Ex Hex: Rips review – majestic powerpop on the air-guitar album of the year

Mary Timony’s terrific new band deliver a deliriously great debut album packed with succinct, speedy, powerpop treats, writes Tom Hughes

The Bots: Pink Palms review – stylish indie rock with real substance

Cut through the fedors, shades and star connections and this mish-mash of garage rock and dirgier material stands up for itself, writes Lanre Bakare

Steve Gunn: Way Out Weather review – blissfully cosmic Americana

This very good solo album from a Kurt Vile collaborator feels both new and familiar at the same time, writes Michael Hann

Raury review – a stage-diving fizzbomb of energy

The genre-bending Atlanta musician commands the stage with charismatic presence – no wonder Kanye West is calling

Femme’s High: this week’s best new track

‘It’s the music Drake would make if, instead of growing up in Toronto, he’d done ket at squat raves in South London’

Johnny Marr: Playland review – dazzling guitars, not much intrigue

There weren’t many surprises on Johnny Marr’s first solo album, and this one is more of the decent-but-workmanlike same, writes Dave Simpson

Alt-J review – what’s all the fussiness about?

Kitty Empire fails to succumb to Alt’J’s overcomplicated music and uptight posturing

Thom Yorke – Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes: our first thoughts

As the Radiohead frontman releases his second solo album via BitTorrent, our team of writers give their initial verdict

Throwing Muses/Tanya Donelly review – intense and fascinating

Donelly was in strident, declamatory form alongside stepsister Kristin Hersh and the rest of her former alt-rock cohorts, writes Ian Gittins

Jenny Lewis review – who wouldn’t want to be Lewis?

Ex-frontwoman of Rilo Kiley brings her implausibly cool solo act to the UK, part Stevie Nicks, part Rod, Jane and Freddy, writes Malcolm Jack

End of the Road festival review – expertly curated indie rock

American upstarts St Paul and the Broken Bones deliver a stupendous set, while indie darling St Vincent triumphs, writes Laura Barton

The Kooks: Listen review – meat-and-potatoes pop

The Kooks' funk, jazz and gospel-inflected fourth album exudes desperation, writes Paul Mardles

Mean Love review – easy-going psychedelic groove pop from Sinkane

Sinkane is soulful and sinuous on his second album, writes Kitty Empire

The Kooks: Listen review – shamelessly retro but enjoyable pop-rock

The idea that the Kooks' fourth LP is a 'world music' album is a bit of a stretch, but its vintage-rock charms are winning enough, writes Harriet Gibsone

The Vines: Wicked Nature review – unsubtle but effective grunge nuggets

Craig Nicholls returns – minus the old band – with a set of unsubtle but effective grunge nuggets, writes Jon Dennis