6 h. ago Mumford and Sons’ first album in seven years debuts at number one on UK charts

The fifth studio record, released on March 28, is now the group’s third album to reach number one, according to the Official Charts Company.

Politics

13 h. ago Pop star Jade felt ‘weight lifted off her shoulders’ as she reached major milestone

Former Little Mix singer says she wants her new album to sound like she’s ‘finding herself again’

Politics

19 h. ago ‘This weird dream just keeps going!’ Wet Leg on overnight success, sexual epiphanies and facing fears

The UK indie-rockers won two Grammys for their debut album. Ahead of their second, they explain how they protected one another amid sudden fame – and how queer love and Davina McCall inspired themWet Leg’s Rhian Teasdale looks like a pop star from a different era. She walks into a bar in east London wearing a giant, floor-length pale-pink padded coat. She has bleached eyebrows, dip-dyed hair, drawn-on freckles and jewels stuck to her nails and teeth. For a moment, Top of the Pops could be on primetime TV and a copy of Smash Hits in my bag. But then Wet Leg’s story always did feel anachronistic. In 2021, they managed what indie bands don’t often manage any more and became an overnight success. That June, they released their first single, Chaise Longue, a deadpan, perfectly simple and cheerfully daft megahit; they conquered the US and Japan, toured arenas and topped the album charts with their scathing, self-titled debut, scoring two Brit awards and two Grammys.They were still touring...

Politics

36 h. ago Black Country, New Road: Forever Howlong review | Alexis Petridis's album of the week

(Ninja Tune)After losing their frontman, the band’s third studio album shows how resilient and adaptable they are, with luscious melodies, fantastical lyrics and lots of recordersThe last time Black Country, New Road released a studio album, in 2022, it was accompanied by a strange feeling. Their debut the previous year had reached No 4 in the UK charts, and Ants from Up There was an even greater breakthrough, the sound of the UK septet pulling confidently away from the serried ranks of sprechgesang-heavy alt-rock bands who proliferated in the late 2010s. But there was an elegiac feeling around its release: Black Country, New Road’s frontman, Isaac Wood, had announced his departure four days prior. The others had resolved to continue without him, but given how distinctive Wood’s declarative, ruminating vocals were, many thought the band’s future was uncertain at best.That proved to be an underestimation. Instead of touring Ants from Up There, the remaining members stopped playing an...

Politics

3 d. ago ‘I feel as though I’ve been in chains’: the bittersweet life of lovers rock legend Mari’ Pierre

The British-Guyanese singer topped the reggae chart with 1978’s Walk Away, but despite work with Robert Plant and others, she’s rarely returned to the studio. This interview might change that In December 1978, Marie Pierre was at No 1 in the UK reggae chart with the lovers rock classic Walk Away, a beautiful tearstained lament on a troubled relationship. Her 1979 debut album Love Affair, powered by another enduring scene song in Choose Me, remained one of Trojan’s best-selling albums well into the 1980s; Pierre, with her crystalline multi-octave voice, seemed destined to follow her contemporary, Silly Games singer Janet Kay, into mainstream pop-reggae success.But in the 46 years since, Pierre has never released another album. A career that promised so much has – despite TV work and successful backing singing gigs with Robert Plant, Donna Summer and Chaka Khan – been one of frustration and thwarted ambition. Misfortune, mistrust and mistreatment, personal and professional, have sidel...

Politics

3 d. ago ‘It was like a freight train hit us’: How Justin Bieber changed the world (really)

Screaming girls. Puppy-love songs. That haircut. As the Canadian superstar’s debut album turns 15 – the same age he was when he became internationally inescapable – Mark Beaumont takes a look at his fast rise and often overlooked legacy

Events

4 d. ago Zadie Smith on the magic of Tracy Chapman: ‘She didn’t just look like us – she was singing our songs’

The novelist was just 12 when the ex-busker stunned a mammoth crowd at the Free Nelson Mandela concert – and sent everyone racing to Woolworths for her astonishing debut album. Its simple, honest, perfect songs of protest have mesmerised the writer ever sinceOn 11 June 1988, I was 12 and sitting with my family watching the Free Nelson Mandela Concert on TV. As a clan, we were old hands at trying to free Mandela, having done our fair share of marching and boycotting over the years, and this concert felt like the culmination of all that. There was a lot of excitement in the room: we squeezed on to the sofa and opened the windows wide. (If the wind’s blowing in the right direction, you can hear a Wembley audience roar from Willesden.)Many world-famous musicians played that day. Most of them I don’t remember, but one I will never forget: Tracy Chapman. I think a lot of people feel that way, though when you rewatch the footage you realise what she was up against at the time. Nobody cheer...

Events

5 d. ago Geri Halliwell Horner drops biggest hint yet all five Spice Girls will reunite

Geri Horner has admitted that she is open to getting back together with her Spice Girls co-stars with speculation they are set to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their debut album Spice

Politics

7 d. ago Mumford & Sons stick to the same format on their latest album, Rushmere

On their first album in seven years, the British band keep to familiar territories of Ye Olde England and the dusty Americana that suits their holy-rolling emotional tone

Politics

8 d. ago Chris Brown announces 20th anniversary tour with special guests and return of fan

The Breezy Bowl XX stadium tour will celebrate 20 years since the release of the controversial singer’s self-titled debut album

Politics

2 w. ago Raisa K: Affectionately review | Safi Bugel's experimental album of the month

(15 Love)Of a piece with the off-kilter pop of Astrid Sonne and Tirzah, Raisa K builds a striking debut out of hazy melodies, unaffected vocals and observations of everyday loveIn recent years, there’s been a real appetite for a certain strain of hazy, quietly off-kilter pop made by classically trained musicians who favour a more DIY approach. Think Astrid Sonne, ML Buch or Tirzah, all of whom have put out records that are simultaneously cosy and jarring. Affectionately, the debut album by Raisa K, has a similar blueprint: simple melodies, unaffected vocals and scrappy production.The formula makes sense: K is a longstanding member of the pop-not-pop group Good Sad Happy Bad, and the record enlists some of the key players from that world: bandmates Marc Pell and Mica Levi (also Tirzah’s producer) plus friend and collaborator Coby Sey. Here K takes the lead, exploring the mundanity of love, trust and tension with unembellished candour. The lyrics are unshowy – the kind of nonchalant s...

Politics

2 w. ago Anastacia on her debut 25 years ago: ‘I wasn’t feminine enough. I wasn’t white enough or Black enough’

On the anniversary of her hit debut album, the Noughties icon sits down with Hannah Ewens to talk celebrity impressions, baby Botox – and why she’ll tap out ‘gracefully’ when the time comes

Events

2 w. ago 44th Move: Anthem review – veers admirably from the beaten path

(Black Acre)Pianist and producer Alfa Mist’s latest project, with drummer Richard Spaven, showcases two musicians at the top of their gameIn the London jazz scene of the past decade, pianist and producer Alfa Mist has carved out a niche of melodically intricate improvisations that play through hip-hop swing and soulful harmony. It’s a fusion best expressed across his five albums since 2015’s debut EP Nocturne, while his collaborations with other artists delve into related influences, such as lo-fi UK rap on 2016’s 2nd Exit with MC Lester Duval, and downtempo R&B on 2020’s Epoch with singer Emmavie.Mist’s latest project, 44th Move, is a duo with drummer Richard Spaven that explores rhythm. Harnessing Spaven’s astounding capacity to play time-shifting yet metronomically perfect grooves, the duo’s debut album, Anthem, is a mighty showcase of beats and keys. Tracks such as the title number and 2nd September channel the classic Mist sound, featuring reverb-laden Rhodes chords and a l...

Politics

3 w. ago Lady Gaga tops UK album chart for the fifth time with Mayhem

The 38-year old singer previously reached number one with her debut album The Fame, Born This Way , Artpop and Chromatica.

Politics

3 w. ago Attic Lights frontman Kev Sherry releases his second solo album

Kev Sherry, lead singer for the cult, critically acclaimed Scottish indie-rock four-piece Attic Lights, and prolific solo musician and graphic novelist, is proud to announce the release of his second album, the follow up to his debut solo album.

Politics

3 w. ago Lady Gaga: Mayhem review – a wholesale rewind to core career values

(Interscope)It’s back to the dancefloor as the US superstar doubles down on what she does best – albeit with one eye on Madonna, Charli xcx, Taylor Swift and more Pop stars spend their careers impaled on the horns of a perennial dilemma: whether to reinvent themselves and show range, or stick to core value variations. With Mayhem, her sixth solo album, her 10th overall, Lady Gaga has dumped the former strategy, which was stuttering of late, for an emphatic reiteration of the latter.Mayhem marks a wholesale return to dancefloor freakiness, complete with self-quotes (Abracadabra) and a hard-edged electronic takedown of fame (Perfect Celebrity) that would not have been misplaced on her debut album, 2008’s The Fame. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek: Yarın Yoksa review | Ammar Kalia's global album of the month

(Big Crown Records)Fuzzy, hypnotic beats, soulful saz-funk and emotive balladry mark Yıldırım’s powerfully imaginative new music, produced by Leon MichelsSince the 1960s, Turkish groups have honed a distinct blend of Anatolian folk and psychedelia. Early pioneers Moğollar and Erkin Koray electrified the lute-like saz, while newer acts such as Baba Zula and Altın Gün have added synths, dub echo and heavy fuzz to the mix. German-Turkish singer Derya Yıldırım has meanwhile taken a downtempo approach since her 2019 debut album Kar Yağar, singing soaring vocals over hazy reverb to produce soulful saz-funk.Yıldırım’s third album with her band Grup Şimşek is their first working with analogue soul producer Leon Michels (who produced pop singer Clairo’s acclaimed latest) and the resulting 11 tracks luxuriate in warm acoustics, tape hiss and earthy basslines. Opener Çiçek Açıyor sets the tone with Yıldırım’s powerful falsetto ascending beautifully over a driving, mid-tempo groove of fuzzing b...

Politics

3 w. ago Mumford and Sons Glasgow presales and prices: How to get ticket's to the band's Hydro gig

Mumford and Sons are coming to Scotland in 2025.

Economics

3 w. ago Annie & the Caldwells: Can’t Lose My (Soul) review | Alexis Petridis's album of the week

(Luaka Bop)Forty years into their career, this family band deliver their debut – and it’s a life-affirming album full of spontaneity and seemingly telepathic harmonisingThe saga of Annie & the Caldwells’ debut album is lengthy and convoluted. The record probably wouldn’t have existed at all had crate-digging record collectors not chanced upon Waiting for the Trumpet to Sound, a 1974 single by gospel group the Staples Jr Singers, released on a Mississippi label so obscure that only one copy has ever been sold on Discogs. It came to the attention of Greg Belson, a British-born, LA-based soul DJ, who has carved out a niche playing recherché dancefloor-friendly gospel (if you want to hear the Lord’s praises being sung amid the sweatily hedonistic environs of Glastonbury’s gay club NYC Downlow, then he’s your go-to guy). He included its B-side on a 2019 compilation, The Time for Peace is Now: Gospel Music About Us.The song’s author, Annie Caldwell, has recalled receiving “a call from...

Politics

3 w. ago Mumford & Sons announce Glasgow gig and here's how to get tickets

The band's new album Rushmere will be released later this month.

Politics