Magdalena Bay review – alien electro-pop adventure could go further

Lead singer Mica Tenenbaum bounces around with huge and winning energy, promising great, dramatic things we never quite reach

‘Grief is giving me this beautiful, deepening understanding’: Phil Elverum on loss, new love and his landmarks of US indie

His wife died, he became a single parent and his next marriage swiftly ended. After these trials, the hugely acclaimed singer-songwriter explains why he’s turning outward to consider the world around him

Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp: Ventre unique review – artful mischief

The Geneva collective are a blast with their brass-driven rhythms, engaged lyrics and energised delivery

Du Blonde: Sniff More Gritty review – a gleefully self-sufficient affair

The Newcastle musician’s freewheeling, hook-heavy new album is a worthy follow-up to the one-woman wigout of Homecoming

‘You got it or you didn’t’: the sweat, smoke and sonic excess of the indie scene pre-Britpop

A new photography book captures the ramshackle squats and grimy venues that were a playground for confrontationally uncommercial early-90s bands like My Bloody Valentine, Stereolab and Silverfish

Fievel Is Glauque: Rong Weicknes review – teetering song-towers that never quite topple

Brilliant melodies, poetic lyrics and quick-change time signatures elevate this quirky jazz-pop release to a level all its own

‘I was playing with fire’: One True Pairing’s Tom Fleming on Wild Beasts, breakdown – and his brilliant comeback

After his old band split, Fleming struggled to launch a solo career – then the pandemic forced him to confront his mental health and addiction issues. The reckoning prompted a miraculous back-to-basics record

In One Ear by Simon Raymonde review – life with the magical, mysterious Cocteau Twins

The bassist with the singular 80s band reflects on his contribution to their timeless music – and his years as boss of record label Bella Union – in a diplomatic but chatty memoir

Blossoms review – funky indie-pop singalongs (and a 6ft gorilla) send the crowd wild

Blossomsmania is in full force at this cheery, beery gig, which has something of the atmosphere of an indie Last Night of the Proms

Porridge Radio: Clouds in the Sky They Will Always Be There for Me review – exquisite euphoria through repetition

Emotions run high on the Brighton band’s fourth album as frontwoman Dana Margolin exorcises past relationships

Japandroids: Fate & Alcohol review – Canadian duo’s bittersweet breakup record

Brian King and David Prowse’s guitar-drums combo enjoys one last hurrah with tracks ranging from bluesy epics to rock romcom

‘A five-year-old could play this!’ How Razorlight made Golden Touch

‘I was living in flat with a bed, a record-player, a desk and a fridge for beer. I thought, “If I just sit and play three chords for eight hours, hopefully a good song will come”’

‘Being alive is kind of painful’: the bleak vision of noise rockers Chat Pile

Extracted from the vast US oilfields comes a pungent, heavy and energy-packed sound. Are noisenik outsiders Chat Pile about to become the region’s biggest export?

Godspeeed You! Black Emperor: No Title As of 13 February 2024, 28,340 Dead review – powerfully brilliant

With their best work for two decades, the Canadian post-rockers have made an urgent soundtrack for an uncertain and dangerous world

The Hard Quartet review – cosmically trippy joy from Stephen Malkmus supergroup

Also featuring Matt Sweeney, Jim White and Emmett Kelly, the quality and variety of songwriting on this self-titled debut album raises it above a stoner jam session