2016 marked the year that Norwegian artist Jenny Hval’s talents truly came to a glorious fruition with the scarlet reflections of Blood Bitch. That bold yet beautiful work delved into the uncomfortable taboo of menstruation, and capitalism’s vampiric thirst and its effect on the artist; on first listen The Long Sleep EP is a much gentler prospect.

Dubbed the “Kuleshov Effect,” there are directors who’ve used that audience tendency to project meaning by using non-actors in their productions. Perhaps no filmmaker has used Kuleshov’s experiment to better effect than master director Robert Bresson.

When musicians sit on the cusp of breaking out, there’s a sweet spot lasting only a moment. The collected songs are strong enough to draw larger audiences, and each performance is an electrifying experience, but the world has yet to catch up.

The voice of Tracyanne Campbell is among 21st century music’s most precious commodities. Its increasingly rare appearances should elicit a public reaction akin to a supermoon lunar eclipse.

For fans of camp culture and harrowing cinema verite, these two bickering & blinkered grand dames are instantly familiar: The Beales of Grey Gardens.

It’s fascinating to contrast how American and European film culture differs when it comes to depicting government corruption.

The first two albums of Scottish synth-pop trio CHVRCHES’ career have shown how brilliant and how average they can be, largely in equal measure. Most of their debut album, The Bones Of What You Believe, is about as good as this sub-genre can possibly get, applying expressive and substantive melodic runs to infectious beats and brought together by the fascinatingly unique vocals of Lauren Mayberry.

All Love Is Blue is a quantum leap forward for the Brooklyn dreampop act Heaven, both artistically and sonically, making the protracted wait between albums more than worthwhile given the spectacular payoff.

After a seven-year hiatus and a track record showing Snow Patrol achieving varying degrees of success with past projects, listeners will no doubt approach Wildness with some trepidation.