New album: The fierce, rage-filled Bristol post-punk band’s fifth album has an unfamiliar, far more tender but wider selection of sounds, this dynamic range of love songs intriguingly experimental, less shouty, more melodious
Read moreFavourite albums of 2021 - Part 2
Favourite albums of 2021 – Part 2: Welcome the second instalment, following Part 1, which can be found here. A huge number of excellent releases, of which again this is just a selection many of which were written during, and about lockdown, but also saw many outstanding voices emerge as well as innovative sounds developed
Read moreIDLES: CRAWLER
New album: ‘Are you ready for the storm'?’ There is much expected blood and thunder in the fourth LP by the Bristol band, but also an expanded range of sounds, feelings, painful, angry and tender moments in this viscerally brilliant new work themed around addiction
Read moreSharon Van Etten: epic Ten
Album review: A decade after the American singer-songwriter’s acclaimed second album, seven wonderfully written songs are reissued alongside versions by contrasting guests including Fiona Apple, IDLES, and Lucinda Williams
Read moreLice – Wasteland: What Ails Our People Is Clear – album review
Album review: Experimental, clattering, clanging, sawing, banging, challenging but very rewarding, this is a very alternative, ambitious but brilliant full debut album from the Bristol postpunk band
Read moreAgnes Obel to Bob Dylan, Phoebe Bridgers to Sault: favourite albums of 2020 – Part 2
Albums of 2020 roundup: Out of crisis comes great art. A year of lockdowns, no gigs, alternative sounds, experimentation and surprises. This is the second half of our roundup of favourite albums of 2020. Part 1 was here
Read moreAlbum reviews roundup: Sufjan Stevens, IDLES, Diana Jones, A Certain Ratio, Bob Mould, Sad13, Marie Davidson, Deftones, Mildlife
Album reviews roundup: This selection has a particularly political and topical element with the likes of Sufjan Stevens, IDLES, Bob Mould and Diana Jones tackling issues in different styles, as well as other stylish pop and experimental releases
Read moreAnna Calvi to Idles: favourite albums of 2018 – part 1
The first part of our annual roundup of notable albums includes several great debuts by young bands, plus work that reflects dystopian political turmoil, gender issues and growing human relationship with technology
Read moreNew albums: Anna Calvi, Idles, Eminem, Tash Sultana, Big Red Machine (Bon Iver), Terry, Wild Nothing
Beautiful and blistering new albums from, respectively, the big-voiced singer-guitarist and the Bristol punk rock band, plus a collaboration between Bon Iver and The National and more
Read moreDrunk, dark and humorous: favourite albums of 2017 – part 1
Father John Misty to Randy Newman, Thundercat to Sleaford Mods, Richard Dawson to DUDS, Björk to Lorde – who is on the first part of this week's reader-voted list, and what is the running theme?
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