GUARDIAN MUSIC
Neuester Inhalt
Tyler, the Creator: Chromakopia review – early midlife crisis triggers a freaked-out psychodrama
(Columbia Records)
Full of switchback turns, the rapper’s unsettled and unsettling seventh album zaps from Beach Boys harmonies to G-funk synths – and from boasts to self-loathing
Christy Moore: A Terrible Beauty review – stirring tales of the polemical and the personal
(Claddagh)
The Irish national treasure ranges from humour to rage, Ukraine and Lyra McKee and on his 25th studio album
The Cure: Songs of a Lost World review – as promised, ‘very, very doom and gloom’
(Fiction)
The band’s first album in 16 years finds Robert Smith and co on reliably melancholy form – with the exception of one out-and-out pop banger
Pixies: The Night the Zombies Came review – an echo of an echo of past glories
(BMG)
The Boston band’s slide towards mediocrity continues, with the high point a song about a headless chicken
Laura Marling: Patterns in Repeat review – a tender love letter to motherhood
(Chrysalis/Partisan)
Domestic contentment radiates through the singer-songwriter’s eighth album celebrating the circle of life
Underworld: Strawberry Hotel review – sweet bangers and sad laments
(Smith Hyde Productions/Virgin)
The techno giants’ 11th album finds them ranging from cut-up dancefloor fillers to gentle experimentation
Keith Jarrett/Gary Peacock/Paul Motian: The Old Country review – a delightful return to a cherished jazz venue
(ECM)
Full of blistering bebop and entrancing swing, this 1992 recording showcases the pianist’s love of the Deer Head Inn, the clapboard 1840s hotel where he cut his teeth
Fievel Is Glauque: Rong Weicknes review – teetering song-towers that never quite topple
(Fat Possum Records)
Brilliant melodies, poetic lyrics and quick-change time signatures elevate this quirky jazz-pop release to a level all its own
Handel in Rome review – Nardus Williams sounds heart-stoppingly lovely
Dunedin Consort/Butt
(Linn)
This collection of youthful but complex cantatas written by the composer in Italy is a showcase for the outstanding British soprano
Amyl and the Sniffers: Cartoon Darkness review | Alexis Petridis's album of the week
(Rough Trade)
With their swearing and flashing, Amy Taylor and co’s return might seem like business as usual – but new melodic depths and lyrical concerns reveal themselves
Kylie: Tension II review – more of the same is much, much less
(BMG)
Kylie Minogue’s follow-up to 2023’s euphoric Tension – and smash hit Padam Padam – fluctuates between sparkle and self-doubt, generic pap and two stone-cold bangers
Sibelius: Violin Concerto, Serenades, Humoresques album review – James Ehnes at his sublime best
James Ehnes (violin), Bergen Philharmonic/Gardner
(Chandos)
The star violinist gives a scintillating account of the composer’s only concerto, alongside other works for violin and orchestra
The Cure: Songs of a Lost World review – dark, personal and their best since Disintegration
(Fiction)
The band are at an artistic peak on their first album in 16 years: movingly melancholic, with a punchy sound to match the lyrics’ emotional impact
Immanuel Wilkins: Blues Blood review – alto sax player’s hugely ambitious meditation on his roots
(Blue Note)
The young American taps into generational memory with assorted guest vocalists and a rich, rewarding palette of styles and moods
Porridge Radio: Clouds in the Sky They Will Always Be There for Me review – exquisite euphoria through repetition
(Secretly Canadian)
Emotions run high on the Brighton band’s fourth album as frontwoman Dana Margolin exorcises past relationships
The Blessed Madonna: Godspeed review – a sprawling dancefloor odyssey
(FFRR)
Featuring Kylie Minogue, Jacob Lusk and more, the American producer and DJ’s solo debut offers something for everyone
Róis: Mo Léan review | Jude Rogers' folk album of the month
(Self-released)
Singer Rose Connolly expands the pre-Christian Irish grieving tradition with synthesisers, distortion and drone in an arresting set
Japandroids: Fate & Alcohol review – Canadian duo’s bittersweet breakup record
(Anti)
Brian King and David Prowse’s guitar-drums combo enjoys one last hurrah with tracks ranging from bluesy epics to rock romcom
Grace Williams: Orchestral Works album review – vivid playing and striking drama
BBC Philharmonic/Andrews
(Resonus)
Vienna and Vaughan Williams are among the Welsh composer’s influences, but these orchestral pieces also show off her own distinctive style
Schoenberg: Pelleas und Melisande; Verklärte Nacht album review – brightness without transfiguration
Montreal SO/Payare
(Pentatone)
Careful textures, brisk pace and the Montreal Symphony’s transparent sound are among the highlights of not fully convincing set to mark the composer’s 150th anniversary