62 years of music, loves, losses, long summer days and longer, darker nights are vividly recalled by ‘our greatest living songwriter’, Michael Head and The Red Elastic Band as he plays out flickering scenes from his life on new album, Loophole, released on Modern Sky. 12 evocative and autobiographical songs to be accompanied by the written word as Michael Head prepares his memoirs for release with an autobiography with Nine Eight Books.

New Jersey's Lightheaded are clearly students of pop in all of its variety, drawing as much from 60s Brill Building song writers as they do from later 60s folk/pop developments and 80s DIY pop. The striking thing is how seamlessly they're able to meld these influences, and the distinctive voice that they've crafted this early in their career. Their new album "Combustible Gems" follows-up their well-regarded "Good Good Great!" EP in fine fashion, striking all the right Phil Spector/Goffin & King chords while rooting the album firmly in the NOW. Singles like "Moments Notice" and "Bright Happy Girls" possess a timeless pop charm, brimming with jangle, drama and infectious energy.

Contemporary classical composer Sophia Jani and violinist Teresa Allgaier announce their new collaborative work Six Pieces for Solo Violin on Squama Recordings. Characterized by its calmness and poise, each movement focuses on a particular technical aspect, bending the boundaries of the instrument while maintaining the illusion of simplicity.

Inspired by the Buddhist sutras, Blitzen Trapper’s radiant new album, 100's of 1000's, Millions of Billions, offers a captivating take on rebirth and transcendence, navigating its way through the space beyond dreams and reality, beyond gods and mortals, beyond life and death. The songs here are as sincere as they are surreal, rooted in rich character studies and deep reflection, and the production is intoxicating to match, blending lo-fi intimacy and trippy psychedelia into a mesmerizing swirl of analog and electronic sounds. Add it all together and you’ve got a gorgeous collection of stripped-down bedroom folk wrapped in lush layers of synthesizers and washed out electric guitars, a poignant, expansive exploration of perception and purpose that manages to look both forwards and backwards all at once.

Mind Burns Alive finds Pallbearer navigating the space between disquiet and serenity with a singular intensity. At times poetic and blistering, their fifth full length is a heartfelt meditation on isolation, trauma and mental breakdown, framed by the possibility of redemption and the quiet, aching beauty of escape. Musically and lyrically stripped bare and vulnerable, Mind Burns Alive deals in universal themes of loneliness and the feeling of emotionally drowning in a world turning upside down.

William Soovik Grand Finale plays Rustic Music. What is it, one might ask? Partly it is the name of the band's first album but it is also a whole philosophy around the band's music and what expressions it can take one. Think of that heavy cast iron pan that sits in the back of a cupboard in a summer cottage somewhere. Long since replaced by a sophisticated non-stick pan with nano-ceramic coating. An old wooden beer tray that has become storage for old nails or half-empty glue bottles in a carpenter's shed in a forest.

On Strange Medicine, acclaimed roots musician Kaia Kater succeeds in the act of transformation, alchemizing grief into joy, sorrow into hope.

Kate Hudson’s not sure what took her so long, especially with all the music whirling inside her. That hunger for musical expression from the woman who embodied the rocker’s muse in Almost Famous runs deeper. “I always felt connected to music. It was my outlet.” Natural and easy, there’s both self-examination and celebration flowing through her songs. She understands the phases of modern music in a way that’s fluid, but defined, honest, yet willing to leave it all at the door in the name of love.

To All Trains is the sixth and final studio album by American rock band Shellac. The album was recorded at Electrical Audio between November 2017 and March 2022. It was released on May 17th, 2024 following the death of guitarist and vocalist Steve Albini two weeks prior on May 7th, 2024.

Among the instruments that found their way into art music in the first decades of the 18th century is the horn. Usually the story of the Bohemian imperial count Franz Anton von Sporck (1662–1738) is told. He became ac- quainted with the instrument in 1680 during a visit to the court of Louis XIV (1638–1715). He sent two of his servants to France to learn how to play the instrument, after which – according to the well-established narrative – horn playing spread throughout Central Europe.

This debut album, from Germany based ensemble Conceptus, features music for tenor and ensemble by Butterworth, Warlock, Holst and Bridge, in addition to Timothy Collins’ Sea Song. Collins has composed and arranged extensively for the ensemble.

Bára Gísladóttir (b. 1989) considers sounds, instruments and ensembles as living organisms. In VAPE, Hringla and COR, the Icelandic composer and double bassist engages with the largest musical organism of all: the symphony orchestra. Inspired by death metal or techno as much as by Scelsi or Penderecki, the foreboding atmosphere of her music is cut through with irony, puns and black humour. After all, organisms themselves – especially human bodies – contain the potential for both comic excess and self-annihilation. In these three works we follow Gísladóttir’s fascination with language and coincidence; we hear an uncompromising interrogation of the body’s excesses and ailments; and, most of all, we see life, vaporous and between states, neither dark nor light.

William Howard's latest album, "Sixteen Nocturnes and a Lantern," brings listeners a rich tapestry of piano masterpieces. The carefully curated selection traverses genres and eras, from Clara Schumann's timeless elegance to the contemporary allure of Howard Skempton's "Lantern" (2023). As one of Britain's preeminent pianists, Howard's solo career, marked by performances at prestigious festivals and renowned venues such as Wigmore Hall, has been augmented by his central role with the Schubert Ensemble, one of the country's most successful chamber groups. A recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Best Chamber Ensemble, Howard's collaborative and educational contributions have left an enduring impact.

Vol. 4 by Lucha Villa, released through the collaborative efforts of Musart-Balboa and Concord, is a vibrant reimagining of the iconic Mexican singer's classic album. This meticulously remastered edition enhances Villa's powerful vocals and timeless mariachi and ranchera arrangements, offering both new listeners and long-time fans an enriched auditory experience. The release celebrates Lucha Villa's enduring legacy in Latin music, preserving the emotional depth and cultural significance of her work with modern sound quality.

Jazz harmonica virtuoso Hendrik Meurkens began his career in Germany playing vibes. In 1992, a trip to California led to his signing with the prestigious Concord label and established him as the first major new voice on the harmonica since Toots Thielemans. His 28 CDs have received rave reviews and strong airplay and he has been listed repeatedly in the Downbeat and Jazziz Polls.