New album: Ethereal, evocative, alternative folk, bathed in flutes and acoustic guitars, in this beautiful debut by the former Midlake singer Tim Smith and his wife Kathi Zung, covering a range of emotions, and bucolic, mountain images
Read moreKendrick Lamar, Big Thief, Fontaines D.C. to Kae Tempest: Favourite albums of 2022 - Part 1
Favourite albums of 2022: Welcome to the first part of a selection for this year, many of which continue to come to terms with pandemic, climate change and other current issues but also show how music can continue to innovate, surprise and entertain
Read moreMidlake: For The Sake of Bethel Woods
New album: Very welcome fifth LP from the Texas folk-rockers after nine-year gap, again with Eric Pulido taking on lead vocals, but a more settled sound than 2013’s Antiphon, and a dedication to the deceased father of keyboardist and flautist Jesse Chandler
Read moreLost Horizons: In Quiet Moments
Album review: Partly released in December, now in full, this is a supreme soul and jazz crossover double album with a stellar cast of guest vocalists, by Bella Union boss Simon Raymonde and former Jesus & Mary Chain drummer Richie Thomas
Read moreNew albums: Jon Spencer, Marianne Faithfull, Liars, Bill Ryder-Jones, Though Gang (David Lynch), audiobooks, Charles Mingus, Two Medicine, Dead Can Dance, Molly Nilsson, Pip Blom
Jon Spencer’s explosive solo to Marianne Faithfull’s gentle honesty, Bill Ryder-Jones love songs to music by the film director David Lynch, this week’s album roundup embraces a wealth of experimentation and styles
Read moreNew albums – Lost Horizons, EERA, Angel Olsen, Evanescence, Shed Seven, Quicksand, Spinning Coin, Ian Svenonius/Escape-ism, Paul Weller
A bumper crop this week includes the Bella Union boss and friends, Angel Olsen, Norway's EERA, comebacks for Shed Seven and Quicksand, Evanescence orchestral reworkings, punk electronica from Escape-ism and a single from the Modfather
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