R Smith & Co’s ‘intimate’ 2024 album launch hits the big screen.

Black And Blue UMC/POLYDOR

From the bayou to Woodstock and back – the easygoing adventures of Bobby Charles. By John Mulvey.

London’s post-punk seismographers pick up more weird vibrations on their third album. By Victoria Segal. Illustration by Cold War Steve.

From Laurel Canyon to Chiswick High Road, from Rancho De La Luna to a warehouse in Tottenham, many of your favourite artists have been hard at work crafting the soundtrack of 2026. Over the next 10 pages, we bring you the inside track on forthcoming albums by STEVIE NICKS , COURTNEY BARNETT , ALABAMA SHAKES , THE ROLLING STONES , BILL CALLAHAN , BUZZCOCKS , LANA DEL REY , SUNN O))) , ROBERT PLANT , IRON & WINE and many more. “It’s a really special time for music…”

From The Bottom Of An Old Grandfather Clock (reissue, 2004) DEAD OCEANS