A house

He's rumoured to be unveiling the project at Cannes Film Festival

One of those weeks where the distractions of putting a magazine together and, right now, England vs Pakistan, have conspired to limit blogging activity. Michael Yardy: I am dumbstruck.

Eclectic, hard-hitting brilliance at a breathless pace: the Modfather looks to rock’s future on his 10th solo album...

Hoylake band also head out on tour this July

In the two or three years since Ariel Pink put out an album, it seems that a lot of undergroundish American music has fallen under the thrall of his curious discography. From hypnagogic pop to chillwave, and all faintly daft genres in between, Pink’s music has become a kind of touchstone for bands who specialise in distressed, strung-out lo-fi renderings of the mainstream music of their youth or beyond (focusing on the ‘80s, as a rule).

A packed Borderline gets suitably rowdy later on, when Port O’Brien turn in a surprisingly rocking set. For the moment, though, the crowd’s hushed. Walking in on Laura Gibson, mid-song, you could have heard the proverbial pin drop. People are hanging on her every word, their muted quiet close to something like reverence.

Blur guitarist isn't keen on the superpower

Scots also plan new album for 2010

I’m sure most of you have heard the grim news about Mark Linkous in the past few days. I can’t really add much to the memorials that have accumulated about him and his music; on the odd occasion when I met him – all well over a decade ago now – he always came across as a gentle and reserved man, who told harrowing personal stories but at the same time didn’t seem to give that much away about what he was actually like. I have, though, dug out this Sparklehorse piece I wrote for NME in 1996. As is so often the way of these things, it’s hard not to see an awful poignancy in his last couple of quotes.

Martin Scorsese finds his way in the unfamiliar territory of gothic noir – set in a mental asylum...