Perhaps the biggest surprise arrives with Faded Blue Jeans, featuring Josh Homme. It's an unlikely pairing that somehow makes complete sense, with Homme's gravelly vocals adding a rugged edge to a song that blurs the boundaries between country, blues and rock. Their chemistry is effortless, and the result is one of the album's most memorable collaborations

Amy Shark has always excelled at turning life's awkward, painful and complicated moments into memorable songs, but soft pop feels different. Stripped back and refreshingly uncomplicated, this is an album that places her voice and innermost thoughts front and centre, allowing the emotion to do the heavy lifting. The production rarely gets in the way, creating the feeling that you're sitting with Shark as she quietly unpacks her experiences without fear, shame or pretence.

Over the course of more than three decades, Shawn Colvin has established herself as one of America's most captivating performers and revered storytellers.

Thirty years is no small tenure, and Regent Records' latest instalment in its cathedral series chooses to mark David Price's three decades at the helm of music at Portsmouth Cathedral with a disc that feels less like a retrospective and more like a tide turning full circle. As is the way with this series, the selection draws from the choir's repertoire across the liturgical year, and the result is a recording of genuine freshness — one that rewards repeated listening rather than exhausting itself on a single pass.

There is a particular pleasure in returning to a recording again and again as a reviewer and finding that it yields something new each time, while one thing remains constant. With this latest Chandos disc from Elena Urioste and Tom Poster, that constant is the sheer beauty of the playing: the balance between soloist and accompanist is judged to perfection, and the engineers have done what Chandos so often manages, capturing the sound with such transparency that the listener seems to be eavesdropping on the duo rather than hearing a recording at all. It is sublime, moving and endlessly captivating.

Despite a shaky start, Simon Cowell's December 10 seems to be finally making headway. With the assumption that a Netflix series would propel them to instant international success and huge chart acclaim, they appear to have fallen very far short of those anticipations.

A blue plaque has been unveiled at Liverpool ONE to mark the spot where piano star Brad Kella first performed at the centre more than 10 years ago.

With the release of their moving duet version of Real Man, MORGXN and JB Somers have transformed a deeply personal song into a powerful conversation about masculinity, vulnerability, faith, and identity. Originally written from Somers' experience growing up as a pastor's kid in Alabama, the track takes on new resonance with MORGXN's soaring vocals and shared perspective.

While there is no denying that there is amazing kudos in having a Primark range already raising their profile, the lack of single success means December 10 has notches both for and against their enduring success. However, their debut EP speaks volumes about what should be their destiny. Slick production, a strong balance of bops and ballads and, most importantly, striking vocals and an awareness of how to play to each band member's strengths – this is a solid introduction to a group that wishes to be taken credibly as the next big boy band.

Welser-Möst and his orchestra match her at every step, the scoring tracking each swerve of feeling with unusual sensitivity: a trilling xylophone stands in for the ringing telephone with real wit, and the string textures underneath give the whole thing an unexpected warmth even at its bleakest.

All of which is background; what matters here is the music, and it is a delight. Her own chapel choir of Selwyn College sings with a polish that belies the demands of undergraduate life, recorded in the radiant, spacious acoustic of Ely Cathedral, where MacDonald is also the director of the girl choristers. The ensemble's diction, intonation, and balance are all delectably precise, and the phrasing, dynamic shading, and rhythmic vitality throughout the performance are genuinely impressive.

The singing itself is the chief pleasure here. Just fifteen sopranos and altos produce a remarkably well-blended sound under Searles' direction, the tone consistently lovely and the diction unusually clean for a choir working in such a resonant space. Phrasing throughout is intelligent and unforced.

I defy anyone not to start moving their legs in Charleston fashion with this seductive celebration of 1920s glamour. Nostalgia and a hearkening back to an age of nightclubs, novelty and no small amount of nerve. There is a moment, early in the opening track, Sax-O-Trix, when you realise Chad Smith is not so much playing the saxophone as interrogating it. The virtuosity is immediate and slightly alarming — watch him perform, and you may find yourself short of breath on his behalf.

Reuniting with Stuart Price proves to be the masterstroke. Their chemistry remains extraordinary, creating a seamless collection of club music that feels both classic and contemporary. House, disco, electro and synth-pop flow effortlessly into one another, with every transition designed to keep the energy moving. It's a record built to be experienced as a whole rather than dissected into individual streaming moments—a rarity in modern pop.

Amateur musicians of all ages will get the chance to rehearse and perform with award-winning saxophonist and CBSO Collaborative Artist Jess Gillam as part of ‘CBSO in the City’ which will bring free performances to iconic spaces across Birmingham this summer (27-31 August) for the third year.

British-Iranian singer, songwriter and producer TĀLĀ returns with her powerful new single, 11-11 (We Are), available everywhere now. The track is the latest preview of her forthcoming album 11, due on 11th July, and follows acclaimed releases Ghosts and I Need It, which earned support from COLORS, Headliner Magazine and Wordplay.

Few artists capture the complexities of human emotion quite like Scott Quinn. The British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist returns with his poignant new single, Places in London, a heartfelt reflection on the hidden losses that linger after heartbreak.

Across an extensive catalogue, Andrews has explored themes of longing, vulnerability, faith, grief, and human connection through songs that often feel more like carefully crafted narratives than conventional indie compositions. Their latest release, Fragile World, continues that tradition while presenting a collection that feels remarkably immediate, intimate, and unguarded.

From the release of her debut single, Smile, back in 2006, for just over a decade, Lily Allen was seen as a musical force to be reckoned with. Armed with an intelligent playfulness to her lyrics and an uplifting lilt to her melodies, she easily soared up the charts and set stages alight with her presence the world over.

The London-based rock project Thirsty Quireboys returns with God Bless America – Best Of Thirsty, a striking collection that serves as both a heartfelt tribute to the late Guy Bailey and a bold reimagining of the music he created with lyricist Irina D.

It was a balmy evening in St Leonards and word hadn't got out that this Manchester singer and his bandmates were, for one night only, charming the locals with their catchy, classy and clever spur of reflective indie. But Later Youth weren't thrown. No doubt used to bigger crowds they still delivered a fantastic, clean and as polished a set as you’d expect from seasoned pros.

With more than 85 million streams to her name, Florrie has long occupied a distinctive corner of British pop. A drummer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist, she has built a career balancing studio innovation with undeniable pop instincts, collaborating with everyone from Girls Aloud and Kylie to George Ezra and One Direction.

The disc closes with a winning account of La plus que lente, beautifully turned and rounding off what is, in sum, a most agreeable album. There is creativity and no shortage of skill in these interpretations. Rêverie, in particular, charms from the first bar. Much of that charm comes down to sound as well as substance: the recording was made on a Bösendorfer 280VC concert grand in the Concert Hall at Snape Maltings, Suffolk, and Chandos's engineers have captured its warmth with their customary skill.

Fresh from a raucous performance at The Great Escape Festival and ahead of the release of their powerful new single Epitaph (Not There), The Entitled Sons are showing no signs of slowing down. The independent five-piece have just announced an intimate record store tour, giving fans the chance to hear new music and get up close with the band.