Rob Hughes charts the long strange trip of the powerful new voice of country rock

The Patti Smith guitarist, Nuggets compiler and venerable rock scholar talks techno, Tom Verlaine and his own ‘lightning striking’ moment

James Skelly and Nick Power steer a course through the Wirral band’s turbulent but ultimately triumphant two-decade career

The opening salvo of Surf’s Up, this cautionary tale saw our once-carefree Californians turn eco warriors long before the cause went mainstream

Released in January, Yasmin Williams’ mesmerising album Urban Driftwood respected the old traditions of folk music but simultaneously made fresh currency out of them. Stephen Deusner meets Williams in Nashville to map the course of her incredible year since – and her plans for 2022. “I’m pretty optimistic about the future,” she says. “At least, way more than I was a year ago…”

The direct on his mammoth new doc, The Beatles: Get Back

Bruce Springsteen contains multitudes: activist, balladeer, bandleader, rock star and more. Many of these different Bruces align in his landmark No Nukes concert performance – which is finally given a full release this month, 40 years on. With help from some of Springsteen’s closest allies, Stephen Deusner examines how in 2021 the Boss is still searching for ways to reconcile these different sides of himself.

How did a member of Radiohead end up soundtracking a Princess Di biopic? It’s “weirdly like a horror film”, explains Jonny Greenwood

Albarn on Tony Allen, cormorants, solar flares and an abandoned cruise ship

Isbell on Otis Redding, REM, Vic Chesnutt and Cat Power