Pet Shop Boys review: 'No hits' show is a concept primed to underwhelm They have titled their five-night run of shows at the Electric Ballroom Obscure, as they concentrate on everything but the pop smashes... which does leave it lacking something

Reviewed Pet Shop Boys’ very quiet Obscure show

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Muse review — a taste of their tenth album beamed back to earth At a sensational album launch at London’s Brixton Academy, Devon’s mightiest space rock trio proved they’re still a powerful pop metal unit

Reviewed Muse's Brixton Academy show on Friday

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Garbage/Placebo review — it felt more like a Cure family reunion This Teenage Cancer Trust gig, part of a series curated by Robert Smith at the Royal Albert Hall, paired Placebo’s stripped-back elegance with Garbage’s industrial grunge and bubblegum hooks

Been down at the Albert Hall for a bumper year of Teenage Cancer Trust shows. Here's my review from Garbage and Placebo on Friday, more to come!

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Marianne Faithfull tribute at the Barbican review — music giants pay homage Jarvis Cocker, Rufus Wainwright, Beth Orton, Anna Calvi and more took to the stage after a screening of the dramatised documentary Broken English

Reviewed the Marianne Faithfull tribute show at the Barbican last night

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'I loved my time at Harry's House - but Styles' new album is dozeville' Music critic Mark Beaumont thinks Harry Styles' much-anticipated new album is full of lacklustre delivery, derivative sounds - and shortchanges his fans

Some thoughts on the new Harry Styles album. How do I turn off replies again?

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Young Fathers on their ‘Help(2)’ song, ‘Don’t Fight The Young’: “It felt like that's what needs to be said from us at this time” Young Fathers, who are part of War Child’s star-studded new compilation, tell NME about the project and the importance of using your voice.

Chatted to Young Fathers about their Help(2) track, 28 Years Later and the general geopolitical shitshow

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Whitney review — gentle soft rock and a marriage proposal to boot Their keyboardist had just popped the question, but that wasn’t all that was romantic about this gig as Chicago’s indie-soul favourites ended their UK tour at London’s Hackney Church

Reviewed Whitney at Hackney Church on Friday night. Congrats to the happy couple

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Sorry at the Outernet: Glimpsed real greatness North London’s artrockers Sorry deal with a difficult venue for a patchy gig which sometimes finds the magic of their records

Reviewed Sorry at HERE last night

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Wednesday review — a five-star example of the US crank rock invasion The frontwoman Karly Hartzman kicked off her shoes, swigged wine and swore at ICE agents on the sumptuous final night of the grunge band’s UK tour

My 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 review from Wednesday at the Roundhouse

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Spiritualized: Art rock gods steer the celestial into violent elemental destruction Spiritualized obliterate EartH as part of the Brits Weeks gigs in aid of War Child

Spiritualized bombarded EartH with space noise last night - my review for The Standard:

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The label wanted ‘California Girls 2’. The Beach Boys gave them ‘Good Vibrations’ Amid political unrest and label pressure, Brian Wilson became consumed by his ambition to create a song that distilled a feeling of pure positivity, leading to what was, at the time, the most expensiv...

For the 60th anniversary of the start of recording, I chatted to Mike Love about the making of Good Vibrations

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‘Reanimal’ review: this horror adventure is scary enough to give you little nightmares Tarsier Studios latest is another gorgeous, grotesque spooktacular

Like Little Nightmares? Then time to get good and lost in Reanimal - my NME review:

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Ezra Furman review — explosive rock delivered with savage emotion The Chicago alt-rocker ripped through her orchestral emo album Goodbye Small Head at this glorious north London gig

Intense and emotional stuff from Ezra Furman at the Forum last night
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David Byrne’s Night review — the most impassioned tribute you’ll ever see More than 100 artists gathered at London’s Koko to celebrate Burns Night and the Talking Heads singer in an evening of Scots poetry, supergroups and chaos

Extremely enjoyable to review David Byrne's Night on Saturday, a wild tribute to a modern legend and a showcase for the incredible talent on the rise in the underground scene

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The story behind Arctic Monkeys’ earth-quaking debut album Twenty years since the Sheffield band released ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not’, it remains the bedrock of contemporary British guitar music. Mark Beaumont speaks to producers Alan Smyt...

Also today, for The Independent: inside the making of Arctic Monkeys' debut album and the phenomenon that followed

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Robbie Williams and the race to beat the Beatles’ record for No 1 albums The ex-Take That star is on track to score his 16th chart-topper this week, a record he has had in his sights for his entire career. But what does it mean?

On the Times T2 cover today: my breakdown of the numbers and motivations behind Robbie Williams' likely pipping The Beatles to a new record of 16 Number One albums

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Bob Weir, 1947-2026: indefatigable rocker who kept the Grateful Dead alive Bob Weir changed rock with the Grateful Dead – and then spent tireless decades keeping their freak flag flying high. Read NME's obituary

My obituary for Bob Weir RIP

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Rockaway Beach review — punk nastiness with John Lydon and Soft Play The new year indie weekender at Butlin’s in Bognor Regis featured the acerbic art rock of Lydon with PiL, alongside Soft Play and Moonlandingz

Let's have you 2026: day five and I've reviewed my first festival

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Reviewed the lifelong avenger of all radio stars

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Cliff Richard at the Royal Albert Hall review — cruise ship-friendly hits The 85-year-old tore on stage in a sparkling shirt and disco blazer, treating his jiving crowd to a chronological journey through hits and memories

To the Albert Hall for Sir Cliff last night

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Robert Plant review — a mystical masterclass across 300 years Robert Plant And Saving Grace unleash primal and bewitching beauty at Portsmouth Guildhall on the first stop of their nationwide tour

Intoxicating, five-star night with Robert Plant and Saving Grace in Portsmouth

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Roxette review — a joyride with Sweden’s second biggest band Eurovision regular Lena Philipsson is now guitarist Per Gessle’s partner in Scandi-rock crime after singer Marie Fredriksson’s death in 2019

Reviewed Roxette

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My Bloody Valentine at OVO Arena Wembley: 'Like a velvet tsunami' My Bloody Valentine return to bring the noise and hit the heights without truly punishing eardrums

My review from My Bloody Valentine's Wembley show last night. Not as loud as they'll have you believe, actually, but they proved it's not all about the volume

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The mischievous genius of Mani: 'A unifying character in alt-rock' The world of music is in shock over the death of Mani, the much-loved Manchester musician who not only transformed two iconic bands but united audiences with his infectious playing and personal charm

Some words on Mani, RIP

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CMAT review — Songs for the moment and a singer for the ages The Irish pop sensation set off on her UK tour a month late and wowed fans at Nottingham’s Rock City

Braved Storm Sleaford to review CMAT in Nottingham

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Blood Orange review — an entrancing, intoxicating brew Dev Hynes’s darkly dazzling showcase for his album Essex Honey displayed the consummate range that has made him the pop collaborator of the moment

My review of Blood Orange at Ally Pally

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Bob Dylan review — Two hours of earthy blues and hushed reverence The legend’s voice was part husk, part snarl and part whiplash in his Rough and Rowdy Ways tour at the Brighton Centre

Popped to Brighton to catch Bob's return

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Sananda Maitreya review — Terence Trent D’Arby’s glorious voice flies The Eighties soul pop star made his UK touring comeback after 23 years, and was at his best when he returned to his early material

Popped to Brum for Sananda Maitreya

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Duran Duran at Halloween review — pure diabolical disco Fans at Co-op Live in Manchester were hungry like the werewolf for the band’s now annual descent into camp, vamp fun

Had a view to a chill at Duran Duran's Halloween show in Manchester last night:

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Stewart Copeland — why the Police was ‘a Prada suit made of razor blades’ The drummer brought arena gig energy to the latest stop on his talk’n’roll tour and opened up about Sting, splits and being a spy kid

Stopped by Frome to review Stewart Copeland's Have I Said Too Much? tour
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