Your Custom Text Here
A new twist: Taylor Swift: The Tortured Poets Department
New album: The American omnipresent megastar returns with a surprise but also widely well-received 11th LP – a twisting, voluminous collection of 31 songs (Anthology version) of luxuriant pop, but packed with extremely caustic, often brilliantly dark, cutting break-up lyrics
Read more
The National’s ninth LP: First Two Pages of Frankenstein
New album: The ninth studio LP by the Brooklyn-based Ohio five-piece of the Dessner brothers co, is slow, reflective and beautifully poetic, capturing singer Matt Berninger’s hopefully winning battle with depression, and includes includes guest Taylor Swift, Phoebe Bridgers and Sufjan Stevens
Read more
Another selection of favourite LPs for 2022. See the lists below to go from top row, left to right
Further favourite albums of 2022: Welcome to the second 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 more
Dark thoughts: Taylor Swift’s 10th studio album
New album: Much hyped of course, and hardly needing a mention here, but after her lauded foray into folkier territory on albums Folklore and Evermore, the American superstar returns to mainstream synth-pop that’s dark, intelligent, self-deprecatory, small-hours state of mind, dead-of-night numbers
Read more
The second LP by Big Red Machine
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 more
Lianne La Havas, Fiona Apple and Yves Tumor are among three artists who have released outstanding LPs
Albums of 2020 roundup: A year of lockdowns, alternative sounds, experimentation and surprises. This is the first half two roundups of a total over 50 favourite albums of the year that musicians stayed at home. And here’s Part 2.
Read more
Nine more albums to help complete further selections reflecting on 2020
Album reviews roundup: From the former Beatle to a country/pop mainstream artist, 2020’s running theme seems inspire isolation, survival, DIY and experimentation. But as this selection shows, there are also many new, innovative artists out there
Read more
This week’s pick of nine …
Refreshingly alternative releases include the Nashville popstar showing a mellower side, electro eccentricity from Jessy Lanza, unique sounds Jon Hassell and Mohit, and a great comeback from folk legend Shirley Collins
Read more
Ezra Furman
A return to humorous pop for Taylor Swift, a dirty dozen of postpunk angst by Ezra Furman, and a hip hop album dedicated to black female icons by Rapsody are among the this week’s selection
Read more