Jamie xx: In Waves review – bright, blissful bangers for 3am on big speakers

Filled with guest stars from his xx bandmates to Robyn, this long-gestating second solo album picks up where In Colour left off, and deepens its dancefloor devotion

Romy review – a masterclass in bittersweet feeling

Showcasing her debut solo album, last year’s Mid Air, the xx frontwoman escapes the elegant restraint of her band with a set full of euphoric rhythms and unambiguous hymns to her wife

Romy: Mid Air review – xx singer shines through dancefloor gems

Expertly produced with Jamie xx, Fred Again and Stuart Price, Romy Madley Croft’s debut solo album tops off vivid house and trance tunes with pop smarts and personal lyrics

The 50 best albums of 2022

In an unprecedented year of change in music, albums of all genres confounded expectations – from vulnerable rap to pop with gravitas. Listen your way to our No 1 album of the year

Parklife festival review – Manchester turns night to day with punishing party energy

Liam Gallagher is incongruous, but prompts massive singalongs, while the xx and Confidence Man are other big successes

Bestival review – Pet Shop Boys and battleship raves keep spirits stormproof

Pet Shop Boys, Dizzee Rascal and A Tribe Called Quest’s last ever gig all added to a gloriously vibrant weekend that kept the boutique festival in glittering mood

The xx review – maximalist extravaganza amps up the fun

A beefed-up sound and a beautifully accomplished stage show signal a more outward looking approach from a band with a few tricks up their sleeve

The xx: I See You review – stepping out of their own shadow

Their last album carried the sense of a band unsure where to go after the success of their debut, but now they seem to have cracked that problem

The xx: I See You review – a new touch of colour

The xx have come out of their shell for their least insular album yet – but don’t expect Justin Bieber

Lovebox review – from mirrorball prom to neon hulas, a rave of two halves

East London’s two-day DJ Jerusalem swings from vivid genre-clashes to sedate neo-soul enlivened, finally, by a momentous LCD Soundsystem

Jamie xx: In Colour review – downbeat dance debut stays on the right side of strange

Jamie Smith’s debut is a little more playful than the xx’s hushed minimalism and flirts with being overly tasteful

Jamie xx: In Colour review – larging it, for introverts

The xx’s producer reconfigures old-school house on a nuanced debut album that strips the genre of its laddishness

Zaba review – Glass Animals’ cool but clinical debut

The Oxford band's debut ticks boxes for coolness – but none for originality, writes Paul Mardles

Walls, A*M*E, All Dom Wrong: this week’s new tracks

Walls | A*M*E | All Dom Wrong | VV Brown | The xx | Avril Lavigne

The xx – review

Deep beneath Manchester's Victoria station, the XX managed a stunningly intimate coup de theatre, writes Dave Simpson