There are few better highs than Muse in top gear. It's breathless, explosive music; the kind that compels listeners to pick up an instrument or start a band.
The opening third is nothing to write home about, the middle section is terrific, and the last twenty minutes are ludicrous. Drones is the full Muse package.
All this started as three friends talking about music, and it remains just that - a shared exploration, which we now want to share with you.
From Kendrick Lamar to Joanna Newsom, 2015 has had its fair share of beautiful tracks. Here are our picks of the year.
Instinctive, messy, and rambling, with shimmers of the divine. Electric Ladyland speaks in a kind of rock and roll tongues, with Jimi Hendrix front and centre.
There isn't much substance here. The album gives a far clearer impression of who Royal Blood want to sound like than it does what their actual vibe is.
You'd expect huge, theatrical arrangements topped with sizzling guitar solos, but this wasn’t to be. Most of the songs on News of the World are weirdly tame.
While the riffs and breakdowns are charging, raucous, and spine-tingling, the range of influences can often be distracting. There's no clear vision.
Despite its glistening arrangements and ethereal production, this is a cheesy, yet excellently realised, pop album at heart; bold and forthright.
Kevin Parker’s latest project has all the hallmarks of what came before, and it pushes harder on his more avant garde sensibilities.