Bruno Mars: The Romantic review – you’re better off listening to the songs he’s blatantly imitating
(Atlantic)Harking back to Oye Como Va, Move On Up and other 20th-century classics, Mars’s homages are beautifully performed but bereft of new ideas
Lala Lala: Heaven 2 review – brooding alt-popper fights the urge to run
Lillie West’s fourth album is a hazy, mid-tempo meditation on escape that gets stuck in a numbing mid-tempo mode – though there is a gorgeous moment of release
Gorillaz: The Mountain review – a late career peak haunted by ghosts yet glowing with life
Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett’s cartoon band mark 25 years with an album inspired by India and shaped by loss, featuring collaborators living and dead
Hen Ogledd: Discombobulated review – a manifesto for collective action from Richard Dawson’s folk-rockers
Featuring taunts in Welsh, ‘bard rap’ and spirited jigs, the British quartet’s ragged, rich music underpins their vision for change
The Streets review – semi-theatrical staging of A Grand Don’t Come for Free resurrects a British classic
Deadpan recital of the era-defining album of downbeat English rap suits the full-album format, presented with a formidable band
Mitski: Nothing’s About to Happen to Me review – mordant, melodic melancholy from the best songwriter of her generation
The US singer-songwriter’s latest album flits deftly from horror to humour, with threads of melancholy and desperate unhappiness binding the tracks
U2: Days of Ash review – six new tracks reaffirm the band as a vital political voice
On their first collection of new songs since 2017, the quartet have a crispness that has been lacking in their 21st-century material, as they nimbly react to shocking news stories
Raye review – dazzling display of range from old-school Vegas to Euro-dance
Switching from noirish drama to funk stomps, neo-soul to showgirl glamour, this is a big, bold show from a singer who has entered her ‘dramatic era’
Cardi B review – ambitious spectacle and sizzling choreography
Kia Forum, Los AngelesGrammy-winning Bronx rapper electrifies LA with pugnacious lyrics and vivid set pieces on her first arena tour
Charli xcx: Wuthering Heights review – atonal, amorous anthems that more than stand apart from the film
Casting off her Bratty cigarettes and sunglasses, the pop visionary channels the torments of Heathcliff and Cathy and the tumult of the Velvet Underground on her latest captivating pivot
Converge: Love Is Not Enough review – metalcore veterans’ rage remains fresh and furious
Even after 35 years, the intricacies and emotional pangs of these masters of technicality remain undimmed, drawing from a seemingly bottomless well of inspiration
Hemlocke Springs: The Apple Tree Under the Sea review – a DayGlo DIY triumph in an era of risk-averse pop
On her self-released debut, the singer-songwriter championed by Chappell Roan doubles down on the wonky charm that made her go viral on TikTok
The Beach Boys: We Gotta Groove review – box set of lost 70s music has all of Brian Wilson’s turmoil and talent
Spanning 1974-77, this collection shows Wilson was capable of stunning pre-rock’n’roll homage – on the previously unheard Adult/Child – while also writing wayward songs about organic food
Florence + the Machine review – a thrilling shift in tone towards stark, sombre catharsis
Florence Welch is backed by the folk-horror dramatics of a petticoat-clad choir – but quite capable of transfixing the crowd with her billowing voice alone
Maxïmo Park review – Newcastle band play the hell out of their jaggy and angsty debut album
Paul Smith and the band play tracks old and new with a dash of humour and the sort of chops you develop from years on the road