen it dismissed as twee in reviews but it feels like a bit of a (probably mildly sexist) disservice to the record. It definitely has a kind of breathless quality to it, but that, to me, feels much more like an insight into someone\u2019s stream-of-consciousness inner monologue rather than any manic pixie dream girl artifice. There\u2019s so much great writing on here. Some of it feels comfortingly akin to the (not-so-) nonsense poems I read as a child. Some of it is jarring and uncomfortable. The record covers a lot of less-common songwriting ground \u2013 living in the shadow of an older sibling; finding that the career pipe-dream isn\u2019t necessarily fulfilling. I\u2019m also obsessed with female songwriters showing their less palatable behaviours and resisting sanitising or effortless it-girling their emotions. When you get to the understated romance of Dream House, it really does feel like you\u2019ve lived through a season of Hawke\u2019s personal growth and learned a load of her life lessons. Kate Koell, Leeds <\/p>\n
Arlo Parks \u2013 Ambiguous Desire<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been a fan of Arlo Parks<\/a> from the start, and was lucky enough to see her open for Clairo in 2022. But every aspect of this new album hit the mark for me. I love the texture, the sound, the lyrics. You can tell it is all expertly produced and performed. But I think what makes it the best of the year for me is the emotional vulnerability, and that it doesn\u2019t ask you to have a resolution to the complicated feelings it presents. Just stewing in those feelings makes the soulful dance beats hit even harder. Sam, Missouri, US <\/p>\n Jalen Ngonda \u2013 Doctrine of LoveJalen Ngonda\u2019s old-school falsetto brings freshness to classics. Photograph: Dave Burke\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n Jalen Ngonda\u2019s Doctrine of Love is a triumphant masterpiece of modern soul. Soaking in the legendary grit of 1960s Detroit and Chicago, Ngonda weaves gospel-kissed backing vocals, lush orchestral arrangements and cinematic horns. His staggering falsetto breathes fresh, compassionate life into timeless traditions, delivering an absolutely electrifying, vintage vibe \u2013 and yet it was released in 2026. David Kelly, Glasgow <\/p>\n Aldous Harding \u2013 Train on the Island<\/p>\n For me, a return to form after her previous album. Hypnotic voice, obscure lyrics and great tunes and musicianship. All the things I love about her. Sadly it didn\u2019t even chart, but she still sells out concert venues. I first came upon Aldous Harding<\/a> when a friend of mine invited me to a gig back in 2016 at Crofters Rights in Bristol. It was only a small stage at the back of a pub, but she had a kind of magnetic, mysterious charisma and also a very dry wit. She also managed to do a pretty magnificent version of Wuthering Heights. I fell in love with her music immediately and she has continued to release captivating music ever since; the meaning of some of her songs is difficult to decipher, which only adds to the magic! I\u2019ve seen her another four times since that first gig (all in Bristol, a city that she holds dear as she has recorded albums there) and I\u2019ve never known an artist who can transfix her audience in the way she does. In a room of thousands, you can hear a pin drop! Richard Hill, Frome, Somerset <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Ellie O\u2019Neill \u2013 Time of Fallow<\/p>\n There has been a lot of music this year but the one record that really stood out and stayed on heavy rotation is Time of Fallow by Ellie O\u2019Neill. As a debut album, it\u2019s incredibly well realised and there\u2019s not a wasted second. Anna with the Silver Arrow is perhaps the immediate earworm, but it\u2019s Bohemia with its lightning crash percussion that provides the centrepiece. Couple this with her amazing live performance and she\u2019s one to keep an eye on. For fans of Laura Marling, Nick Drake. Paul Thomas, Hemel Hempstead<\/p>\n Tyler Ballgame \u2013 For the First Time, Again<\/p>\n Tyler Ballgame\u2019s For the First Time, Again pulls off that special trick of sounding like some timeless piece of old school Americana, despite only being released earlier this year. Tyler\u2019s voice absolutely drips with emotion \u2013 his fragile and idiosyncratic falsetto immediately makes you sit up and take notice. The album starts incredibly strong out of the gates with both the title track and I Believe In Love becoming instantaneous earworms, but there\u2019s serious depth beyond, with intelligent and vulnerable songwriting displayed throughout. I had the great pleasure of seeing him play live at the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds last month, and it was incredible to see how grateful Tyler seemed to be to share his talent with the world. Hywel Sedgwick, West Yorkshire <\/p>\n Flea \u2013 Honora\u2018Warm, lovely listen\u2026 \u2018 Photograph: L\u00e9o Corr\u00eaa\/AP<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard for me to pick a favourite album of the year, but it\u2019s easy to pick my favourite surprise of the year, and that would be Honora, the debut solo album by Red Hot Chili Peppers<\/a> bassist Flea. I am not a big RHCP fan, but I am a fan of Flea\u2019s bass mastery, so I was intrigued when he announced that his album would have an electric jazz fusion vibe \u2013 which is all true, and he also returned to his childhood instrument of the trumpet and practised hard for the past few years. On paper, this shouldn\u2019t work, especially his cover version of Funkadelic\u2019s Maggot Brain, but that track turns out to be gorgeous, and the whole album is one warm, lovely listen that still challenges your ears. Matthew Reed Baker, Massachusetts, USA <\/p>\n Boards of Canada \u2013 Inferno<\/p>\n Where do I even begin? It\u2019s their first release in 13 years and their first release since I became a fan in 2022 so I was extremely excited to hear new music from them. I heard it for the first time at a record store listening party where I was able to get exclusive merch and I bought the vinyl on the spot. And it\u2019s extremely good! Each song on Inferno really feels like it had so much effort put into it, and despite a lot of them having a bit of a dark atmosphere, some of them are so groovy it\u2019s ridiculous. I highly doubt anything else this year will beat it. Athanasios Trochalakis, Washington, US <\/p>\n Kneecap \u2013 FenianKneecap\u2019s Fenian is a reader highlight. Photograph: Publicity image<\/p>\n I love the new Kneecap<\/a> album! I adore hardcore, aggressive, grimy hip-hop, but a lot of the older stuff by other artists has content that makes it pretty hard to listen to, especially its homophobia (I\u2019m transgender so this matters a lot to me). I\u2019m so happy to have a new, aggressive, hardcore, devil-may-care hip-hop album that I can stand with my whole heart! The aggressive delivery and slightly off-kilter beat of Gael Phonics makes it the highlight for me. Lily, Florida, US <\/p>\n Gorillaz \u2013 The Mountain<\/p>\n