Jess Ribeiro: Summer of Love review – a balm for anxious times
With expansive, experimental instrumentation, the Melbourne musician’s fourth album records our contemporary chaos – and finds a glimmer of hope
The Black Keys: Ohio Players review – a little soul, a little lush, less magic
A diffusion of the band’s hallmark earwormy blues feels somewhat lightweight, albeit with splashes of classy experimentation
Ride: Interplay review – perpetual teenage kicks, now with added anger
Forays into psychedelia and world affairs serve the reformed British shoegaze pioneers well on their seventh album
Waxahatchee: Tigers Blood review – sprightly Americana with added poise
Katie Crutchfield’s latest album swaps the strung-out drama of its acclaimed predecessor for precision and broad relatability
Julia Holter: Something in the Room She Moves review – the best track is the simplest
Found sounds and touches of jazz enliven the American singer-songwriter’s woozy evocation of being present in changing times
Waxahatchee: Tigers Blood review – intimate Americana tackling life’s great tangle
Katie Crutchfield’s sixth album refines the breezy country of her 2020 breakthrough Saint Cloud and finds her as compelled by the complexities of life as its eases
Yard Act review – a band having fun in the midst of an identity crisis
Seeming to play their jagged post-punky early material with some reluctance, the Leeds band strike out into bold new territory with hypnotic electronic grooves, disco stompers – and a Napalm Death collab
Faye Webster: Underdressed at the Symphony review – petal-voiced power
The Atlanta twentysomething’s 70s-tinged alt-country is delicate and eclectic, complete with guest spots from Wilco’s Nels Cline and rapper Lil Yachty
Helado Negro: Phasor review – undimmable warmth
Digital meets analogue on the American musician’s short but sweet latest
NewDad: Madra review – unfiltered songcraft in a dreamy yet spiky debut
From Pixies to Garbage, New Order to Wolf Alice, you can clearly detect the Galway four-piece’s influences – but lyrics about shame and self-doubt make this an affecting album
Future Islands: People Who Aren’t There Anymore review – a brutal, beautiful breakup album
The synthpop quartet’s heart-on-sleeve frontman, Samuel T Herring, is by turns lovelorn and lovestruck on their affecting seventh LP
The Libertines review – raucous return for chaotic indie heroes
Previewing their first new album for nine years to a tiny but thrilled audience, Pete Doherty and Carl Barât’s band continue to stumble around greatness
Katy Kirby: Blue Raspberry review – depth disguised by breeziness
The Texas singer-songwriter makes up for time lost to her evangelical background with a second album of impeccable craft and lyricism
Torres: What An Enormous Room review – a confident declaration of rock-star ambition
The indie musician flexes the noirish power of her commanding voice on her sixth album, and embraces grand new sonic theatrics
The Smile: Wall of Eyes review – inventive Radiohead side project risks eclipsing the real thing
Despite all the lyrical disquiet, there is a lovely sense of ease to the Smile’s second album – and some of the best music Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood have put their names to in at least a decade