Phoebe Bridgers: Lost Boys review – ghosts, guns and guileless youth on generational songwriter’s return
The US singer took years away from public life after her silvery balladry reshaped pop. Her return is an ornate reinvention
Iceage: For Love of Grace & the Hereafter review – Danish punks ace sixth stellar album on the trot
The quintet add shoegaze, country and 50s rock’n’roll to their core indie-punk sound, resulting in songs that offset lyrical bleakness with gleeful, uplifting music
Sugar review – Bob Mould’s reunited band still in a sweet spot between noise and melody
After three unlikely Top 10 albums in the 90s, the trio are back – and on the basis of this rapid-fire set, you hope they’ll stick around
Kurt Vile: Philadelphia’s Been Good to Me review – indie rock’s most easygoing dude gets existential
Sounding characteristically virtuosic but unbothered, Vile is more forward-thinking than ever on a record that surveys the bliss and bumps of life in his mid-40s
Genesis Owusu: Redstar Wu & the Worldwide Scourge review – political fury and propulsive fun
Seething with righteous anger and moshpit-ready tracks, the Australian artist’s genre-hopping but cohesive LP makes a case for the durability of the form
Super Furry Animals review – stirring reunion showcases immaculate songcraft
The Welsh band with a weird edge mostly let their formidable music speak for itself, lent a transcendent power by frontman Gruff Rhys’s rich voice
Aldous Harding: Train on the Island review – even whimsy-resistant listeners will love these lucid, luminous songs
Lyrics about naked owls and eating rocks might be irksome to some – but there’s no denying that the alt-rocker’s fifth album is beguiling, tightly written and richly melodic
Carla dal Forno: Confession review – spartan, sunlit post-punk strikingly contrasts the desperation of desire
The Australian songwriter’s fourth album exists in the captivating chasm between the coolness of her music and the unrepentant obsession of the crush it explores
My New Band Believe review – beautiful ideas burst from ex-Black Midi man’s lovable debut album
Smoothing out the jump-cut chaos of his previous band, Cameron Picton brings entirely acoustic instrumentation to bear on these lovely, beguiling songs
Belle and Sebastian review – joyful anniversary tour makes debut album brighter than ever
On a tour playing Tigermilk and If You’re Feeling Sinister in full on alternate nights, Stuart Murdoch and co wittily reanimate their world of aesthetes and misfits
Echo and the Bunnymen review – Ian McCulloch leaves it to the crowd to sing these timelessly great songs
The frontman struggled to get through most of the band’s choruses but that left space for Will Sergeant’s glorious psychedelic shapes and a supportive sing along
Waterbaby: Memory Be a Blade review – stellar singer-songwriter pieces post-breakup life back together
The Stockholm musician’s debut album is a fascinating character study with improvised lyrics and a light, pretty sound that belies its emotional depth
Cruz Beckham review – son of David and Victoria transcends nepo-baby tag with intriguing psych-pop
His music is still all over the place, lurching from landfill indie to solipsistic ballads, but the youngest Beckham son can certainly play guitar
Lala Lala: Heaven 2 review – brooding alt-popper fights the urge to run
Lillie West’s fourth album is a hazy, mid-tempo meditation on escape that gets stuck in a numbing mid-tempo mode – though there is a gorgeous moment of release
Hen Ogledd: Discombobulated review – a manifesto for collective action from Richard Dawson’s folk-rockers
Featuring taunts in Welsh, ‘bard rap’ and spirited jigs, the British quartet’s ragged, rich music underpins their vision for change