Field Day review – Aphex Twin’s live comeback raises the temperature

The one-day festival has a gigantic new Barn stage, suitably filled by Aphex Twin’s spine-tingling live return, supported by an eclectic lineup of pop, rap and dance for every taste under the sun

Saint Etienne: Home Counties review – finding Arcadia in the Brexit heartlands

Saint Etienne’s latest musical psychogeographic survey is of the UK’s southern counties, so what do this ever-cosmopolitan band make of the Brexit heartlands? Their Ray Davies-style vision of a green and pleasant “sweet Arcadia”, finding poetry in Seasalter and Peacehaven, … Continue reading →

Richard Dawson: Peasant review – muddy glorious

A concept album set in medieval north Britain shouldn’t work. But Dawson’s way with lyrics and melodies makes it unique and often breathtaking

Mac DeMarco review – tropical lounge lizard unleashes inner beast

After lulling the crowd with seamless sunny tunes, the Canadian pop eccentric breaks into a final act of stupendous abandon, magic tricks and yodelling

The Charlatans: Different Days review – a very comfortable groove

Respect must be paid to the Charlatans for continuing to release new material when it would surely be easier to live off the nostalgia circuit. Different Days retains the breezy feel of their superb 2015 comeback Modern Nature, even if the songs … Continue reading →

The Amazons: The Amazons album review – cookie-cutter indie debut

The first warning is that standard-issue indie-band name, nicked from a legendary race of superwomen by four young men from Reading. The second is opener Stay With Me, which barrels in like a generic version of the Vaccines, minus the … Continue reading →

The Amazons: The Amazons review – uneven indie rockers

Like Palma Violets, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Circa Waves and many others before them, this hotly tipped four-piece from Berkshire infuse the best bits of mid-noughties guitar music with a woah-and-ooh-heavy pop sensibility. Their debut album kicks off with Stay … Continue reading →

The Great Escape review – Inheaven leave Brighton’s new music shindig shaking

The annual seaside showcase brought spring showers and a robust offering of everything from buzzy rap and sardonic synthpop to sampled-fuelled rock

Stevie Parker: The Cure review – intriguing and idiosyncratic

(Virgin EMI)The Bristol-based singer makes a virtue of misery on this highly promising break-up album

Pumarosa: The Witch review – a surprisingly magnetic debut

London five-piece Pumarosa don’t sound like much else that’s around, sporting a flamboyant tendency to space-rocking, electronically garnished epics. They build with skill, too, on the grungey Honey and the rolling Lions’ Den, the slow-burning title track and the pulsing, … Continue reading →

(Sandy) Alex G: Rocket review – disengaged and disappointing

Before his parenthesised semi-rebrand, the prolific artist formerly known as Alex G had released seven albums of Pavement-influenced lo-fi bedroom indie that, although patchy, had plenty of instances of songwriting gold. Rocket, however, is a disappointment. While there’s an easy-going … Continue reading →

Mac DeMarco: This Old Dog review – thoughtful, tender third album

(Captured Tracks)

Slowdive: Slowdive review – the band they always wanted to be

(Dead Oceans)

The Afghan Whigs: In Spades review – soulful alt-rockers’ second wave continues

These Cincinatti alt-rockers released their seventh album, Do to the Beast, in 2014. It was their first release in 16 years, and built on the bluesy, soul-flecked sound they had developed over the course of several acclaimed albums in the … Continue reading →

Slowdive: Slowdive review – jewel-like, spacious return by shoegaze originals

Related: The unlikely renaissance of Slowdive: ‘Shoegaze became the genre of ridicule’ At the risk of encouraging more disbanded groups to reform and clog up festival lineups for the next 20 years, there is a certain pleasure in hearing an … Continue reading →