Father John Misty: Mahashmashana review – modern life is still rubbish, yet still beautifully essayed

The singer-songwriter sticks to apocalyptic first principles on his sixth album, couching contemporary chaos in soaring ballads and discofied yacht rock

BBC Sound of 2025 longlist tips established artists including Chappell Roan and Confidence Man

Following a change in eligibility criteria, nominees for the broadcaster’s annual award also include Kneecap, Barry Can’t Swim and Mercury prize winners English Teacher and Ezra Collective

MJ Lenderman review – songs of solace and goofy poetry from lauded indie darling

The North Carolina musician and his band comfort the crowd with a set of smart, beguiling songs played with skill and camaraderie

‘Sometimes it can get tiring’: how Royel Otis became indie’s next big thing

The Australian duo went viral twice – for a Sophie Ellis-Bextor cover, then a Cranberries cover. Now they have eight Aria nods and a US and Europe tour

Khruangbin review – exquisite dreamy grooves get lost in the ether

Playing latest album A La Sala in full the Houston trio showcase their sophisticated mid-paced melancholy, but their detached vibe diminishes their impact

Shed Seven review – enduring Britpoppers are still going for gold

Despite scoring two No 1 albums this year, the band remain charmingly self-effacing on this 30th anniversary tour

‘We can’t all retire because someone died’: the new bands honouring the spirit of old ones, from Talk Talk to Thin Lizzy

Unlike tribute acts or bands still going with no original members, the likes of Held By Trees and House of All are leveraging time spent in their former groups to make music that looks forward as well as back

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