"Listening to 'Blue Weekend', you’re struck by an appealing sense of everything clicking into place" - Alexis Petridis writes reviewing the third album by the London indie-rock quartet Wolf Alice (gave if 5 of 5 stars). Brooklyn Vegan writer Erin Christie says "the trance I surrendered to is directly emblematic of the power of a band like Wolf Alice: they completely take your brain hostage as you enter their world". NME hears a "stone-cold masterpiece that further cements their place at the very peak of British music", whereas Sputnik Music calls it "one of those albums that qualifies as an event". 

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble 'Soon It Will Be Fire' features Moses Sumney, a nearly sacral piece; UK rapper Berwyn offers a lovely hip-hop ballad 'Rubber Bands'; The Mountain Goats share superbly titled 'The Slow Parts On Death Metal Albums'; Hazel English fulfilled her dream - she moved to California and covered 'California Dreamin'', a way too pretty song and a way to nice a cover not to pick it out; AKAI SOLO and Navy Blue share psychedelic rap 'Ocean Hue Hours'; Resynator is a documentary about "a daughter connecting with her late father through the resurrection of a synthesizer from the 1970s that he invented", featuring The National's Matt Berninger and Ronboy doing 'Only a Broken Heart'; The Pleasure Dome share noisy punk 'Pretty Picture'; Wolf Alice keep on promising - 'No Hard Feelings' comes ahead of their new album, out in June; Shannon Lay goes in the best classic singer-songwriter direction with 'Rare To Wake'.

Flying Lotus shares jazzy/soul songs 'Black Gold' featuring Thundercat and 'Between Memories' featuring Niki Randa, both from anime series 'Yasuke'; Tirzah shares 'Send Me', a sparse song with plenty of tension; Ethel Cain goes from calmness to noise on 'Unpunishable'; Wu-Lu goes for a fresh take on rap-rock on 'Times'; Wolf Alice share an indie-rock smash 'Smile'.

Alfa Mist announces his new album with jazzy-hip-hop single 'Organic Rust'; "rocky pop" band Wolf Alice share their grand new ballad 'The Last Man On Earth'; Damon Locks - Black Monument Ensemble share a jazzy afrobeat song 'NOW (Forever Momentary Space)'; Mattie shares an electro r'n'b song 'Human Thing'; Bomba Estéreo goes tribal pop on 'Aqua'.

NME's Marc Beaumont argues why Wolf Alice were the one to win this year's Mercury Award: "Wolf Alice weren’t there because they were anybody’s priority act, sold a shit-ton of records, reflected any cultural movement, were the Arctic Monkeys or were a jazz band. They were there because they’re a brilliant band with a brilliant album. […]