We’re officially halfway through the year and what a month it’s been for music! Returning with his first full-length solo release since the dissolution of his label PC Music, A.G. Cook has blessed us with Britpop, a 24-track album from the pop industry wizard, featuring the likes of Addison Rae and Charli XCX, and an entire multiverse of characters, games, videos and bonus downloads via three ultra-wyrd yet suspiciously familiar-sounding sites, Wandcamp, Wheatport and Witchfork. Next up, Billie Eilish is back with her third studio album, Hit Me Hard And Soft, and includes the steamy single “Lunch”, which we swiftly added to our canon of songs about eating girls out, with lyrics like, “I could eat that girl for lunch” leading the lesbian renaissance taking charge of our ear waves. 

Elsewhere, Portishead’s Beth Gibbons unveils her long-awaited solo album, which I can attest, is heart-achingly beautiful and bound to make you shed a tear, while Iglooghost’s Tidal Memory Exo is a masterclass of worldbuilding – think geomagnetic storms, prehistoric creatures, made-up micro-genres such as ‘foamtek’ and ‘sporestyle’. At the clubbier end of the spectrum is Lyzza, who delivers raw dance edits on a brand new EP that leaves her, in her own words, “yearning for subversion”, and PAN's Heith shares new music that will leave you spiralling into parallel dimensions. Check out our full list of highlights below.

A. G. COOK, BRITPOP

BETH GIBBONS, LIVES OUTGROWN

BILLIE EILISH, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT

HEITH, THE LIARS TELL…

JAMES MASSIAH, TRUE ROMANCE

LYZZA, SUBSTATE

NATHY PELUSO, GRASA

TONGUE IN MIND, TONGUE IN MIND

IGLOOGHOST, TIDAL MEMORY EXO