Morrissey claims Johnny Marr blocked new Smiths greatest hits album
Former Smiths frontman claims Warner Music proposed reissue programme including best-of called Smiths Rule OK!, but Marr rejected proposed artwork
Tindersticks: Soft Tissue review – still ruling their own twilit world after 30 years
From 70s soul to glowing strings, the cult outfit continue to inhabit their own quiet space on the fringes of the musical landscape, celebrating the beauty in small things
One to watch: Sarah Kinsley
The leftfield US singer-songwriter has turned grief into a life-affirming debut album that’s at once widescreen and intimate
English Teacher on winning the Mercury: ‘We are proof that arts funding works’
The Leeds-based band – and first non-London act to win the prize for a decade – were quick to highlight the part that regional funding played and lamented recent cuts
‘It’s schmoozing – but that’s nothing new’: how the record shop in-store gig changed touring
In-stores can be beneficial for bands, fans and record shops alike – but do they still hold the same magic, or have they become an obligatory part of an album promotion?
MJ Lenderman: Manning Fireworks review – joyously weird alt-Americana
(Featuring possibly his best track yet, the North Carolina guitarist-songwriter goes to the sparse and seamy side on this worthy successor to Boat Songs
Mercury Rev: Born Horses review – a lush and serene return
With a half-new lineup, the US rock band’s first album of new material since 2015 finds them in dreamy, reflective mode
‘We don’t care whether it’s cool or not’: inside the weaponised weirdness of Mermaid Chunky
How did an oddball Stroud duo, who once played the wedding of two ceramic dogs, come to get signed by LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy? Nothing is ordinary in the world of Mermaid Chunky
Fat Dog: Woof review – a boisterous debut with more bark than bite
Outlandish musical choices from oompah to sleaze should make the Londoners’ debut feel fresh, but they’re the latest interlopers in a crowded experimental field
English Teacher are worthy Mercury winners – but the question of the prize’s future hangs heavy
The smart, strange Leeds quartet clearly have a bright future ahead of them. But with no sponsor and a straitened ceremony, the same can’t be said for the Mercury
Leeds indie band English Teacher win Mercury prize
The band take home the £25,000 prize for their debut album, This Could Be Texas, beating artists including Charli xcx and the Last Dinner Party
End of the Road festival review – engagingly eclectic weekender never fails to surprise
A headlining Slowdive ticked the indie boxes, but Lankum’s intense folk, Paranoid London’s filthy techno and Nourished By Time’s slick R&B grooves once again prove this festival has punch and personality
Supersonic festival review – an awesome windmill of noise and connection
This festival of heavier sounds from the fringes was a blast, from chilling Gazelle Twin to Daisy Rickman’s Krautrock-folk, noise icons Melt-Banana and locals Flesh Creep
Oasis: a guilty pleasure without fringe benefits
The comeback could be a coup or a crash, but it has already obliterated accommodation for the 2025 Edinburgh fringe
Richard Hawley review – homecoming hero is in the mood to celebrate
Playing his largest ever gig in the city, the singer tenderly croons his musical love letters to the people and places of Sheffield, while his biting political songs turn into rousing singalongs