Nadia Reid - Out Of My Province (Spacebomb)
Effective, bittersweet and empathetic collaboration between the assured singer-songwriter and the Spacebomb studio team.
Nadine Shah - Kitchen Sink (Infectious/BMG)
Shah's best album to date - a darkly imaginative, rhythmic confection. A particularly excellent opening three songs (Club Cougar, Ladies for Babies (Goats for Love) and Buckfast).
Naeem - Startisha (37d03d)
The rapper also known as Spank Rock makes an ambitious (and successful) vault for modern soul.
Nahash - Flowers Of The Revolution (SVBKVLT)
Confrontational and abrasive sound worlds.
Nap Eyes - Snapshot Of A Beginner (Jagjaguwar)
Quirky, idiosyncratic indie-rock.
Nate Wolley - Seven Storey Mountain VI (Pyroclastic)
Longform integration of composition and improvisation, the score assembled from instructions to musicians. Stunning choral arrangement. I first encountered Wooley's music in 2019 because he released a suite inspired by the Columbia Icefield just as I was visiting Banff and Jasper. I now really need to delve back and explore the rest of this song cycle - on this evidence, it is extraordinary music.
Nathan Salsburg - Landwerk (No Quarter)
Nathan Salsburg - Landwerk 2 (No Quarter)
Inspired by The Caretaker, guitarist Salsburg (Joan Shelley, amongst others) took fragments from old 78rpm records as the basis for these atmospheric, haunting pieces.
Nazar - Guerilla (Hyperdub)
Nazar terms his music Rough Kuduro - a contemporary, unflinching interpretation of Angolan music and dance style to confront memory and collective trauma.
Neil Charles - Low and Beyond (Takuroku)
The entire, massive Takuroku catalogue of musicians' lockdown recordings is worth investigating, this album of highly creative, versatile solo bass improvising from the excellent Neil Charles being a particular highlight.
Nels Cline Singers - Share The Wealth (Memorize and Destroy)
Long and exploratory work from the great guitarist, often exploring softer textures and more melodic environments.
Nick Cave - Idiot Prayer (Mute)
Live recording of Cave's Alexandra Palace streamed event finds him playing to his strengths with tender, romantic solo piano performances.
Nick Jonah Davis - When The Sun Came (Thread Recordings)
Solo guitar work featuring blues-tinged laments and bright, joyful hymnals.
Nicolas Jaar - Centriza (Other People)
Nicolas Jaar - Telas (Other People)
A bounty from Jaar this year, when these two excellent albums are set alongside the Against All Logic material. Telas emphasises long form pieces incorporating a range of acoustic instrumentation, while Centriza focuses more on drones and electronics.
Nicole Atkins - Italian Ice (Single Lock)
Compelling, lush, soulful songwriting.
Nicole Mitchell and Moor Mother - Offering (Don Giovanni)
Nicole Mitchell and Lisa E. Harris - EarthSeed (FPE)
Two great collaborations from the composer and improviser, the latter an opera project inspired by Octavia Butler, the former an electronics-dominated set with Moor Mother.
Nihiloxica - Kaloli (Crammed Discs)
Traditional Ugandan music meets the nightclub.
No Age - Goons Be Gone (Drag City)