Over many years I have interviewed countless jazzmen (and a few women), who have given me pleasure by the music they played and the gusto or sensitivity with which they played it. One stands out from the rest because he was completely different. In all I interviewed him five times, three at home and two after a gig. Amazingly, he never repeated himself, his fund of anecdotes endless.

Before his breakthrough hit Sally, When the Wine Runs Out, Role Model often felt like an artist still searching for his identity. That song changed everything, pairing effortless charm with sharp songwriting, and Chuck Timely & The Hourglass proves it was no fluke. Rather than simply chasing the success of his biggest hit to date, Role Model uses it as a springboard for an album that feels more confident, more adventurous and, ultimately, more complete.

Signum pairs two composers who rarely feel like strangers to one another, and this disc makes the case for their kinship well. Parry's De Profundis — a large-scale, twelve-part setting of Psalm 130 — dominates proceedings, its long arc from penitence to consolation still capable of catching a listener off guard more than a century on. God Is Our Hope and Strength offers a shorter but no less confident companion piece, while Elgar supplies the disc's more intimate corners: the partsong The Snow and the folk-inflected Scenes from the Bavarian Highlands, both far removed from the pomp he's better known for.

In the rolling green valleys of Switzerland’s Bernese Oberland, where yodelling once carried messages from mountain to mountain, a family ensemble has spent nearly three decades proving that tradition need not stand still to survive.

With his new album Songs From The Trees, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Chris Murphy has created a record that feels both timeless and adventurous.

If Eternal Sunshine hinted at a more reflective Ariana, Petal fully embraces that direction. These songs unfold gently, rewarding patience rather than demanding attention. The production is smooth and understated, blending soft pop with contemporary R&B textures that give the record a dreamy, almost weightless feel.

The textures throughout are stunning, and the resonance and reverberation are captured with real skill—this is a beautifully engineered record, not just a gimmick with a good story. What next—a bishop or dean DJing the gospel reading to a four-on-the-floor beat? Whatever it takes to draw new audiences into our cathedrals and abbeys, let's try it. I love its difference. I love its challenging nature. I love the disco beat. And for a critic over 60, I thoroughly enjoyed every irreverent, reverberating minute of it. Try it—and dare yourself to like it.

After a decade of steadily expanding their reach across the UK and Europe, Manchester's self-proclaimed intergalactic travellers HENGE are preparing for their biggest Earth mission to date. The band have announced a 75-date world tour spanning 17 countries – with more still to come – marking not only their most ambitious run yet but also their long-awaited first shows across North America.

Perhaps the biggest surprise arrives with Faded Blue Jeans, featuring Josh Homme. It's an unlikely pairing that somehow makes complete sense, with Homme's gravelly vocals adding a rugged edge to a song that blurs the boundaries between country, blues and rock. Their chemistry is effortless, and the result is one of the album's most memorable collaborations

Amy Shark has always excelled at turning life's awkward, painful and complicated moments into memorable songs, but soft pop feels different. Stripped back and refreshingly uncomplicated, this is an album that places her voice and innermost thoughts front and centre, allowing the emotion to do the heavy lifting. The production rarely gets in the way, creating the feeling that you're sitting with Shark as she quietly unpacks her experiences without fear, shame or pretence.

There is a particular pleasure in returning to a recording again and again as a reviewer and finding that it yields something new each time, while one thing remains constant. With this latest Chandos disc from Elena Urioste and Tom Poster, that constant is the sheer beauty of the playing: the balance between soloist and accompanist is judged to perfection, and the engineers have done what Chandos so often manages, capturing the sound with such transparency that the listener seems to be eavesdropping on the duo rather than hearing a recording at all. It is sublime, moving and endlessly captivating.

Having earned a reputation as one of Australia's most electrifying new acts, Headwreck already have their sights set on world domination.

Pickering Church, with its striking mediaeval architecture and clear, focused acoustic, provided an ideal setting for the opening Saturday of the Ryedale Festival. Staging Franz Schubert’s deathless Winterreise in the midst of a heatwave created an unintended antipathetic fallacy that worked remarkably well.

With the release of their moving duet version of Real Man, MORGXN and JB Somers have transformed a deeply personal song into a powerful conversation about masculinity, vulnerability, faith, and identity. Originally written from Somers' experience growing up as a pastor's kid in Alabama, the track takes on new resonance with MORGXN's soaring vocals and shared perspective.

While there is no denying that there is amazing kudos in having a Primark range already raising their profile, the lack of single success means December 10 has notches both for and against their enduring success. However, their debut EP speaks volumes about what should be their destiny. Slick production, a strong balance of bops and ballads and, most importantly, striking vocals and an awareness of how to play to each band member's strengths – this is a solid introduction to a group that wishes to be taken credibly as the next big boy band.