SOUND JUDGEMENT

THE BEST ALBUMS FROM THE PAST 12 MONTHS

CARDI B

INVASION OF PRIVACY (released April 5)

ALL hail Cardi B, who finally dropped her debut album after a wait that seemed painful to many fans.

Invasion Of Privacy, the 25-yearold rapper’s first full LP following her smash-hit debut single Bodak Yellow in 2017, was well and truly worth the wait. It’s a glittering example of female empowerment, sex appeal and pure attitude combined with the artistry of old-school hip hop.

The record is brimming with top-notch collaborations, with Chance The Rapper, SZA and Migos among those taking part.

IDLES

JOY AS AN ACT OF RESISTANCE (released August 31)

BRISTOL punk rock outfit Idles follow up their acclaimed debut Brutalism with a ferocious attack on toxic masculinity, racism and television’s enforcement of a negative body image.

Singer Joe Talbot’s acerbic lyrics make you laugh and think in equal measure. Drummer Jon Beavis’ ominous stick work on opener Colossus are reminiscent of a train chugging down a track that’s about to run you over. When the break comes the album bursts into life as Talbot screams “I put homophobes in coffins”.

Idles succeed in expressing a delicate vulnerability through powerful and savage means.

CHRISTINE AND THE QUEENS

CHRIS (released September 21)

WHEN Heloise

Letissier delivered

Chris to her record label, she produced not only a collection of vividly imagined and brilliantly captured songs of self-discovery but also a 15-page dossier that portrayed her physical emancipation as she embraces her androgynous, non-binary self.

Chris is a fresh shell for Letissier and an unshackled confidence streams through the record – the basslines funkier, lyrics punchier, the full package strikingly sensuous. Girlfriend, the glitterball-disco single, has Chris candidly pursuing flings above commitment, and is one of several songs that recall peak-period Michael Jackson.