Guardian Music — As Elizabeth Fraser announces she's joining the Meltdown lineup, we'd like to hear your thoughts on her former bandElizabeth Fraser, singer in much-loved 4AD band Cocteau Twins, this week announced she is to play two dates at the Royal Festival Hall ... more info

Gigwise — Planningtorock and Cocteau Twins' Liz Fraser on London festival bill more info

Guardian Music — Exclusive: Singer with 1980s band who has 'the voice of God' persuaded to play two dates at Royal Festival Hall She has not performed solo since the Cocteau Twins split in 1998, but Elizabeth Fraser, whose spectral voice was once described as "the v... more info

Guardian Music — Lo-fi R&B melodies meet new age atmospherics in Montreal-based artist's hypnotic weirdo popThree weeks barricaded inside a room without food, sleep or company. It sounds like the kind of thing you'd only put yourself through if you were quitting hero... more info

Guardian Music — A group biography of independent labelsBack when I should have been studying for my O-levels, I, like a lot of earnest teenagers and bedroom bards in the 1980s, spent much of my free time writing and assembling badly photocopied fanzines. They had La... more info

Guardian Music — Late-80s home of the Cocteau Twins and Pixies has "a certain class", and a host of new artists faithful to its aestheticWhat is it about a record label that makes it the sort of place you want to spend time in? When it first emerged in the 1980s, 4AD... more info

Guardian Music — This Oakland rap duo's free mixtapes are so good, we can't wait to hear what they sound like when they get paidHometown: North Oakland, California.The lineup: Squadda B and MondreM.A.N.The background: Main Attrakionz were on the December 2011 cover o... more info

Totally Fuzzy — Darkness-looming Italian gothic metal belters Lacuna Coil are back for their sixth go-round, Dark Adrenaline. Dropping January 24 via their longtime home Century Media, the album matches their timeless, ever-bombastic, black-clad swoon with some o... more info

Guardian Music — Alexis Petridis picks his highlights of the year aheadKing Creosote and Jon HopkinsOne of 2011's low-key delights was Diamond Mine, the Mercury-nominated collaboration between Fife singer-songwriter King Creosote and electronic musician Jon Hopkins: ... more info

Guardian Music — This 'gnarly version of Enya' veers between acoustica and atmospherica – but it's definitely a case of the weirder the betterHometown: London.The lineup: Astrud Steehouder (vocals, music).The background: Paper Dollhouse is the adopted name of Astru... more info