Album: Bonniesongs - Strangest Feeling

★★★ BONNIESONGS - STRANGEST FEELING Folkiness, grunge and shoegazing from Sydney

Intriguing blend of the abstract, folkiness, grunge and shoegazing from Sydney

It’s not foregrounded, but as Strangest Feeling beds in after repeated listens it becomes clear that one of its core traits is The Pixies-originated quiet-loud, soft-hard dynamic which oozed into grunge. The second LP from the Irish-born, Sydney dwelling Bonnie Stewart isn’t a grunge album, but it has a kindred sensibility.

Album: Indigo de Souza - Precipice

US singer's fourth ups the pop ante but doesn't sacrifice lyrical substance

Indigo de Souza, a singer from North Carolina, has established some reputation, mostly in the States, for combining indie, pop and emotionally open lyrical heft. This is her fourth album, but her first on a larger label, Loma Vista (she was previously on Bright Eyes-associated Saddle Creek). On Precipice she lays down a fusion of chart-style femme-pop and heartfelt guitar anthems.

Album: Gwenno - Utopia

The Welsh musical explorer surveys her life

Stylistically, Utopia wears multiple faces. Opening cut “London 1757” drifts by like a twig floating upon an unhurried stream. Next, “Dancing on Volcanoes” swings, employs a staccato guitar and suggests a late-Sunday afternoon dance floor. The kind of scene embraced by a post-comedown crowd. Further in, “Ghost of You” has a soul ballad edge; Randy Crawford were her background in Broadcast-inclined, indie-experimenta.

Album: JF Robitaille & Lail Arad - Wild Moves

★★★ JF ROBITAILLE & LAIL ARAD - WILD MOVES A set of graceful, wry melancholy from an Anglo-Canadian singer-songwriter duo

A set of graceful, wry melancholy from an Anglo-Canadian singer-songwriter duo

Around eight years ago, London singer-songwriter Lail Arad started releasing one-off tracks with Canadian singer JF Robitaille, once of Montreal indie outfit The Social Register (Arad’s own 2016 album The Onion is an undiscovered diamond that should be sought out).

Album: Lorde - Virgin

★★★ LORDE - VIRGIN Sombre self-examination and scratchy cellos fail to ignite

Sombre self-examination and scratchy cellos fail to ignite on the New Zealander's new LP

Lorde’s trajectory is continually fascinating. From the minimalist, sparse electropop of Pure Heroine to the similar but more grandiose production of Melodrama was a linear progression, but then came the acoustic guitars and organic percussion of Solar Power.

Album: BC Camplight - A Sober Conversation

Brian Christinzio exorcises childhood trauma

A Sober Conversation is the work of a master songwriter, one who knows how to achieve their goals. As the album’s nine tracks pour from the speakers, comparisons come to mind: 20/20 and Smiley Smile-era Beach Boys, Lindsey Buckingham, the early solo years of Todd Rundgren.

Patrick Wolf, Rough Trade East review - the Kent-based bard refashions his new album ‘Crying the Neck’

★★★★ PATRICK WOLF, ROUGH TRADE EAST The Kent-based bard refashions his new album

Despite its record shop setting, this magnetic performance is a show as such

After the evening’s second song “The Last of England,” Patrick Wolf cautions “I’ve got nothing left to say.” During the shows leading up to this outing promoting his new album Crying the Neck, he says he felt “like I’ve been drag-queen story hour” and, in Kingston, “a preacher.” He’s talked out. All that there is to say has been said.

Sam Fender, St James' Park, Newcastle review - Geordie Springsteen scores with celebratory homecoming

★★★★ SAM FENDER, NEWCASTLE Geordie Springsteen scores with celebratory homecoming

The singer's set was a passionate, emotional display of rock music

Had a passer-by from outwith Newcastle been asked to guess what was taking place at St James' Park, football would have been the likely answer. It felt like nearly every person walking to see Sam Fender was clad in a replica top, bearing the name of club legends past and present or, most commonly, the official kit released to mark Fender's newest album.

Album: Little Simz - Lotus

A major hurdle in the UK star's career path proves to be no barrier

Little Simz clearly believes in meeting situations head on. Her sixth full-length album kicks off, in every sense of the phrase, with “Thief”: unambiguously a lyrical barrage at her childhood friend and frequent collaborator Inflo, who Simz is currently suing for alleged failure to repay £1.7 million in loans for ambitious recording and performance projects.