My unexpected Pride icon: they were not cool, but bands like Mumford & Sons eased the turmoil of coming out

As a queer, black woman raised on jazz and soul, discovering the genre of indie folk felt like an antidote to the guilt and self-loathing I was battling through

‘Nobody makes a record like that for the money’: how Gang of Four made Entertainment!

‘There was tension with the National Front and swastikas on walls. So I’m proud the album is an outsider classic – but feel depressed these songs are still relevant’

‘It’s all fan-driven. People are in absolute raptures’: how mysterious masked rockers Sleep Token took over metal

They just headlined Download festival and their latest album went to No 1 in the US and UK – so why is Britain’s biggest metal band in a generation so hated by some?

Outbreak festival review – hardcore and pop hooks collide in impeccable genre-fluid lineup

Turnstile headlined with soaring high-tempo energy while Speed went route-one punk, Jane Remover caused pandemonium and Have a Nice Life electrified their fanbase in this most free-thinking of festivals

My unexpected Pride icon: indie breakup songs said all the things I couldn’t say to other boys

From John Lennon’s takedown of Paul McCartney to the Libertines’ Can’t Stand Me Now, songs by straight men about falling out with their friends were strangely romantic to me

Download festival rockers told to take off smartwatches after moshpits spark emergency alerts

Police received nearly 700 false ‘collision’ 999 calls from Leicestershire heavy metal event in 2023

Is the Sabrina Carpenter album art really that offensive?

The internet has been divided over the suggestive cover of the pop princess’s new album, but it’s possible some might be missing the point

Brian Wilson was a musical genius. Are there any left?

In pop, which equates genius with innovation, recent artists have not pioneered new forms like those from the 60s. Has the digital age sidelined invention and promoted the derivative for ever?

Killing Heidi are back, 25 years on: ‘Growing up in rock’n’roll gives you a shitload of grit’

After a ‘quiet little break’ of 20 years, the band is back to celebrate their 2000 debut Reflector – the fastest-selling Australian album in history

Pulp top UK charts for the first time since 1998 with new album More

Sheffield band were last at the top with This Is Hardcore, while Sabrina Carpenter is at No 1 in the singles chart and breaks an album chart record

‘I yearned to be a California Girl – but I lived in Burnley’: readers on their love for Brian Wilson

From memories of photoshoots and telephone calls with the late Beach Boy, to appraisals of his complex but pure music, Guardian readers pay tribute to a great

Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst: ‘There was a time I wished I’d never made music’

In the last few years, the singer-songwriter has weathered divorce, grief and false allegations of sexual assault. Now, he’s back writing, performing – and rediscovering his political rage

‘He stole a piece of our souls’: Christian music star Michael Tait accused of sexual assault by three men

Tait posted on Instagram days ago that for 20 years he lived a ‘double life’ but is working on ‘repentance and healing’

‘The joy shot out of his voice’: Ray Davies, Graham Nash and others on Brian Wilson’s songwriting genius

With the innocence of a child and the vision of a god, his craft was astonishing. From Jessica Pratt to Jim James and ​Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil, top musicians explain why he was like no other

Haim: I Quit review – the messiest breakup album of recent times, in every sense

(Polydor)The three LA sisters dwell on the bitter end of a relationship in tracks that range from replayable valley-girl rap to plodding country-pop