‘Windrush is a love story too’: Renell Shaw on paying homage to Black British life in his new jazz trilogy

The Ivor Novello-winning musician has written works inspired by his family history. He talks about building music from testimony – and why the Windrush generation deserves new narratives

Add to playlist: the sweet plunderphonics of Quiet Light and the week’s best new tracks

Riya Mahesh is the ‘insanely Texas girl’ and medical student whose music splits the difference between dazed ambient production and big-tent pop melody

Ariana Grande rebukes White House for using her music in ‘barbaric, inhumane’ ICE video

Grande is the latest in a series of pop musicians including Sabrina Carpenter and SZA who have been angered by Trump administration videos

Pussy Riot: CYKA review – debut album from iconic Russian agitators is let down by blunt-force EDM

On a disappointing record helmed by co-founder Nadya Tolokonnikova, corny guitars and generically moody synths undermine the activist group’s political acuity

Brown Wimpenny: Long Live Brown Wimpenny review – Manchester folk collective get bawdy and shambolic

Named after a 19th-century relative, this sprawling group foreground folk’s rough edges, but are best in the emotional, less showy moments

Sally Beamish: House of Wonder album review – a musical shapeshifter celebrates 70 years

The British composer’s celebratory album is a family affair

20 ways Taylor Swift remade pop culture in her image

It has been 20 years since Swift released her debut single, setting in motion a career so extraordinary, it permanently redefined the concept of pop stardom. This is how she did it

The Guardian view on the analogue resurgence: the shock of the old

Editorial: Long-abandoned formats such as cassettes and VHS tapes are finding new life as consumers seek a digital detox

Katia and Marielle Labèque: 55 album review – a handsome tribute to the sisters’ musical curiosity and brilliance

The pianist sisters’ celebration of their 55 years of recording is a thoughtfully curated compilation that reveals the extent of their omnivorous musical appetites

The Mahler Experiment review – physical drama comes at a musical cost in choreographed symphony

Tom Morris’s staged take on Mahler’s first symphony is valiantly performed by Stephanie Childress and Sinfonia Smith Square, but the result feels more like R&D than a finished product

Tell us your favourite album of 2026 so far

We would like to hear about the best new album you have heard this year so far and why

Lola Young review – buoyant, brilliant return from British pop’s great oversharer

The Messy hitmaker is back after taking time away from live performance, and this charming, relatable set shows why she is such a gen Z icon

‘Dangerous for being free’: Mon Laferte on calling out injustice as Chile’s biggest pop star

The musician opens up about her mental health, government corruption and why conservative backlash won’t stop her speaking her mind

Kelsey Lu: So Help Me God review – strange, graceful songs drifting from pop’s edgelands

Aided by Jack Antonoff, Kim Gordon, Sampha and more, the cello-playing singer-songwriter’s abstracted yet tuneful second album is worth the seven year wait

French star Patrick Bruel charged with rape and sexual assault

Singer and actor has denied all charges after more than 20 women made allegations against him dating back to 1990s