Etienne Charles: Creole Orchestra review – jazz trumpeter’s big band dream come true
The Trinidad-born musician and his 22-piece ensemble excel in all styles, from Benny Goodman and Eartha Kitt to Charles’s own Carib-flavoured compositions
End of the Road festival review – engagingly eclectic weekender never fails to surprise
A headlining Slowdive ticked the indie boxes, but Lankum’s intense folk, Paranoid London’s filthy techno and Nourished By Time’s slick R&B grooves once again prove this festival has punch and personality
Ravyn Lenae: Bird’s Eye review – a breathtaking R&B follow-up
The US singer-songwriter’s featherlight voice and distinctive lyrics skip easily between styles on her strikingly self-assured second album
Berwyn: Who Am I review – should be on the national curriculum
With devastating directness, the Trinidad-born London artist depicts his struggles with UK immigration, fusing visceral poetry, dark humour and a crackling R&B croon
SZA at Glastonbury review – electric eclecticism from today’s greatest R&B star
Her show may be situated in a fantastical world full of insects, swords and fallen trees, but the US singer’s lyrics are earthy and induce bedlam in her devoted fans
Normani: Dopamine review – pop’s longest-awaited debut almost defeats the trolls
The ex-Fifth Harmony member was tipped for huge success until creative differences and personal strife set her back, but she has confidently regained her footing by leaning into R&B
Tems: Born in the Wild review – the Afrobeats artist levels up in style
The Lagos-born singer’s rocket-fuelled rise to stardom continues on a debut album peppered with swaggering bangers
NxWorries: Why Lawd? review
The producer-singer duo’s sweet nostalgia-funk now has a sour vibe as .Paak switches between anger and self-pity
Fabiana Palladino: Fabiana Palladino review – sublime 80s pop innovation meets 21st-century chaos
The musician’s long-gestating debut album melds killer tunes to grimy distortion and the scuffed gloss of Jam and Lewis-era Janet Jackson, and marks the flowering of an original pop voice
Ariana Grande: Eternal Sunshine review – a clearing of the emotional decks
Post-divorce, the American pop star returns with a sumptuous collection that has just the right amount of bite
Tierra Whack: World Wide Whack review – witty, wild and from the heart
The Philadelphia rapper takes her Missy Elliott-gone-Sesame Street vibe to a darker place on her debut album proper
Serpentwithfeet: Grip review – glossy, lustful tribute to queer black clubland
The soundtrack to Josiah White’s 2023 theatre production is exultant and uninhibited, but overly reliant on Auto-Tune and the odd dodgy guest spot
Kali Uchis: Orquídeas review – urgent Latin beats from a superstar in waiting
Less hazy than her recent Red Moon in Venus, the witty Colombian American singer returns with an album centred on reggaeton, cumbia and reggae rhythms
Music: Kitty Empire’s 10 best albums of 2023
It was a year of avant-rap, sex-positive R&B, polyrhythmic jazz and hyper-punk pop – plus Lana Del Rey’s glossy meditations on death and loss
Beyoncé: My House review – bold, beat-switching journey to a strobe-lit dancefloor
The new song, which appears on the end credits of concert documentary Renaissance, is thrilling for its change in tempo and anti-commercial stance