Brandon Flowers: Thrasher review – Killers frontman’s country pivot is a rootin’ tootin’ cowboy-bootin’ hoot!

Even a couple of bafflingly misguided social commentary songs can’t detract from the joys of Flowers’ classically full-throated commitment to the Nashville bit

Ariana Grande Eternal Sunshine tour review: pop illusion at its most effective – for good and bad

On her last live dates before she steps back from the public eye, Grande holds her own – but it’s also impossible to avoid feeling concerned for her wellbeing

Chelsea Wolfe: The Dark review – existential reflection goes from whisper to gothic scream

The genre-blending Californian artist casts off past toxic influences with a powerful set of tender, brooding and emotionally charged songs that wouldn’t feel out of place as festival anthems

Olivia Rodrigo review – crushing riffs and infectious hooks at secret New York show

Playing to just 1,000 fans, Rodrigo’s pop-up show is a thrillingly intimate showcase of her tour de force talent

Ravyn Lenae: Blue Island review – from Suicide to Squarepusher, grunge to Janet, a pop one-off plots her unique path

Evoking everyone from Janet Jackson to Squarepusher, the US singer follows up her huge hit Love Me Not with stylistic diversity – and lyrics that defy her doubters

Ariana Grande: Petal review – calm, controlled anger at exes, fans and the media

Casting herself as a flower trampled underfoot, the superstar’s eighth album swaps the ​glitz of her Wicked years ​f​or dark blooms of haunted electronics

Shaboozey: The Outlaw Cherie Lee & Other Western Tales review – a striking addition to the rich canon of country concept albums

Beneath the Hollywood narrators, Pink Floyd-y interludes and accompanying comic books lies songwriting that proves the Tipsy singer’s breakout success was no fluke

Luke Combs review – regular Joe megastar brings the arena-sized party home

Despite his humble persona, the highest-selling country artist of all time has the vocal firepower and heavyweight hits to deliver two hours of crowd-pleasin’ pyrotechnics

Bon Dylan review – Justin Vernon’s Bob Dylan covers set brings magic to Wisconsin

At his Eauxs Claire festival, Bon Iver dazzles with a one-off set dedicated to the folk legend

The Strokes: Reality Awaits review – a perfect marriage of mayhem and melody on their best album in years

Allying the crackpot strangeness of Julian Casablancas’ side projects with his band’s gift for pop minimalism, the New Yorkers are on playful, joyous form

Tyla: A*Pop review – old-school pop superstar transports us back to more carefree times

The South African singer reflects on love’s highs and lows on her second album, nimbly flipping between moods but with her voice always holding attention

Charli xcx: Music, Fashion, Film review – slippery search into selfhood that hits just as hard as Brat

How do you follow up the album that made you a star – and a caricature? In classic Charli style: with a pivot to guitar and a meta masterpiece about the instability of identity

Shania Twain: Little Miss Twain review – rootsy revival strays from the dirt track to the middle of the road

The country legend’s seventh album revisits her troubled early life but plays it safe with zany humour and fluffy songs about young love

Bruno Mars review – half seedy club, half church service as diminutive singer answers fans’ prayers

Mars sings every line like it’s his big solo in a show that leans more on his stage presence than pyro and pageantry

Loathe: A Stranger to You review – metalcore masters offer stylistic swerves and surprising beauty

Granite-hard riffola collides with balm-like electronics and tinkling jazz piano in a thrilling fourth album of musical metamorphosis