The Big Read
Page 5
Arcade Fire: “‘WE’ connects the dots between everything we’ve ever done”
After a divisive album, the Canadian collective have bounced back with their best record in over a decade
Kehlani: “I’m really in a lighter, more mature, happy, fun space”
How the R&B star found liberation with their breezy new album ‘Blue Water Road’
Mallrat: “When pop music is done with respect for the listeners, it’s perfect and exciting and beautiful”
Grace Shaw’s vision of pop music is vivid and vulnerable, familiar yet fresh. Debut album ‘Butterfly Blue’ is her most enthralling release yet
Fontaines D.C.: “People are looking to me for answers. What the fuck do I know?”
The band share their “guilt” at leaving Ireland and talk instant-classic new album ‘Skinty Fia’
Sharon Van Etten: “I have to be hopeful. I’m a mother and I want to be brave for my son”
How the singer-songwriter learned to face the darkness
Blossoms: “We don’t see a limit to what we can achieve”
New album ‘Ribbon Around The Bomb’ finds the lads more vulnerable and introspective than ever
Syd: “I don’t care about validation anymore. I know I’m a genius”
With the alt-R&B she pioneered with her group The Internet now firmly mainstream and new album ‘Broken Hearts Club’ imminent, the artist is more self-assured than ever
Hatchie: “I’m trying to let go of the expectations that I’ve set for myself”
Harriette Pilbeam’s dizzying rise as Hatchie turned into constant freefall in the pandemic. Her new album ‘Giving The World Away’ is a poppy, personal reinvention
Flo Milli: “I’m always shooting for bigger. If I had a goal then, it’s bigger now”
Having redefined what it means to be an internet sensation, this Gen-Z party bop-maker is ready for her next chapter
Wet Leg: “I think there’s more authenticity to the music if you’re having fun”
Explosive debut single ‘Chaise Longue’ made the Isle Of Wight duo indie’s buzziest breakout band in years. NME hitches a ride on a sunny afternoon in Margate to see where their debut album will take them
Rex Orange County: “I want the music to sound and feel free – because I feel free”
With fourth album ‘Who Cares?’, Alex O’Connor shakes off the shackles of self-doubt
The BandLab NME Awards 2022: the wildest night in music
Sam Fender getting lairy! Hosts Daisy May Cooper and Lady Leshurr letting loose! Here’s the story of the show The Cure’s Robert Smith christened an “unusual, vibey event”