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With their 2022 debut album, Cardinal Black showed the world how the budding guitar hero in their ranks could thrive in a band environment. Here, Chris Buck explains how its follow-up has taken his playing and songwriting to the next level

From the noisy streets, community cafés and surprisingly verdant cemeteries of Southeast London have risen CAROLINE : a confoundingly brilliant eight-piece band with no obvious frontperson, fusing choral folk with fractured post-rock and experimental pop. As Sam Richards discovers, they haven’t made life easy for themselves. “But there has to be a vulnerability of some sort. Otherwise, what’s the point?”

Amid the mayhem of his European tour, Joe takes time out to give us a guided tour around his 2025 live gear, delivers the lowdown on some of his more storied guitars, and tells us why his mighty multi-amp rig has to run at breaking point in order to make the earth move and those riffs resonate…

Four years on from the acclaimed Ding Dong. You’re Dead , the Hedvig Mollestad Trio make an inspired return with new album Bees In The Bonnet – buzzing with energy, riffs and bold statements, whether musical or political. Their intrepid leader talks to Prog about why songwriting is like speed dating, unlikely inspiration from Texas, taking risks and the rewards of play.

U.S. Girls ★★★★ Scratch It 4AD. CD/DL/LP ...

From pop star to Kitchen Disco icon, Sophie Ellis-Bextor has brought joy to lives and homes across the globe. She talks to Rosamund Dean about marriage, menopause and why the music must go on