Features

Bit of a rush in the face of deadlines this morning, but a strange list – not all of it recommended, really – with a notable discovery in Mike Cooper, whose early ‘70s albums work well as companion pieces to those of Michael Chapman. Anyone who knows his work, and knows more, drop me a line.

Four years on from the death of his creator Chris Sievey, Frank Sidebottom has finally found the international platform that eluded him during Sievey's lifetime.

There's a review I've written in the new Uncut of Colfax, the debut album by The Delines, the new band formed by Richmond Fontaine singer and song-writer, Willy Vlautin. I had a few questions for Willy that he answered by email, an extract for which runs alongside the review in the current issue. I thought it might be worth running the whole interview here.

Anyone who happened to catch Graham Norton's show on Friday night might have been surprised to see Richard Ayoade sharing the sofa with Kylie Minogue, Russell Crowe and Cameron Diaz: chat show royalty, and Ayoade's presence among them suggests things have turned out very well for the bloke from The IT Crowd.

To be a fan of Gillian Welch, as many Uncut readers will appreciate, requires an uncommon degree of faithfulness and patience. In 18 years, she has released just five albums; given that the gap between the last one (2011’s The Harrow And The Harvest) and its predecessor (2003’s Soul Journey) ran to eight years, a follow-up may still be some way off.

Some highlights to see/hear this week: Neil Young playing “Thrasher” for the first time (technically, second time I think) in 36 years; well over an hour of amazing Can footage from 1970; the new Jack White track; and Olga Bell’s album, which seems to suggest that I prefer the Dirty Projectors, or at least their spin-offs, when the singing is in Russian.

It was Nick Lowe's 65th birthday this week, an occasion that had me pottering around the Memory Shed, where I came across the following story, written about a much younger Nick.

Coogan and Brydon return for more Michael Caine impressions: this time, in the sun...

Enter The Slasher House, the debut album from Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks, consisting of Dave Portner (aka Avey Tare), Angel Deradoorian and Jeremy Hyman, is released on April 7. Avey Tare’s psychedelic journey with Animal Collective, though, is also worth checking out – in this archive feature from Uncut’s September 2012 (Take 184) issue, Stephen Troussé chats to the band about their wide-ranging career so far. “We got terrible reviews…” Interview: Stephen Troussé

Lots to get stuck into this week, though I think it’s worth drawing special attention to the superb William Tyler EP and, in the week the Pixies announce a newish album, a pointedly excellent Kim Deal track with Morgan Nagler.