Here we are again, the mid-point of another year. It’s always a good time to take stock of the albums that have been released in the last six months, review the long list of records we’ve heard and dissed or praised. We’re always listening to a wide range of styles here at DS but from looking at this particular list it seems we’ve been embracing plenty of darker themed and melancholic music this year. Here, in vague but noncommittal order, is a selection of the best albums we’ve heard so far in 2016.

Tindersticks – The Waiting Room

Arbor Labor Union – I Hear You

Witch Hats – Deliverance

David Bowie – Blackstar

Kyle Craft – Dolls Of Highland

The Drones – Feelin Kinda Free

Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool

Richmond Fontaine – You Can’t Go Back If There’s Nothing To Go Back To

Davey Craddock – City West

Lucinda Williams – The Ghosts Of Highway 20

William Crighton – William Crighton

Eleanor Friedberger – New View

Robert Ellis – Robert Ellis

Steve Gunn – Eyes On The Line

Will Wood – Magpie Brain & Other Stories