Debuting in 2018 as the UK's new angry young men, Shame was at once a breath of fresh air and a kick in the teeth: an awesome guitar band that didn't care a whit about the winking irony of Britpop and railed against Brexit, Teresa May, selling out and more. The group's second outing, 2021's Drunk Tank Pink, was incredibly ambitious—and, at times, overly complicated.

Missing no longer. Jason Priest (aka Antoni Maiovvi) has resurfaced with the new album, For Your Consideration, on Midnight Mannequin Records. The follow-up to the well-received Jason Priest Is Missing (2021), For Your Consideration sees Priest channeling his inner Bowie and pushing further into pop territory, all the while continuing to ride the synth and shoegaze waves.

At first glance, PVA are a rather classic trio: synth, guitar, drums, a girl and a boy (Ella Harris and Josh Baxter) sharing the microphone. The Londoners made their mark in 2019 with ‘Divine Intervention’, a single that offered an updated take on new wave and caught the ear of Ninja Tune. The prestigious English label gave the group complete freedom for their 2020 EP, Toner, released on the label’s Big Dada imprint and carried by lead track ‘Talks’ which was splendidly remixed (twice) by Mura Masa. With this first album, BLUSH, PVA have the opportunity to clarify an identity that currently floats somewhere between post-punk, acid house and industrial, but is clearly nostalgic for the 80s and 90s.

After Lou Reed left the Velvet Underground in 1970, the band staggered on without him for a few years, with bassist Doug Yule taking over as their frontman. Someone once described 1973's Squeeze, a misbegotten Yule solo effort somehow issued under the name the Velvet Underground, as something like gin and tonic without the gin.

Vintage Crop have always been equal parts articulate and acidic, arming their blurted garage punk with memorable lyrics and a mocking tone…

Thursday is the second mixtape by Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd. It was released on August 18, 2011, by XO. Like his debut mixtape House of Balloons (2011), the Weeknd collaborated with producers and songwriters Doc McKinney and Illangelo; the duo produced Thursday in its entirety, and it contains fewer samples than its predecessor…

If you’re a fan of the alternative ’80s UK goth or post-punk scene, prick up your ears because this deserves your attention…

Nick Cave and Warren Ellis have released a new album, as promised—their first non-soundtrack full-length as a duo. Carnage was recorded during lockdown and will receive a CD and vinyl pressing for release on May 28, via Goliath Records.