Filthy Friends: Emerald Valley review – indie supergroup is familiar yet bracing
Featuring Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney and Peter Buck of REM, this second album is engaged and abrasive, even if the lyrics sometimes overdo it
Big Thief: UFOF review – folk-tinged indie bordered by demons
Hypnotic soft guitars mask uneasiness on the New York four-piece’s third album: it really packs a punch
Vampire Weekend: Father of the Bride review – a scrapbook of brilliant ideas
Their first album in six years sees VW integrating styles from country to flamenco into their preppy pop, often brilliantly
Mountain Goats: In League With Dragons review – deliciously detailed indie rock
John Darnielle’s four-piece have made an album of melodic character studies and mournful stompers. Hard to believe it’s their 17th
The Cranberries: In the End review – moving swan songs of Dolores O’Riordan
The singer’s death hangs heavy over this album, finished by her bandmates, but the songs, which are some of their best, are superb
Soak: Grim Town review – familiar yet life-affirmingly raw pop
The indie singer-songwriter’s second album mines the genre’s long-established tropes to deliver soul-baring poignancy
Aldous Harding: Designer review – cryptic charm and shimmering psychedelic pop
Her lyrics are inscrutable and her vocal and visual stylings eccentric, but Harding’s third album is a thing of beauty
Stella Donnelly review – playful guitar-pop with witty, gritty truths
The Welsh-Australian’s tales of gender politics and Australia’s colonial past are delivered with gentle vibrato and easy, everyday charm
Weyes Blood review – titanic journey reaches a mellow peak
The crowd are left awestruck as Natalie Mering pares back the luscious Titanic Rising and strips down a Beach Boys classic
The National review – self-scrutiny gives way to slapstick and selfies
Debuting their new album, I Am Easy to Find, the Ohio band herald a new phase as lead singer Matt Berninger mellows out
Jade Bird: Jade Bird review – edgy, unsparing Americana
Bird’s debut shows an artist polished and forceful, but sometimes her sparkle gets sanded down
WH Lung: Incidental Music review – dynamic synth-pop hums with life
Manchester trio’s debut morphs insistent rhythmic themes, building and releasing tension in nervy ecstasy - it’s modern psychedelia maximised
Priests: The Seduction of Kansas review – punks take a swing at the state of the nation
Populist political bellwether Kansas is the inspiration for this album of disparate punk-pop from intellectually fearless trio, which drifts at times
Sundara Karma review – catchy toplines and lissom post-punk
The theatrically dressed four-piece have tried hard to avoid being categorised but are reluctant to take such risks with their songs
Ex Hex: It’s Real review – a lacklustre follow-up
One of the standout debuts of 2014, Ex Hex’s Rips was a joyful homage to late-70s/early-80s power-pop, most notably Cheap Trick and the Runaways. It also served as a good showcase for the talents of guitarist Mary Timony, once of … Continue reading