Nilüfer Yanya: Miss Universe review – hilariously talented

This debut sees a decade of pent-up songwriting spilling out of the hilariously talented 23-year-old Londoner Yanya. There’s a faint new wave feel to the gauzy layers of synths draped over some of the material, yet mostly it’s her own, … Continue reading →

Vampire Weekend review – smart, casual return for princes of prep-pop

On a mini-tour ahead of their first album since 2013, the breezy charm of Ezra Koenig’s cosmopolitan band remains undimmed, despite wobbles

Lucy Rose: No Words Left review – her starkest, most striking album yet

Rose’s stripped-back songs convey bleakness and beauty in equal measure – they are her strongest artistic statement yet

Lambchop: This (Is What I Wanted to Tell You) review – growing experimental gracefully

A lesson in how to keep moving forward, Kurt Wagner keeps experimenting with his ability to see beauty in everything, every day

Dodie review – twee-folk singer stumbles from YouTube to IRL

The online teen pop sensation makes positive messages about inclusivity, but her voice is too slight to make an impact

Nilüfer Yanya: Miss Universe review – anxiety dreams from a true original

Full of 21st-century disquiet, the singer-songwriter uses skits and skewed alt-rock to take aim at the spurious ‘wellness’ industry

Foals: Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part 1 review – epic songs for a world in a spin

Foals have found a new zip to their grooves: this is a fitting soundtrack for a world mired in uncertainty

Sam Fender: Tyneside tunesmith with an axe to grind

With his Springsteen-inspired restlessness and ear for the left-behind, the Brits critics’ choice winner is a shot in the arm of the stale, male troubadour scene

Methyl Ethel: Triage review – hipster psych-pop strains for effect

Jake Webb’s band lean toward Tame Impala’s baked funk, with solid, catchy melodies – but it doesn’t grab the soul

Panda Bear: Buoys review – indie experimenter finds the slow lane

The Animal Collective man’s sixth solo album is full of trademark quirks and it’s undeniably clever, if slightly monotonous

Jessica Pratt: Quiet Signs review – beguiling songs of simplicity and space

The LA musician has beefed up her acoustic sound but lost nothing of her ethereal qualities on this magical album

Mercury Rev: Bobbie Gentry’s The Delta Sweete Revisited review – fun but overdone

Gathering singers including Hope Sandoval, Phoebe Bridgers and Beth Orton, Mercury Rev up the ante on this upending of Gentry’s masterpiece

Fat White Family review – growing up disgracefully

The disreputable Brixton art rockers are touting their new album as a rebirth. It’s bound to be gory

Cherry Glazerr: Stuffed & Ready review – mired in misery

There’s not enough contrast on the LA band’s album of intensely felt songs about everything from not fitting in to toxic masculinity

Beirut: Gallipolli review – Pinterest-friendly world indie

Zach Condon’s voice is as lovely as ever, on tracks soothingly yet dismayingly similar to past albums