33. Iress - "Sleep Now, In Reverse"

A fantastically dreamy album from Los Angeles. If the woefully underrated Beach House decided to make a metal album it would sound like this. It exists in a netherworld between authentic shoegaze and its, already discussed, bastardised sibling Blackgaze. With exact phrase seems to be dream metal. There are plenty of light and ethereal flourishes alongside a dependable heaviness that grounds the whole thing.

It brims with angst and emotion, but in a shimmering and frequently smooth way. Central to its brilliance is Michelle Malley's stunningly evocative voice. It is a tentpole that the music wraps itself around, creating an infinitely flowing envelope of intoxicating sound.