The 50 best albums of 2018, No 9: Low – Double Negative

The best album of the Duluth band’s career sounds familiarly glacial and hymn-like – but recorded all wrong. It’s the sound of the world collapsing

The 50 best albums of 2018, No 10: Arctic Monkeys – Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino

This collection of woozy retro-futurist miniatures flew the flag for all album-kind in its cogent unity of time, place and ideas

James review – a decadent banquet of guitar-pop glories

Fronted by a prowling, prancing Tim Booth, James conjure mass singalongs and communal spirit

Courtney Marie Andrews review – Americana star has audience in ecstasy

Following the release of her acclaimed sixth album, the singer shows how precise and cutting her songwriting has become

Art Brut: Wham! Bang! Pow! Let’s Rock Out! review – tuneful, zippy guitar pop!

The Berlin-based indie rockers’ first album is seven years is full of singable choruses and pop culture references

Laibach: The Sound of Music review – glorious silly covers are bright as a copper kettle

The industrial troupe’s kitschiest work yet is stirring, funny and thought-provoking

Mumford & Sons: Delta review – a lightweight lunge for mass appeal

The band were once adept at uniting disparate influences, but it’s a knack they’ve lost

Laura Jane Grace and the Devouring Mothers: Bought to Rot review – nihilism and tenderness

The Against Me! frontwoman goes from endearingly catchy to sheer destruction, proving there are few like her

The Decemberists review – having a whale of a time

The Portland hipsters have been forging a direct new electronic sound, but still treat a boisterous crowd to their beloved storytelling hits – and a monster surprise

Idles review – shout their name from the rooftops

The Bristol band’s politically charged rock strikes a powerful chord on the messy, celebratory final night of their sold-out tour

Teenage Fanclub review – classic lineup bids farewell with glorious nostalgia trip

With founder member Gerard Love leaving after this tour, Teenage Fanclub spent three nights revisiting the bubblegum glory of their classic years

Snail Mail review – vulnerability and honesty from teen indie rocker

Despite some teething problems on her first major tour, Lindsey Jordan delivers emotive anthems with lyrical flair

Smashing Pumpkins review – it’s just me, myself and I

You can’t fault their energy but, at three hours long and with countless costume changes, the 90s rock gods’ reunion show is all about singer Billy Corgan’s huge ego

Mø: Forever Neverland review – stuck on the verge of a breakthrough

It was almost six years ago that Danish singer-songwriter Karen Marie Ørsted, known as Mø, first began to pop up on “ones to watch” lists. In 2014 she released her subtle, dark pop debut, No Mythologies to Follow, and since … Continue reading →

Kiran Leonard: Western Culture review – chamber pop asking all the right questions

Leonard’s latest questions everything from fake news to class frustration, and comes up with some valuable answers