Music

Gang of Youths, Courtney Barnett and Barkaa: Australia’s best new music for December

Each month we add 20 new songs to our Spotify playlist. Read about 10 of our favourites here – and subscribe on Spotify, which updates with the full list at the start of each month

Nathan Jolly

05, Dec, 2021 @4:30 PM

No Rome: It’s All Smiles review – a hyperpop headache

This exhausting mix of shoegaze R&B makes Guendoline Rome Viray Gomez’s debut too tricksy to be enjoyable

Damien Morris

05, Dec, 2021 @3:00 PM

Arca: KicK iii review – a joyous sonic headrush

Over 12 frantic songs, and a flurry of adjacent albums, the electronic innovator truly comes into her own

Michael Cragg

05, Dec, 2021 @1:00 PM

Zingari review – murderous passions and glorious singing

It’s hard to imagine a better rendering of Leoncavallo’s fiercely sensual opera about a Gypsy love triangle than Opera Rara and the Royal Philharmonic gave in this concert performance

Tim Ashley

05, Dec, 2021 @12:39 PM

Madness review – still nutty after all these years

The British pop institution head out on their by now traditional festive December tour, performing their classic hits to a rapturous response

Dave Simpson

05, Dec, 2021 @11:11 AM

Beat that: Berlin’s techno DJs seek Unesco world heritage status

Group seeks cultural protection for music that defined reunification era

James Tapper

05, Dec, 2021 @9:30 AM

Bill Callahan & Bonnie Prince Billy: Blind Date Party review – revelatory fun with old favourites

The left-field giants are full of surprises on an electrifying set of covers of everyone from Steely Dan to Silver Jews

Kitty Empire

05, Dec, 2021 @9:00 AM

Let him be: how McCartney saved roadie from arrest after Beatles final concert

Diaries of band’s road manager, Mal Evans, revealing chaos at gig to feature in major biography

Dalya Alberge

05, Dec, 2021 @6:41 AM

Spell Songs II: Let the Light In review – a magical return to nature

In this captivating follow-up, the stellar folk collective give voice to more magical meditations on nature from Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris

Neil Spencer

04, Dec, 2021 @4:00 PM

Little Simz review – an introvert on full beam

Showcasing one of the year’s best albums, the rapper is on impassioned form in a set that opens up from rapid-fire grime to lush funk and soul

Kitty Empire

04, Dec, 2021 @2:00 PM

Mark Padmore and Jonathan Biss review – Schumann’s agony and ecstasy laid bare

The British tenor and the American pianist are true equals in the service of the composer’s humanity and fragility

Fiona Maddocks

04, Dec, 2021 @12:30 PM

Classical home listening: Philippe Jaroussky and Thibaut Garcia, Attacca Quartet and more

The countertenor makes a guitar album, while the Brooklyn foursome mix madrigals and minimalism