The top 10 Irish and international albums of 2021
It’s a close contest between Villagers and For Those I Love, while Arlo Parks aces it
Keaton Henson: Monument review – A sobering and raw account of grief
An ode to the musician's father manages to memorialise something fundamental
Sufjan Stevens: The Ascension review – Reaching for something to believe in
An ambitious protest record that takes his favourite theme – America – to the next level
Laura Veirs: ‘I had a feminist awakening’
After her 20-year relationship ended, the US songwriter experienced a creative and personal rebirth
‘It’s a shame he’s not around to see this’ – an album found on Conor Walsh's laptop
Family and friends of the late piano composer come together to release album
This Album Changed My Life: Sufjan Stevens – Illinoise (2005)
Islander’s Jonathan Pearson on how this musical triumph changed his perception of pop
This Album Changed My Life: Sufjan Stevens – Carrie & Lowell (2015)
Kilnamana’s Enda Gallery on an album that helped him let go
This Album Changed My Life: Osso String Quartet – Run Rabbit Run (2009)
Éna Brennan aka Dowry on a reworking of Sufjan Stevens’s 2001 album ‘Enjoy Your Rabbit’
‘If we’re going to do a Christmas song it has to move people to tears’
Aidan Moffat, formerly of Scottish indie miserablists Arab Strap, insists ‘Ghost Stories for Christmas’ is not depressing
David Bowie and Prince among Record Store Day exclusive releases
The annual celebration of independent record shops takes place on April 21st
Tonya Harding: Redemption at last for skating’s hard luck story
I, Tonya is the ‘true’ Tonya Harding story. Except its not. After years as an outcast Harding is finally being understood
Just one single, and the buzz is already building about Whenyoung
And you have to hear Mango and Mathman, and Sufjan Stevens
In the music studio, a jack of all sounds but master of one
Since loud became the new normal, the skills of music mastering engineers are essential
Children’s Children by Jan Carson review: sharply written and inventive
Generations hand down the misery in Jan Carson’s surreal debut collection
Bryce Dessner harnesses Cork’s creative potential
The National guitarist is excited about curating the first Sounds from a Safe Harbour festival, which will be ‘like throwing a party for your friends’
‘That idea of coldness with electronic music is starting to wither away’
So says East India Youth, who is behind one of the year’s best electronic albums
“Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your timepiece” – Is Lorde’s Royals a racist diatribe?
Non-stories about pop’s brightest star aside, in a race row there’s only one winner – Kanye West
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