New albums

Dunfermline punk/new wave outfit Skids boasted charismatic future TV presenter Richard Jobson as their frontman, and were the band out of which Big Country formed – Stuart Adamson was their…

“These are new beginnings,” coos Blackpool native Rachelle Morris early on the follow-up to 2015’s hyped but nonetheless lukewarm Unguarded. “Find another name for me,” she continues, her voice giddy…

It’s hard to know what to expect from a name like U.S. Girls, and even more confusing given it’s ostensibly one person, Meg Remy, who’s made it her business to…

As the simultaneous release of a 6CD boxset testifies, The Monochrome Set’s Bid has been churning out quirky indie pop now for almost 40 years. Though the band’s line-up has…

It’s not just David Rotheray’s two decades as The Beautiful South’s guitarist and co-songwriter that ensure Prosecco Socialist’s debut is so entertaining. Obviously these help – especially musically – but…

Those stumbling upon Best Friend – a Supremes-like tune late in this compilation of the Scottish collective’s three recent EPs – might be forgiven for thinking the band are stuck…

If, from time to time, Turin Brakes have previously appeared a little whey-faced, the quartet tackle that straight away with their eighth album’s opening track, the thrusting Would You Be…

If Steve Martin can make banjo albums, and Hugh Laurie can play the blues, there’s no reason John Oates – of blue-eyed soul duo Hall & Oates – can’t make…

How different the world might be if, when original singer Stephen Holt left to form The Rainkings in 1989, roadie Noel Gallagher had landed the job of Inspiral Carpets’ frontman.…