Fontaines DC: Dopamine Chamber review – gloomy, gorgeous and a gargantuan triumph
(XL)This is a beguiling, endlessly inventive and frequently astonishing fifth LP from a group at increasing ease with being the best band of their generationFifteen centuries ago, the Byzantine archbishop Theophilus of Adana did first-hand business with…
‘We look like soft, made-up blokes, but we’re really tough’: Duran Duran on 80s excess, tabloid scrutiny and their Halloween glow-up
They spent their heyday on yachts, then rolled up their sleeves in the wilderness years. Ahead of a Halloween show at the O2, pop’s great survivors explain their staying powerIn 2022, Duran Duran were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. It…
‘I’d wander through the park all angsty listening to Arctic Monkeys’: Arlo Parks’ honest playlist
The singer shamelessly blasts Lady Gaga in the car and is brought to tears by Portishead – but which song does she have to be careful listening to?The first song I fell in love with I remember listening to Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) by…
Elvis Costello is twice as honest as the average musician | Letter
His integrity is one reason I’ve stuck with him, says Nick DaveyElvis Costello has been a role model since I was a bespectacled teen and he appeared on the music scene to provide some credibility for NHS glasses. I no longer keep the scrapbook, but did…
Add to playlist: the fizzing fuzz-pop racket of Pushbike and the week’s best new tracks
Drawing from post-hardcore, twee and emo, the Exeter trio’s intoxicating energy feels like an invitation to form your own bandFrom Exeter, UKRecommended if you like Boyracer, the Promise Ring, Rites of SpringUp next Little Bastard EP out nowIt’s tempting…
Jess Williamson: A Mile South of Heaven review – alt-country singer’s love-hate affair with LA
(New West)Following 2023 breakout Time Ain’t Accidental, the best songs here are when Williamson strips back country music, rebuilding it as something familiar yet differentIn her essay Goodbye to All That, Joan Didion writes that she left New York City…
Troye Sivan: She’s the Best review – a strange, singular pop star who deserves to be multiplatinum
(Interscope)Adored by the A-list and filling arenas, but without huge smash hits, the Australian singer treads his own distinctive path through pop via shoegaze, Balearic and the SmithsA few years back, the New York Times reported on the phenomenon of…
‘Spend time going down rabbit holes’: how the Avalanches created their wildest album yet
The Aussie trio explain creating their new record sampling kids’ science shows and Tunisian music – and their surreal film with Haley Joel OsmentLast December, Robbie Chater and Tony Di Blasi, the core members of the Aussie disco-pop collagists the…
Freddie Jackson, romantic US singer with 10 R&B chart-toppers, dies aged 70
Celebrated for his earnest, dextrous voice, Jackson crossed into the pop charts with the hits Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake) and You Are My LadyFreddie Jackson, the US singer whose smooth and romantic take on R&B found a huge audience in the…
‘Men are a scam!’ The trials of Danielle Ponder, the lawyer turned singer rooting for a better world
After representing society’s dispossessed, Ponder started a music career in her 40s – then faced miscarriage, anxiety and more. She explains her survival instinct“You can get everything you dreamed of career-wise, and your life can still crumble, and…