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Baby Rose: Yearnalism review – gloriously cinematic soul from the edge of emotional collapse

The US songwriter paints an impressively wide variety of shades on her third album, from vintage R&B to melodic soft-rock and balladry worthy of Nina Simone

Jack White: Frozen Charlotte review – brutal, squalid blues-rock that just about sells its own ridiculousness

Following the superb No Name, White continues his fan service with stripped back songs and nasty, anarchic riffs – though it all ends up feeling a little samey

BTS review – pure joy and astonishing versatility at K-pop titans’ first UK show in seven years

Fans and cynics are putty in the boyband’s hands as the lads lark their way through a catalogue of tracks that ricochet from hard rap to buttery pop

The Rolling Stones: Foreign Tongues review – stomping blues and anti-Musk politics make this another late triumph

Continuing the rejuvenated sound of 2023’s Hackney Diamonds, there’s touching vulnerability from Keith Richards while Jagger confronts war and autocracy

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts review – rip-roaring rock history, but why is she playing Gary Glitter?

In her first UK headline show in 16 years, Jett has a terrific knack for a cover version, though she’s a touch nonchalant – and there’s a real misstep

Sienna Spiro: Visitor review – will she be the ‘new Adele’? Not with this merely competent debut

Amid signs of greatness, the already hugely popular British singer fails to live up to her potential, lacking vocal agility and lyrical subtlety

Alabama Shakes review – US rockers’ first UK gig in a decade is suffused with hope for the future

As they tee up a long-awaited third album, the deep south band are variously slick and raw as they ruminate on overcoming tough times

Madonna: Confessions II review – nostalgic dancefloor trip sparks her most vital album in two decades

After years spent chasing trends like trap and Latin pop, Madonna settles back​ nicely into​ old-school dance music to tell vivid vignettes of life in 80s New York

My Chemical Romance review – ​fire! Nuclear war! Killer pierrots! This is stadium rock at its most monumentally madcap

Adding eye-popping spectacle to this anniversary reprise of The Black Parade is fun, but what really stands out is the tremendous songcraft

The Black Lights review – Mica Levi, Moin and Klein thrill at an awesome addition to the UK festival circuit

Tapping into the kitsch and romance of a Blackpool weekender, this debut offering from Manchester’s White Hotel becomes a triumph of pan-genre experimentalism

Bad Bunny review – dynamic Latin superstar hosts thrilling party

The Puerto Rican musician kicks off in a white suit fronting a salsa band in full flow, then switches up with a swaggering, chaotic rave in a replica island home

Metallica review – metal legends break out the pyrotechnics … and a Proclaimers cover

Armed with four drum kits, an arsenal of hits and a 50,000-strong snake pit, Lars Ulrich and co deliver a masterclasss on their marathon world tour

Muse: The Wow! Signal review – stupendous space-rock silliness … yet somehow surprisingly subtle?

From Count Dracula organ to choirs crying in Latin, the Devon band are scenery-chewingly preposterous​ yet nuanced on this epic about extraterrestrial life

Hayley Williams review – punk and R&B expertly intertwine on first solo tour for Paramore star

In her first European jaunt outside of her headbanging band, the singer uses humour to turn angsty songs into rowdy collective catharsis

Gorillaz review – a staggering hi-tech mini-festival from the magpie mind of Damon Albarn

A stream of high-profile guest stars included Johnny Marr, Little Simz, Shaun Ryder, Sparks, Yasiin Bey, Bootie Brown and Fatoumata Diawara

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← Older posts
  • Baby Rose: Yearnalism review – gloriously cinematic soul from the edge of emotional collapse
  • Wild Gods: The Glorious Abysmal review – truly fascinating songs born of tweed-beating and psychedelic trips
  • Mahler: Songs of Youth and Awakening album review – exuberance and intensity from fine cast of singers
  • Sueye Park: Goldmark and Sibelius album review – Korean violinist’s silvery tone is ideal for Goldmark rarity
  • Jack White: Frozen Charlotte review – brutal, squalid blues-rock that just about sells its own ridiculousness
  • BTS review – pure joy and astonishing versatility at K-pop titans’ first UK show in seven years
  • Kazuki conducts Harmonium review – John Adams’ wild ride centres an elegant showcase of US composers
  • The Rolling Stones: Foreign Tongues review – stomping blues and anti-Musk politics make this another late triumph
  • Seasonal Quartet: Ali Smith and New European Ensemble review – words and music connect
  • Joan Jett and the Blackhearts review – rip-roaring rock history, but why is she playing Gary Glitter?
  • 2K88, Lauren Duffus, Rainy Miller & Bianca Scout: Everything Always Changes, for We’re Truly Here review – UK-Poland clan create murky beauty
  • Sienna Spiro: Visitor review – will she be the ‘new Adele’? Not with this merely competent debut
  • Coleridge-Taylor and Dvořák Violin Concertos album review – shrewd pairing, with Gil Shaham fluid and imposing
  • Berlin! Berlin! Berlin! Kabarett und Exil album review – Anne Sofie von Otter turns to cabaret
  • Tristan und Isolde review – Wagner in concert performance sees Pappano and the LSO at their finest
  • Alabama Shakes review – US rockers’ first UK gig in a decade is suffused with hope for the future
  • Madonna: Confessions II review – nostalgic dancefloor trip sparks her most vital album in two decades
  • I Puritani review – Oropesa dazzles in Jones’s engaging Bellini staging
  • My Chemical Romance review – ​fire! Nuclear war! Killer pierrots! This is stadium rock at its most monumentally madcap
  • The Black Lights review – Mica Levi, Moin and Klein thrill at an awesome addition to the UK festival circuit
  • Billy Budd review – Clayton’s Vere is the devastating heart of vivid staging
  • Ubuntu Ensemble review – charged musical snapshots of South Africa’s struggle
  • In the Belly of the Beast review – biblical events showcase Sun King’s favoured composer
  • Garth Brooks review – swooning fans turn out for British Summer Time’s hottest ticket
  • Bad Bunny review – dynamic Latin superstar hosts thrilling party
  • Metallica review – metal legends break out the pyrotechnics … and a Proclaimers cover
  • Candomblé: Sacred Rhythms in Brazil review – ceremonial drumming remixed for the dancefloor
  • Downtown Boys: Public Luxury review – a joyful blast of bilingual political punk
  • Jonathan Kuo: Java Dreams album review – young pianist brings unflashy exuberance to complex works
  • Phoebe Bridgers: Lost Boys review – ghosts, guns and guileless youth on generational songwriter’s return

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