Plus: Sheila E on drumming with Prince, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson
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Picks of the week
The Tortured Poets Department – fame, fans and former flames in the line of fire
Taylor Swift  
The Tortured Poets Department – fame, fans and former flames in the line of fire
Subtly detailed album splits the difference between 1989’s glossy pop-rock and Midnights’ understatement – and lets her ex Matty Healy have it in no uncertain terms
Breakups, fantasies and her most cutting lyrics  
Inside Taylor’s Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department
Fontaines DC  
We can generate ideas that sound like they’ve been carved in stone for a thousand years
‘I’ve used hairbrushes, spatulas, car keys, apples ...’  
Sheila E on drumming with Prince, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson and more
Reviews
Claire Rousay  
Sentiment – the sound of life happening elsewhere
Sentiment – the sound of life happening elsewhere
Pearl Jam  
Dark Matter – the faithful will rejoice
Paraorchestra with Brett Anderson & Charles Hazlewood  
Death Songbook – a vivid time capsule
A Certain Ratio  
It All Comes Down to This – punk-funk stalwarts on a euphoric high
Global album of the month  
Lord Spikeheart: The Adept – Duma star’s relentless metal isn’t for the fainthearted
Spotlight
My epic treasure hunt for vinyl gold
‘After eight hours, my feet and fingers throb’  
My epic treasure hunt for vinyl gold
This Saturday, Record Store Day will see an avalanche of pricey rarities and flashy reissues. Instead, our writer scours the secondhand bins of indie stores and charity shops – and bags a dozen crackers
Classical
Music in Time of War  
Debussy and Komitas – fascinating collection of composer’s final works
Debussy and Komitas – fascinating collection of composer’s final works
ASMF Chamber Ensemble  
Perahia makes welcome return to celebrate Marriner’s centenary
Perahia makes welcome return to celebrate Marriner’s centenary
Add to playlist
Akon’s honest playlist  
The best song to have sex to? Smack That by Akon
The best song to have sex to? Smack That by Akon
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You may have missed
Musician Claire Rousay on dating, depression and Jeff Tweedy
‘Gender and sexuality on a spectrum – I started to unravel all of that’  
Musician Claire Rousay on dating, depression and Jeff Tweedy
Following acclaim for her affecting sound collages, the Texan’s new album flips her old ‘emo ambient’ to ‘ambient emo’, inspired by Young Thug and Sparklehorse – and an unexpected show of charity from the Wilco frontman
Forget Back to Black  
Here are eight great fake music biopics
If you really want to know about making music, fame, exploitation, addiction, egos and challenging personalities – look to fiction. Here are our favourites
Country star Lainey Wilson on her long road to Grammy glory  
Maybe I wasn’t as crazy as people thought!
After slogging through poverty, indifference and Hannah Montana impersonations, the US singer is an award-winning sensation and selling out a UK tour. She explains why her genre is going mainstream like never before
‘The house was small, the life was big’  
How Amy Winehouse’s homes were recreated for Back to Black
Set designers Katie Spencer and Sarah Greenwood went from Barbie to the darker world of the Winehouse biopic. They explain how even a Smeg fridge evokes the singer’s dreams
Live music this week
Tyler, the Creator at Coachella  
An exhilarating, high-stakes spectacle
An exhilarating, high-stakes spectacle
No Doubt at Coachella  
A joyous, high-energy reunion
Lana Del Rey at Coachella review – a disappointingly lifeless start to the festival
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