ALBUM REVIEW

ALBUM OF THE WEEK: Live! by Pulp (week beginning Wednesday 9 September 2026)

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By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2

Tracklist: Spike Island; Slow Jam; Sorted For Es And Whizz; Disco 2000; Help The Aged; Farmers’ Market; This Is Hardcore; Sunrise; Something’s Changed; Grown Ups; O.U.; Do You Remember The First Time?; Mis-Shapes; Got To Have Love; Babies; Common People; A Sunset

Actress Kelly Macdonald, arguably best known for 1996’s iconic Trainspotting, welcomes this encore performance and bids the audience farewell with a charming: ‘Goodnight and safe travels – and remember, take care of each other.’

  • Read on for reasons including how this is the story of pop’s greatest resurrection of recent years
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ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Jenius by Paul Heaton (September 2026)

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By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

Tracklist: Can’t Get Next To You; Favourite Kind Of Idiot; I Want The Job; Sad Songs And Lawsuits; She Ain’t Pretty; One Eye Open; Send In The Clowns; Do Not Ask Me; Don’t Lean On Me; Jet Black Sky; The Whisky Did; Before Before; Good For The Bees; Go Upstream; A Son Of A Father

We 1st saw Heaton live at Aldershot’s West End Centre with his 2nd band The Beautiful South as chart-topper Song For Whoever was released in 1989.

  • Read on for reasons including where to see Heaton on tour where tickets are less than £40 each
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ALBUM OF THE WEEK: The Thread by Family Stereo (week beginning 21 August 2026)

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WORTH A LOOK?: ****

Tracklist: Remedy; Waiting On Nina; Sea Change; Fault Lines; The Thread; Removed; Collapsing; DLR; Silhouette On The Hill; Three Moon Trail; Tunnels

Rather than a brat summer, this season has been more Confessions II or Pride summer for us but this understated debut album has grown in stature thanks to repeated play.

  • Read on for reasons including where to see Family Stereo on tour later this year
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ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Same Sun/Same Sky by The Darling Buds (August 2026)

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WORTH A LOOK?: ****1/2

Tracklist: Hey Saint Jude; Intruder; Oh No You Don’t; Lost Time; Jump In; Giddy In A Good Way; Cut Me Dead; Cast A Stone; Pretenders; Paper Planes; Leaving The Scene; Pollyanna Says

Same Sun/Same Sky is the 1st new album for 34 years by The Darling Buds and it draws on the best of the many styles of the band’s 1st trio of LPs to underline why they were so underrated.

  • Read on for reasons including if you’ve ever loved the band, Same Sun/Same Sky should definitely shine for you
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ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Confessions II by Madonna (July 2026)

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WORTH A LOOK?: *****

Tracklist: I Feel So Free; Good For The Soul; One Step Away; Bring Your Love; Danceteria; Read My Lips; Everything; Love Sensation; Love Without Words; Bizarre; School; Fragile; My Sins Are My Saviour; Betrayal; The Test; L.E.S Girl

Confessions II is the mostly misleading title for this album which isn’t Madonna’s best album for the 21 years since Confessions On A Dancefloor but her best … ever.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is the best album of 2026 so far
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ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Apollo by Gene (June 2026)

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WORTH A LOOK?: ****

Tracklist: London, Can You Wait?; Be My Light, Be My Guide; We Could Be Kings; Where Are They Now?; Truth, Rest Your Head; Your Love, It Lies; Long Sleeves For The Summer; Sleep Well Tonight; Save Me, I’m Yours; O Lover; Speak To Me Someone; A Car That Sped; Walking In The Shallows; Haunted By You; Olympian; For The Dead; Sick, Sober and Sorry; Fighting Fit; I Can’t Help Myself; Who Said This Was The End?

It’s 8 months after Gene’s 1st London gig for 21 years and the perfect time for this live album to drop ahead of Camden Roundhouse shows this autumn.

  • Read on for reasons including how Apollo proves a startling reminder of both how incredible Gene were and could be again
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ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Too Much Not Enough by Daði Freyr (May 2026)

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WORTH A LOOK?: ****

Tracklist: I Don’t Wanna Talk; Me And You; Hot Damn; With You; P-E-R-F-E-C-T; Beautiful Day; Flying Fuck; I’m Out And I Wanna Go Home; Feel It; Why?; Good Enough; Wildfire

Freyr stands 6 ft 9.9 inches tall and for those seeking a cure for post-Eurovision Song Contest depression he could be just the giant to keep the party going.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is the sound of Freyr capturing that special magic in 1 place once more
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ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Wildfire by Loreen (April 2026)

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WORTH A LOOK?: *****

Tracklist: Where Do We Go From Here?; Feels Like Heaven; Weapons; Is It Love?; Can’t Pull Me Down; Melt; Wildfire; Coming Close; Set Me Free; Tattoo; Lose That Light; Kiss The Sky; True Love

It’s been almost 3 years since Loreen became the 1st woman to win Eurovision twice and, despite the wait, this album’s exceptional quality makes it all worthwhile.

  • Read on for reasons including how this is easily Loreen’s best and most cohesive album
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ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Sexistential by Robyn (March 2026)

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WORTH A LOOK?: ****

Tracklist: Really Real; Dopamine; Blow My Mind; Sucker For Love; It Doesn’t Mean A Thing; Talk To Me; Sexistential; Light Up; Into The Sun

We last saw Robyn onstage at The 02 as special guest of Charli XCX in 2024 and this summer she headlines there with this comeback album.

  • Read on for reasons including how Robyn’s a trailblazer who’s maturing while still horny for Prince influences despite new motherhood post-break up
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FILM REVIEW/ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Wuthering Heights by Charli XCX (February 2026)

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By Aline Mahrud

WORTH A LOOK?: Album ****/film ***

The best thing about Emerald Fennell’s (Cinderella, Gillian Lynne Theatre) reimagining of the Emily Bronte classic is the soundtrack by Charli XCX which adds an appropriate modern gothic haunting gloom.

  • Read on for reasons including how the Wuthering Whites casting detracts from what could have been a more effective film
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