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It’s certainly not a record to dip in and out of – this is, without a doubt, an album to listen to in the dark with your finest pair of headphones – but those who devote the time to it will be richly rewarded.

Throughout, there are salient reminders that Metric, despite never quite breaking big commercially, are experts in writing a memorable tune.

A record which is dense, musically adventurous and arguably one of the more important albums to be released this year. It’s also a record that proves that there’s more to the trio than tabloid outrage and overblown headlines.

There’s some filler – If You Only Knew and Window come across as a bit anonymous compared to the more ferocious tracks such as the title track or the almost feral-sounding Spit Shine. Yet, for the most part, Your Favorite Toy sounds like a band with a renewed sense of purpose, and one that is ready to use the pain of the last few years as an inspiration.

The strutting No Consequences and the triumphant closing number of Mon Amour end the album on a high, and surely ensure Superbloom’s status as one of the albums of the year.

It’s the sort of album that can provide a soothing balm to a bruised soul – by the time the theatrical, fuzz-drenched melodies of Werewolf Ending bring Life Slime to a close, you may well be converted to the healing properties of goo and gunge yourself.

It succeeds by flirting with polished pop sheen while also remaining grounded in bedroom pop roots. It may be a cruel world, but Humberstone’s songs make living in it far more enjoyable.

the result is a formal yet brilliantly informal album from the pair.

Birding is a well-crafted album that draws you into a world you’re more than happy to get lost in. That this is deary’s debut is genuinely impressive; few bands arrive with such a clear aesthetic and sense of control.

There’s a lot to enjoy in Ambiguous Desire, an undeniably a splendidly crafted and blissfully atmospheric album. You just sometimes wish that Parks had leaned a bit further into the grit and chaos of the US club scene that inspired her.