Sometimes I like to step away from the genre of metal. Blasphemy ! But no. It’s ok to listen to music that isn’t metal. No one will think any less of you. And if you’re embarrassed to make your internet friends aware that you like other things, just turn off last.fm scrobbling, no one has to know !

I for one, don’t care if it’s not cool to be into other genres. Because there’s some darn good stuff out there if you look for it. And with that in mind, here’s ten albums that have come out this year that are brilliant and worth your time.

You’ll notice some bands are at least loosely associated with metal, but only due to others bands members might be in, or band history. So you can rest easy knowing it’s not just a list of indie rubbish.

The Antlers

Burst Apart

Indie rock with just the right tinge of sadness.

Bon Iver

Bon Iver, Bon Iver

Indie folk from the best beard outside of metal.

Cult Of Youth

Cult Of Youth

Neo-folk. From NYC ?! Yep. That’s right.

Elbow

Build A Rocket Boys

British alt-rock. It’s cool. I promise.

Giles Corey

Giles Corey

A beautiful ambient folk/shoegaze/country/synthy composition. Intensely sad and profound.

Low

C’mon

Slowcore at it’s most divine.

Sembler Deah

Kaessariah. Heel Een Leven Lang

Dark ambient drone. Atmospheric glory.

Soror Dolorosa

Blind Scenes

Gothy post-punk coldwave from a member of Peste Noire. Seriously.

TV On The Radio

Nine Types Of Light

Indie rock with an experimental tone. Cool.

Ulver

Wars Of The Roses

Trippy ambient electronica. With added clarinet solos.