The ties that bind

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

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?”

Among the starlets of '60s soul, Stax original A THOMAS was dubbed 'The Queen'. Adored by The Beatles and Otis, a star turn at Vattstax, at 82 her flame burns bright, her career a storied object lesson. "I have tried to make it a joyful experience," she tells ANDREW PERRY.

MUM?” Becky said. “When did you know Dad was the man for you?” “What? Pretty early, I think,” Frances replied, taken aback. “It’s so far in the past, I can’t remember.” “It’s important. Try and think

Before The Future LOST SOUND TAPES/SELF-RELEASED 8/10

Frank Zappa’s Cheaper Than Cheep ZAPPA.COM