As you've hopefully seen now, this month's issue of Uncut has a revealing piece about Richard & Linda Thompson's "I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight", timed to tie in with that great album's 40th anniversary and its vinyl reissue, plus a burst of Thompson activity that includes a show at the End Of The Road Festival at the end of the month. "It is what it is and I like what it is," he calls the album in the piece, somewhat self-effacingly, "and there's a lot of stuff out there that I've done that I like less. That being said, it sold about 30 copies."

After a week away, I've been catching up these past few days, and also trying to remember what I talked about before I went on holiday. Best place to start, maybe, is the Natalie Prass record that Matthew E White has been sitting on for well over a year (he played me some of it at Spacebomb in March 2013). Fantastic song, which I described on Twitter as a kind of nuts Anita Baker/Willie Mitchell/Feist/Charles Stepney thing with a beat that would've been samplefood for Dre 15 yrs ago. Sticking with that for now. Also the red kite feather we found on holiday in Avebury feels serendipitous.

There's a song on this new Purling Hiss album, playing again now, that sounds more or less like "Debaser" played by Dinosaur Jr. Along with the intensely spirited debut by Mary Timony's Ex-Hex and a comp of the pre-Beachwood Sparks, Sebadoh-indebted Further, it feels a little like College Rock revisited week. Deep late '80s/early '90s vibes, good times etc.

A bit of a manic week, for various reasons, not least the fact that we've finished two magazines: the next issue of Uncut, which should be coming your way on July 29; and an Ultimate Music Guide dedicated to the genius of…

Last week, just as I was finishing off the 25th playlist of the year, the new Steve Gunn album arrived. This week, the last-minute radical guitar hero is Chris Forsyth, whose first studio album with the Solar Motel Band is absolutely killing it as I type.

One of those weeks when the office playlist is taken to a whole new level at the very last moment, thanks to the arrival this morning of the new Steve Gunn album. A couple of previously redacted records can now be revealed, too, as the new efforts by Ryan Adams and Goat…

Lots to dig into this week, not least a song to sample from the Hiss Golden Messenger album that I’ve been alluding to for so long. Strong Ronnie Lane vibes there, perhaps. Among some biggish new entries here, some lesser known names to check out, too: Jennifer Castle; 75 Dollar Bill’s weird adaptation of desert blues; the new Blonde Redhead album that increasingly feels like their strongest in an age; and Hurray For The Riff Raff, magnificent on Letterman.

I suspect I wasn’t the only one who, last night, came out of the World Cup rabbit hole to discover that Gerry Goffin had died. As has become a slightly weird but nonetheless heartfelt tradition – a public display of mourning and taste, I suppose – I posted a favourite song onto Twitter: the Byrds’ version of “Goin’ Back”.

After the Best Albums Of 2014: Halftime Report business earlier in the week, it’s good to push on today with a bunch of very fine new arrivals, many of which you can hear at least tracks from below.

A few headline comebacks in this week’s playlist, and if you scroll down you should be able to hear strong new music from the likes of Jeff Tweedy, Caribou, David Kilgour and, though perhaps ‘new’ music might be a misnomer, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.