Add to playlist: the long-lost lo-fi pop of Australian nun Sister Irene O’Connor and the week’s best tracks

Far from being the preserve of ecclesiastical listening, the reissue of O’Connor’s 1973 album is a compelling feast of drum machine, acoustic guitar and synth organ

Win Butler and Régine Chassagne of Arcade Fire announce separation – but band will continue

In 2022, four women accused Butler of sexual misconduct alleging sexual assault and unwanted sexual messages

Snocaps: Snocaps review – Katie and Allison Crutchfield reunite with a little help from MJ Lenderman

Waxahatchee and her twin sister are joined by Lenderman and Brad Cook for an album of headstrong, tender Americana about chasing integrity and conviction

Lily Allen’s new album shows the pain behind the ‘cool girl’ myth – that’s why women are obsessed with it

The singer’s lyrics about an open marriage gone sour resonate with many women her age. They’re sick of pretending to be fine with relationships that are not, says Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff

‘The nuns were convinced they were possessed by demons’: goth and metal stars select the scariest music ever made

Forget the Monster Mash. For the ultimate Halloween playlist, reach for horror soundtracks, 1940s kids’ music and Russian darkwave – all chosen by Sunn O))), Creeper, Diamanda Galás and more

Florence + the Machine: Everybody Scream review – alt-rock survivor surveys her kingdom with swagger

On her self-deprecating, viscera-flecked sixth record, Florence Welch picks apart the compulsions and contradictions of fame

Youth Group on Forever Young at 20 and gen X middle age: ‘Angst doesn’t go away just because you get older’

As the band return with their sixth album, Big Whoop, frontman Toby Martin reflects on fatherhood, mortality and their love-hate relationship with their biggest hit

Anna von Hausswolff: Iconoclasts review – exhilarating, euphoric goth songcraft

The Swedish experimental musician pivots from drones to spectacular pop melodies, with guest spots from Iggy Pop and Ethel Cain

Lily Allen announces UK theatre tour for her West End Girl album

The British pop star will perform her headline-grabbing fifth album from front to back in a run of dates next March

Stella Donnelly on the painful friend breakup that inspired her new album: ‘I’m trying to protect them – but I’ve written this record’

On her third album, Love and Fortune, the Australian singer has captured the dull ache of being rejected by a friend – and how she fell in love with music again

Who is Lily Allen’s Madeline about? Wait, I don’t actually want to know – pop needs its mysteries

Whether it’s Parton’s Jolene, Beyoncé’s Becky with the good hair and now Madeline on Allen’s new album, the ‘other woman’ is everywhere – but gossip risks spoiling these songs

‘I flew to Luxembourg to see the gig there instead!’: music fans on how they cope with high UK ticket prices

As increasing prices and fees make gig-going difficult, readers voice their frustration – and suggest alternatives

Teenage Daydream by Debsey Wykes review – coming of age in an all-girl guitar band

Dolly Mixture’s singer and bassist looks back on their time chasing mainstream success and facing down outrageous sexism

‘All roads lead to Grace Jones’: visual artists on the music that fires them up in the studio

Chris Ofili loves steel pans. Lindsey Mendick adores Self Esteem. And Ragnar Kjartansson enjoys everything from Bach to the Cure. Artists reveal the bangers that get their creative juices fizzing

Sananda Maitreya review – the former Terence Trent D’Arby returns in astonishing vocal form

Pop’s lost prodigy returns for the first time in 23 years with a dazzling, genre-hopping show – and a falsetto that still floors the crowd