Samm Henshaw: Untidy Soul review – a wry, low-key take on the modern self
(Dorm Seven)The 26-year-old singer-songwriter’s debut blends rootsy soul, 90s hip-hop and gospel with self-effacing, intimate lyrics The debut album from singer-songwriter Samm Henshaw has a heavy...
View Article‘Our managers were like: it’s going to be a dud’: how Glass Animals became...
The Oxford quartet’s song Heat Waves is the most played globally on Spotify this week, and a curveball amid pop’s solo artists. Frontman Dave Bayley explains how it happenedWith solo artists currently...
View Article‘It’s fun to play the men we’ve been subjected to’: meet Lazy Susan,...
A spoof Lana Del Rey, hotlines for Twitter trolls and a satire of male-written female film characters: Celeste Dring and Freya Parker’s brilliant BBC Three series is a breath of fresh airThe past...
View Article‘I never want to see a phone again’: Alice Seabright on her visceral social...
In the writer-director’s new series Chloe, a young woman tries to make sense of the death of someone she followed on Instagram by infiltrating her social group. Creating it was ‘kind of gross’When...
View ArticleLittle Simz’s long path from council estate to Brit awards podium
Hard work and creative friends from local youth club drove genre-defying rapper to mainstream recognitionWhen Little Simz invited her mum on stage to help collect her Brit award for best new artist...
View ArticleVarious artists: Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono review – tribute to...
(Canvasback Music/Atlantic Records)Death Cab for Cutie, David Byrne and the Flaming Lips are among artists reworking Ono’s strange sound and outsider songs into something more palatableYoko Ono is one...
View ArticleWe Are Black and British review – the most intelligent reality TV show in...
Tears, arguments and deeply human conversations about race: this moving, uplifting show sees Black Britons debate the UK’s problems – and it’s a masterclass in empathySince the millennium, reality TV...
View ArticleJacqueline Novak: ‘My show is not a takedown of the penis’
Can you do a whole standup set about blowjobs? The New York comedian thinks so, but don’t assume her show is a feminist rallying cry “Even I would be irritated hearing about this show if I wasn’t me,”...
View Article‘I was a bit of a brat about marriage’: Jenny Hval on domesticity, dangerous...
Having made her name with songs about pornography and patriarchy, the avant garde Norwegian felt like a hypocrite for tying the knot. Now, she has turned that conflict into a thrilling album about...
View ArticleShenseea: Alpha review – thundering energy, staggering profanity
(Interscope)With a hypnotic flow of eye-wateringly blunt lyrics, the 25-year-old’s debut heralds Jamaican dancehall’s next big crossover starFew people can keep up with US rap phenomenon Megan Thee...
View ArticleNo drugs, booze, sex or swearing: will Heartstopper rewrite the young love...
Milkshakes, movie nights, incessant Instagramming and then early to bed … Heartstopper shows lovelorn teens as never before. Its creator Alice Oseman on turning her hit web comic into a joyful queer...
View ArticleCharli XCX: ‘People who take it too far are better than people who don’t’
The hyperpop star’s new album is an experiment into how far she can push the ‘pop star character’ she’s created. Can she stave off a rebellion from her fans in the process?If you are ever in need of a...
View ArticleBest podcasts of the week: Can Jon Hamm keep his cool under pressure?
The Mad Men star uses his silky voice to win over a hostage-taker – and his audience. Plus: five of the best bite-sized podcastsDon’t get Hear Here delivered to your inbox? Sign up for the full article...
View ArticlePillow Queens: Leave the Light On review – brooding, atmospheric indie
(Royal Mountain Records)The classy second album from the Dublin alt-rock four-piece is steeped in hard-won wisdom and catharsisDublin four-piece Pillow Queens make guitar music that is unconcerned with...
View ArticleWet Leg: Wet Leg review | Rachel Aroesti's album of the week
(Domino)With millennial angst and humour to spare, the duo’s quarter-life crisis album has a much broader remit than their repetitive breakout singleThe novelty song is a dying art form. Deliberately...
View ArticleHard Cell review – Catherine Tate’s first attempt at a sitcom is lacklustre
Zero nuance, lazy stereotypes and far too many one-dimensional characters: this prison-based comedy is full of problems – not least the lack of an actual plotNearly 20 years ago now, two feckless...
View ArticleDerry Girls review – this modern classic goes out on a high
As Lisa McGee’s masterclass of a sitcom begins its final season, it comes close to being a model of perfection. It’s a bittersweet goodbyeAll good things must come to an end – particularly if that good...
View Article‘Everyone has one cancellation in them’: standup Joanne McNally on her...
From career doldrums to fending off pantless stage invaders, the straight-talking Irish comic’s journey to becoming a must-see act has been a wild rideAt a recent gig, an audience member was so taken...
View Article‘We’re not as cool as the French – it’s more bumbling’: Lydia Leonard on...
She has played high-powered women from Anne Boleyn to Cherie Blair. But stepping into the shoes of the impossibly cool Camille Cottin in UK comedy reboot Ten Percent has made her ‘the most nervous I’ve...
View ArticleLife After Life review – a thoroughly addictive weepathon
This adaptation of Kate Atkinson’s novel about a woman who keeps on dying and being reborn is so full of grief it can feel overwhelming – but the anguish is irresistibleUrsula Todd can’t stop dying....
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