‘She knew where she wanted to go – and just kept going’: the real Janis Joplin, by those closest to her
Ranked
From pillowy pop to foot-stomping beats: The Supremes’ 20 best songs – ranked!
May 2024
Contemporary album of the month
Ezra Feinberg: Soft Power review – trippy, bucolic and playfully minimal
Feinberg has moved from psychedelic rock to a hypnotic romanticism that invites us to share in its gently throbbing pulses and heart-tugging beauty
‘The music industry is smoke and mirrors’: how DIY duo the Lovely Eggs are keeping the north weird
The psych-poppers have made records with Iggy Pop and launched their own TV channel, but their biggest challenge yet is taking shape in their home city of Lancaster
‘Who wants to stare at a computer?’ Pop duo the Lemon Twigs on the joys of analogue life
As teenagers, the New York brothers swiftly rose to become retro pop darlings – until they weren’t. Now older, wiser and taking inspiration from the travails of their family, they’re making their best music yet
March 2024
Chicano Batman: Notebook Fantasy review – a freewheeling ode to joy
One to watch
One to watch: Glass Beams
‘It was like we’d signed up for a cult’: the weird, wild world of Butthole Surfers
Liam Gallagher John Squire review – fans left short-changed by duo devoid of chemistry
February 2024
Alexis Petridis's album of the week
MGMT: Loss of Life review – surprise TikTok stars play to their strengths
Declan McKenna: What Happened to the Beach? review – a genuinely psychedelic experience
January 2024
‘It was like a toxic relationship’: the exiled Russian musicians starting again abroad
Acts such as psych-rock four-piece Lucidvox have had to up sticks thanks to the war. But with their peers facing prison sentences for speaking out, they know they are the lucky ones
November 2023
‘We were like a perfect match on a date’: Grup Şimşek’s multicultural musical magic
With roots in Turkey, Germany, France and South Africa, and their style traversing soul, folk and psychedelia and beyond, this thrilling band are refreshingly resistant to pigeonholes
October 2023
‘I never lived a life I didn’t want to live’: Sly Stone on addiction, ageing and changing music for ever
The immeasurably influential, infamously erratic soul star has written an unlikely autobiography. In a rare interview, Stone opens up on drugs, feuds and his treasure trove of unreleased tracks
September 2023
The Coral: Sea of Mirrors review – their best album since their debut
Including a cameo from Cillian Murphy, the Merseysiders have concocted a twangy, dreamlike folk-rock sonic voyage through Britain in decay
Psych-pop utopians Elephant 6: ‘Our plan was to humiliate the corporate rock industry’
With bands including Neutral Milk Hotel and instruments including lawnmowers, the collective upended US indie rock. Its members explain how a new documentary healed their grief and led to new music
The Chemical Brothers: For That Beautiful Feeling review – pure techno pleasure
The dance duo’s 10th album – on which they, not the guest vocalists, are the stars – has moments to match their best work
July 2023
African Head Charge: A Trip to Bolgatanga review – a polite revival
Veteran band leader Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah has relocated to Ghana, making a relaxed album that lacks the menace of his dub collective’s bassier efforts
June 2023
Lusty singalongs and Brexit portents: the eternal flame of The Wicker Man soundtrack
The Groundhogs’ Tony McPhee will remain a hero for the musically adventurous
