Plus Must Hear ambient and Massachusetts rap, Irish dream pop, and a big neo-soul comeback.

An innovative recording technique and chart-topping success made this song a template for future artists.

And it is all in the sonic layers and nuances here, with the duo being able to extract everything their instruments is able to offer.

Improvisation tends to be a lurking possibility in these columns, even if not actively being practised, but for the first New Weird Britain of 2026 it’s the dominant theme. No reason that my conscious is aware of, and this February edition mops up a few releases from late 2025 (the last ‘proper’ NWB column having […]

With his old-timey, soul-inflected voice, Rick Danko could sink like an anchor, plumbing the depths of existence that most singers would have to drown themselves to reach.

A teenager made rock history 48 years ago today. It started with one unforgettable song.

Steely Dan duo Donald Fagen and Walter Becker named two songs they both liked, both from the first record: 'Do It Again' and 'Reelin' In The Years'.

Wyndham Wallace pinpoints the moment Talk Talk emerged from their synth pop chrysalis, on third album The Colour Of Spring.

From psychedelic dreams to gritty roots-rock, 1968 was the year the counterculture exploded into its most diverse and daring masterpieces.

"Rock and roll is a business and David wasn’t selling any records in America"

A look at the world of outsider art and what it means to love musicians like Wesley Willis, whose art was informed by their mental illness.

Artists have crafty ways of raising money, but one of the most obscure was when a band released a completely silent album in order to fund their tour.

One of the things I loved about the Blue Note label in the early ’60s was its founders’ appreciation of the sort of basic, blues-rooted jazz to be found in the black clubs of the era, a…

Six out of over 130 songs and albums submitted this week. My picks range from Mexican rock and roll (in English) to a newly discovered Peggy Lee song, to Puerto Rican rap, to,..well, much more.