Well, November was a bit of a downer wasn’t it?

Most of the millennial generation looked on in bewilderment as an ill-educated loudmouth with improbable hair scooped the American presidency. The great Leonard Cohen, rock’s foremost man of letters and the guy at the top of the tower of song, was added to the list of legends who have passed away in 2016.

On the musical front, things looked quite a lot better. Though many have claimed that 2016 has been a poor year for music (and, admittedly, it’s hardly been vintage) there’s been plenty of stuff worth tracking down, with much of it arriving in November.

In massive comeback news, The xx announced the imminent release of their third album I See You in January by unleashing a glorious Hall & Oates-sampling single ‘On Hold’; The Shins teased the possibility of a new album in 2017 with a new track ‘Dead Alive’; and Run The Jewels continued their charge back into the popular consciousness with two tracks dripping with political relevance.

There have also been heart-warming announcements of releases in the new year from Laura Marling (which will obviously be amazing), The Flaming Lips (nobody doesn’t like The Flaming Lips…) and Bonobo (whom we wish would make more albums, please).

To cap it all off, The Weeknd, a.k.a. Canadian R&B megastar Abel Tesfaye, broke Spotify streaming records with his superb new record Starboy at the end of the month in an increasingly rare example of a hugely anticipated album being everything fans wanted it to be.

Here’s a Spotify playlist of ten great new tracks that were unleashed on the world in November.

Keep visiting for our comprehensive lists of Albums and Tracks of the Year coming very soon! Happy listening!