Blonde Redhead, Barbican, London Feb 19. Choral backing to timeless standards. All melody. An exceptional band.

Listening to Flare, by Plantoid. Miraculous confection of shoegaze, jazz and heavy prog from the Bella Union talent pool.

Morning all. May 1963 New Cavendish Street, London. This image captures the construction of the BT Tower (originally known as the GPO Tower or Post Office Tower) No image credit.

Listening to Saya, by Saya Gray. Genre-fluid compositions that sparkle in this February rain.

Scorpion King

Listening to Embraced for a Second as we Die, by Amanda Bergman. Silky vocals and lush arrangements with a nod to Fleetwood Mac and Joni Mitchell.

Listening to Sidings by Craven Faults. Mesmeric post-industrial landscapes.

Earning a title is so much more enriching than buying one.

20 Best Albums of 2025 - a personal list. #1 We Were Made Prey, by Kathryn Joseph. Intimate, raw, passionate, angry, direct, vulnerable, beautiful. A gem.

20 Best Albums of 2025 - a personal list. #2 On Being, by Max Cooper. Vast technical masterpiece with a human heart by a musician at the peak of his powers.

20 Best Albums of 2025 - a personal list. #3 Belong by Jay Som. A carnival of modern pop genres, never overlong or overproduced, always feels fresh. I

20 Best Albums of 2025 - a personal list. #4 Sharon van Etten and the Attachment Theory, by Sharon van Etten. Simply great songwriting - opening with Live Forever, a stark ballad for these times.

20 Best Albums of 2025 - a personal list. #5 Evenfall by Sam Akpro. A trip-hop drug and booze-fuelled night out etched onto vinyl.

20 Best Albums of 2025 - a personal list. #6 Willoughby Tucker, I will always love you, by Ethel Cain. Slow tempo synth metal which draws you deep into Cain’s dark mind.

20 Best Albums of 2025 - a personal list. #7 Euro-Country, by CMAT. Infectious singalongs.

20 Best Albums of 2025 - a personal list. #8 All is Love and Pain in the Mouse Parade, by Of Monsters and Men. Warm and understated collection from this criminally under-appreciated guitar band.

20 Best Albums of 2025 - a personal list. #9 Friend, by James K. Lush, shimmering, indefinable, melodic moments.

20 Best Albums of 2025 - a personal list. #10 Under Tangled Silence by Djrum. Free roaming percussive odyssey that never dwells.

20 Best Albums of 2025 - a personal list. Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party, by Hayley Williams. A slightly too large earworm meal.

20 Best Albums of 2025 - a personal list. #12 Landscape from Memory, by Rival Consoles. Anthems for large vaulted spaces and imagined sci-fi movies.

20 Best Albums of 2025 - a personal list. #13 Of Becoming, by Vanbur. Haunted coves and deep rockpools of healing contemplation.

20 Best Albums of 2025 - a personal list. #14 Daybreak, by Sven Wunder. A time machine to 70s TV locations when Roger Moore and Farrah Fawcett were role models.

20 Best Albums of 2025 - a personal list. #15 Public Works and Utilities, by Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan. Stranger Things meets Adam Curtis. Sublime.

20 Best Albums of 2025 - a personal list. #16 While I’m Distracted by Arjuna Oakes. Fluid blend of jazz, soul and optimism.

20 Best Albums of 2025 - a personal list. #17 Elsewhere by Grandbrothers. Chilled soundtrack for a summer’s evening that is undemanding without being bland.

20 Best Albums of 2025 - a personal list. #18 Glory by Perfume Genius. Beguiling art rock by a man whose music is finally living up to his name.

20 Best Albums of 2025 - a personal list. Microtonic by BDRMM. Tight shoegaze set from a young band getting better and better.

20 Best Albums of 2025 - a personal list. #20 Humanise, by HAAi. A gleaming hour spent with sounds to be danced to or listened to, depending on your mood.

Listening to Of Becoming by Vanbur. Meditative, beautiful, precious.

Magician

BDRMM, 100 Club, Oxford Street, London. Heady confection of shoegaze influences.

Eiko Ishibashi, at EartH, Dalston, London. Saxy.

Listening to Ink and Oil, by Storefront Church. Lush and bombastic anthems.

The incomparable Kathryn Joseph (with Lomond Campbell) at OMEARA, Borough, London. A venue with a Twin Peaks vibe, embellished with the most distinctive Scottish voice since Liz Fraser.

Warrington Runcorn New Town Development Plan, Rich Mix, Shoreditch, London. Tight set which demands concentration from the artist and the audience.

Listening to Belong, by Jay Som. Beguiling collection channelling Cobain, Cain and Muna.

Listening to Silvana Estrada’s album Vendran Suaves Lluvias. A shard of light on a wet autumn morning.

Listening to Public Works and Utilities, the new album by Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan. Panorama on acid. Brilliant.

For Bookshop Day I bought Surround Sound by Mark Kermode. Fascinating subject, rarely written about.

This is staggeringly good. Terrifying. I love Chicago. Stop this performative sadism.

Moonrise, Dartmouth, Devon, England

Listening to The Shell EP, by The Shell. Freeflowing ambient jazz ear candy.

Ara Batur, #Sigurros, Royal Albert Hall, London, 1 October. Tears.

Slow Horses: Series 5 Filming Locations

Listening to Damage, by David Sylvian and Robert Fripp. Complex but rewarding.

Listening to Elsewhere, by Grandbrothers. Accomplished. Touring the U.K. in February.

a new exhibition at Tate Britain explores how Lee Miller became one of the most urgent voices of 20th-century art www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...

You beauty !

Listening to If I Had a Boat, by Kieren Hebden and William Tyler. Warm, open and mesmeric.

35 years ago today I remember putting this record on the turntable. Unlike me, it hasn’t aged. #HeavenorLasVegas, #CocteauTwins