The Hold Steady: Thrashing Thru the Passion review – chancers and chasers in fist-punching glory
Craig Finn’s barstool-rock raconteurs paint a portrait of booze-soaked Americana with their most enthralling record in years
Friendly Fires: Inflorescent review – deliciously cheesy 80s disco vibes
Harking back to the era of funkily optimistic pop may not speak to our times, but FF’s first album in eight years is truly joyous
Sleater-Kinney: The Centre Won’t Hold review – fighting death with sex
Drummer Janet Weiss has left the band since recording this St Vincent-produced album – but their songwriting suggests they can weather anything
Bon Iver: i,i review – his first ever misfire
Justin Vernon has been building Bon Iver into an artistic commune of shared ideals – but loses his way in a fog of weak melodies and bad poetry
Francis Lung: A Dream Is U review – plaintive introspection from buzz band man
Jangling, inward-looking lo-fi indie with Elliott Smith touches has potential but lacks his former band Wu Lyf’s originality
Y Not review – fast-rising festival gets stuck in the indie mud
Acts like Wolf Alice are a welcome break from the hordes of white blokes with guitars, who don’t reflect the eclectic taste of the crowd
Jenny Lewis review – darkly among the rhinestones
With her fourth album, Jenny Lewis’s moment has come – and she’s seizing it with country-pop hooks and disarming honesty
Blood Orange: Angel’s Pulse review – immersive and delicate mixtape
As Blood Orange, New York-based artist Dev Hynes has released four deeply impressive albums of glossy, genre-fluid sounds. Angel’s Pulse is something a little different – described by London-born Hynes as a mixtape, the distinction comes in this being a … Continue reading
Doves review – comedown symphonies still sound stirring
Initially undercut by weedy sound, the Mancunian trio become muscular and euphoric in this greatest hits set
Palace: Life After review – indie trio find new force
While Palace’s 2016 debut, So Long Forever, was an accomplished enough slice of grown-up indie, it did feel a little half-hearted in places. Although the songs concerned themselves with bereavement, the marital breakup of frontman Leo Wyndham’s parents and similarly … Continue reading
Tiny Changes: A Celebration of The Midnight Organ Fight review – astounding tribute to a lost talent
Friends from Aaron Desner to Sarah Silverman cover songs from Frightened Rabbit’s 2008 album and prove Scott Hutchison’s enduring talent all over again
Purple Mountains: Purple Mountains review – sardonic Americana with the lyrics of the year
(Drag City)Life has tested David Berman, and he translates it into songs of mordant wit on this fantastic collaboration with Woods
Blood Orange: Angel’s Pulse review – the stuff cult heroes are made of
Dev Hynes’ new mixtape contains a flood of musical influences – from shoegaze to dancehall and found sound – and is only occasionally self-indulgent
Sharon Van Etten review – from heartbreak to heroine
The American indie star’s synth-rock transformation is thrilling