The Guardian

• NEW Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft review – could have hit even harder | The Guardian | May 19, 2024, 1 p.m.
An impeccable mix of haunted earworms, zinging lyrics and dancefloor delights that end too soon, the American superstar’s third album seems to pull back from tantalising new horizons

• Beth Gibbons: Lives Outgrown review – the Portishead singer’s solo debut elegantly contemplates mortality | The Guardian | May 17, 2024, 10 a.m.
‘We all know what’s coming,’ sings Gibbons on an elegiac, folk-imbued record that’s been 10 years in the making

• Return to Dust review – wandering souls find poetic love in dirt-poor ... | The Guardian
Mon 31 Oct 2022 03.00 EDT. S et in his home province of Gansu, Li Ruijun’s golden-hued film is a heartbreaking tale of love and resilience in the face of societal indifference and change.

• Return to Dust review – paean to the simple life | The Guardian
Return to Dust review – paean to the simple life. A bullied woman finds contentment in her marriage to a peasant in a quietly affecting portrait of rural life in China. Wendy Ide. Sun 6 Nov...

• Knocked Loose: You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To review – hardcore ... | The Guardian | May 9, 2024, 11:45 a.m.
Music. Review. Knocked Loose: You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To review – hardcore punk’s dark stars go supermassive. (Pure Noise Records) The Kentucky metalcore quintet cleverly channel pop –...

• Angus and Julia Stone: ‘This record feels like coming full circle – we made a lot of it in the living room’ | The Guardian | May 10, 2024, 3 p.m.
The dreamy folk-pop duo have reunited for new album Cape Forestier. The siblings talk about their childhood and the joy of coming back together

• ‘Who wants to stare at a computer?’ Pop duo the Lemon Twigs on the joys ... | The Guardian | May 2, 2024, 2:12 p.m.
Their new album, A Dream is All We Know, is a fabulous pop confection that magically transports the listener to the idyll of Abbey Road studios in 1966, if the Beatles were actually two brothers ...

• Dua Lipa: Radical Optimism review – a banger-filled missive from dating land | The Guardian | May 4, 2024, 1 p.m.
Talk of a new musical direction proves unfounded as the Grammy-winning singer’s third album shares more retro-inspired dance pop and lessons from her love life

• Dance giants Justice return: ‘The only thing we argued over were the ... | The Guardian | April 20, 2024, 7:10 a.m.
Justice’s hugely successful debut album, Cross, attracted the ire of dance music purists, many of whom recoiled at its maximalist French house-meets-stadium rock bombastic blowout.

• Rachel Chinouriri: What a Devastating Turn of Events review – a debut that’s better than it thinks | The Guardian | May 3, 2024, 10:30 a.m.
The new wave Britpop singer-songwriter includes a couple of old hits on an album that is in fact brimming with fresh ideas

• Pearl Jam: Dark Matter review – the faithful will rejoice | The Guardian | April 19, 2024, 10 a.m.
Fri 19 Apr 2024 06.00 EDT. D iscussions about Pearl Jam ’s 12th record should dwell on the extraordinary longevity of this grunge-era band, who arrive in their 35th year largely intact and on...

• St Vincent: All Born Screaming review – magnificently dark, heavy and loud | The Guardian | April 27, 2024, 10 a.m.
Recreating the noises in her head, Annie Clark’s first fully self-produced album ranges across styles and emotions, and is her most direct yet

• Taylor Swift: fans and critics react to new surprise double album The ... | The Guardian | April 19, 2024, 5:18 a.m.
At 2am EST on Friday, Swift announced the surprise release of a second half of the album with 15 additional songs: “The Tortured Poets Department is a secret DOUBLE album,” she wrote....

• Taylor Swift: The Tortured Poets Department review – fame, fans and ... | The Guardian | April 19, 2024, 4:01 a.m.
Taylor Swift. Photograph: Beth Garrabrant. Taylor Swift: The Tortured Poets Department review – fame, fans and former flames in the line of fire. (Republic) Subtly detailed album...