One to watch: Myles Smith
A passionate purveyor of anthemic folk-pop with an alt-country vibe, everything this Luton singer-songwriter has released so far sounds like a hit
Stoneage Romeos at 40: no other Australian album brings a smile like the Hoodoo Gurus’ legendary debut
The LP turned junk culture into high art – but the band could only capture that innocence and purity once
Shaznay Lewis: Pages review – All Saints star returns with polished second solo album
Twenty years after her solo debut, Lewis delivers a mostly sumptuous set of turn-of-the-millennium-style pop
Zayn: Room Under the Stairs review – Nashville-produced minimalism suits him
The former One Direction singer continues to intrigue with an introspective, acoustic-leaning set with more highs than lows
Beth Gibbons: Lives Outgrown review – the Portishead singer’s solo debut elegantly contemplates mortality
‘We all know what’s coming,’ sings Gibbons on an elegiac, folk-imbued record that’s been 10 years in the making
Arooj Aftab: Night Reign review – all the heat and mystery of nocturnal life
Mercurial and moody soundscapes are infused with wistful romance in one of the Grammy-winning singer and composer’s most spirited records to date
‘World domination is a big thing for me’: pop superstar Becky Hill on raving to the top – and her new album’s dark past
She’s won two Brits and rivalled Dua Lipa and Adele for streams, but the public is still getting to know the ex-reality TV singer. She explains why snobbery has held her back, but trauma won’t
Everyone’s Getting Involved review – tepid all-star Talking Heads tribute
Cult film company A24’s tie-in merch to the seminal documentary Stop Making Sense sounds either like karaoke or is wildly disconnected from the source material
Billy Idol: ‘I stole the master tapes for Rebel Yell – and gave them to my heroin dealer’
The Generation X punk turned arena rocker answers your questions on near-misses in Hollywood, his overlooked electronic period and how Marc Bolan helped launch his career
Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft review – still the great outlier of American pop
On this deeply involving third album, Eilish once again breaks the rules for arena-filling artists: it’s subtle and understated, yet jars the listener with eerie show tunes and explosive noise
Beth Gibbons: Lives Outgrown review – long-awaited solo debut is a gripping study of ageing and loss
In the Portishead singer’s singular, astonishing soundworld, these songs sit in autumnal gloom but are occasionally dappled with warmth and light
Brian Bethell obituary
Other lives: Musician who worked in the UK and Australia with bands including Nine Below Zero and the Blow Monkeys
From Megadeth to Japanese make-up tutorials: the bizarre life of guitarist Marty Friedman
The US musician went from homelessness to multiplatinum success with the thrash metallers – and then became a pop cultural icon in Japan. He explains the weirdest portfolio career in rock
David Sanborn obituary
American alto saxophonist who played with many of the jazz greats and collaborated with David Bowie and Stevie Wonder
‘People are forfeiting meals’: musicians on the struggle to financially survive
Following our report into how bands are struggling to make ends meet from touring, over 100 musicians shared their stories with us – from Brexit woes to the cost of rehearsing