So, 2018 is almost over. The release schedule winds down after November, the same old Christmas music begins to dominate the background of public life, and it’s almost time to look back upon the year’s music and compile those all-important Top 50 lists.

As a result, there will be no December playlist, but our Top 50 Tracks of 2018 feature will include a playlist of all the highlights of the year gone by.

However, there is one more month’s worth of awesome new music to attempt summarise in a few paragraphs – all of which points to a promising 2019!

Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O announced a collaboration album with superstar producer Danger Mouse; Baxter Dury released a three-way collab album with Etienne de Crecy and Delilah Holliday; The Orielles rounded off a brilliant breakthrough year with a new stand-alone track, ‘Bobbi’s Second World’; and the mighty Claire Boucher – aka Grimes – revealed new music for the end of the month – review coming soon!

Meanwhile, Sunflower Bean, currently on tour in the UK, dropped a new EP with a fizzing lead-off single ‘Come For Me’; Damon Albarn brought the untitled supergroup commonly known as The Good, The Bad & The Queen out of retirement after 11 years for a second album, Merrie Land, designed as a commentary on the Brexit insanity; and there were a scattering of new tracks from Julia Jacklin, HAELOS, Girlpool, These New Puritans and The Japanese House ahead of new LPs scheduled for the new year.

And finally, the inimitable Carly Rae Jepsen released a teaser for a brand new album in the shape of ‘Party For One’, a self-professed anthem dedicated to loving one’s self.

Catch up with all the best new music released in the month of November 2018 with our Spotify playlist here!

Happy listening!