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 moreSharon Van Etten: We've Been Going About This All Wrong
New album: Powerful, passionate, personal and one of her best yet, this sixth album by the New Jersey singer-songwriter has hugely relevant themes, her songs addressing how we might protect the things most precious to us from destructive forces beyond our control
Read moreBig Red Machine: How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last?
New album: Featuring guests including Fleet Foxes and Taylor Swift, an attractive second LP of mellow indie-folk by the band formed by The National’s Aaron Dessner and Justin Vernon aka Bon Iver, and named after the dominant 1970s Cincinnati Reds baseball team
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 moreXiu Xiu: OH NO
Album review: This 12th album by the Californian experimental electro-pop, postpunk band led by Jaime Stewart may be the most unusual of year, an oddball set of diverse duets with many guests that sometimes has the melodramatic quality of later Scott Walker
Read moreNew albums: Deerhunter, Sharon Van Etten, You Tell Me, Jeffrey Lewis, Lorelle Meets The Obsolete, Tallies, The Silver Field
Getting ahead with the forthcoming releases over mid-January, melancholy, dystopian beauty is a predominant trend from Deerhunter, Sharon Van Etten, You Tell Me and more, with a dash of joy from Jeffrey Lewis covering The Fall
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