Sŵn festival review – weirdness and wonder in Cardiff’s alt-pop paradise
Based everywhere from an Irish chain pub to an antiques centre, this slickly organised festival shows how varied and vibrant today’s indie scene is
Floating Points: Crush review – beauty out of chaos
(Ninja Tune)
Vagabon: Vagabon review – indie star is expansive yet intimate
Swapping crunching guitars for softer electronics, Laetitia Tamko’s second album is both sharp and tender
No Bounds festival review – from bassline to ambient at Sheffield weekender
With spectacular AV sets in a steelworks museum and immersive ambient in a swimming pool, local talent, international DJs and the city share equal billing
Tegan and Sara: Hey, I’m Just Like You review – adolescent angst in synthpop
(Warner Records)Reworked songs of teenage travails from the Quin twins, who go back to their youth in slick, pulsating pop
Sturgill Simpson: Sound & Fury review – country’s outlaw catches fire
Another big shift in direction for Simpson, with anime visuals, glam rock, disco and grunge ornamenting never-more-country lyrics: it’s extraordinary
Gary Numan review – terrace chants for thrashing synthpop star
The Numanoids are out in force for their idol, who throws in guitar and beefy rhythms for this 40th anniversary tour
Aphex Twin review – wild lights, jungle buzzsaw and a boo for Boris
The electronic music legend melted genres at breakneck speed in this peerless ambient-to-hardcore festival outing – to the delight of a young crowd
Sampa the Great: The Return review – new perspectives on rap’s age-old questions
She’s charismatic and her challenges to western orthodoxy are welcome, but Sampa needs to find a fresher sonic palette
Charli XCX: Charli review – a raw, rousing step towards superstardom
The embattled singer reveals her anxieties and coaxes brilliance from various guests in a candid, confident third album
Jóhann Jóhannsson: 12 Conversations with Thilo Heinzmann review – elegiac, spartan suite
Jóhannsson’s piece, inspired by artist Heinzmann, lacks the composer’s electronic trademarks, but it is full of poignant beauty in this reworking by Echo Collective
Octo Octa: Resonant Body review – upbeat, free-spirited electronica
Octo Octa’s trans journey is mirrored in her electronic palette, using crunching beats, ambience and supple synths on celebratory tracks
Blanck Mass: Animated Violence Mild review – grief, rage and transcendent electronica
Mourning the death of the planet and a parent, Ben Power has made an album that fuses terror and rage with sheer beauty
Ami Dang: Parted Plains review – intense sitar ambience on a raga tip
Dang’s self-assured album brings elements of unease to stillness, with keening melodies and multilayered sounds