Guardian Music — Michael Gira says two-hour epic, featuring Karen O and members of Low, is 'the complete synthesis' of his workThe noise pioneers Swans will return this summer with a double-album featuring Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, members of Low and Akron/Family. ... more info

Guardian Music — Devendra Banhart? James Yorkston? Mumford and Sons?! Our indie prof asks who is the folkiest of them allIs the folk thing finished yet?Alex Kapranos via TwitterFolk originates from the German word "volk", meaning people, and therefore a fairly inclu... more info

NME - Radar — If you were an A & R in Brooklyn right now, you’d be staking out the vegan restaurants. Before he found his place in the musical cosmos, Darwin Deez worked at the same one in which Devendra Banhart used to toil over hot tofu salad. Now, NYC’s new... more info

Guardian Music — The best of your comments on the latest films and musicAfter the great guitarist Bert Jansch died last week, Pete Paphides penned a lengthy tribute for Film&Music – a tribute a great many of you appreciated (and which brought tears to the eyes of ... more info

Here Comes The Flood — Highlights of the Bridge School Benefit Concerts will be released on October 24th on Reprise celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the event that was founded by Neil Young. Most of the tracks are previously unreleased. The Brian Wilson led all-star r... more info

L.A. Times - Pop & Hiss — Bert Jansch dies of cancer at 67. British folk guitarist Jansch influenced musicians from Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, Donovan, Paul Simon to contemporary players such as Devendra Banhart. more info

Guardian Music — Pioneering folk guitarist dies following two-year battle with cancerBert Jansch, a leading figure in the British folk revival of the 60s and one of the most respected musicians of his generation, has died aged 67 following a long battle with cancer.A... more info

Guardian Music — (Island)The success of Jack Johnson and (non-surfing but Cornwall-affiliated) Newton Faulkner has created an inviting niche for beach-bum strummers. Ben Howard, 24, is more earnest and a touch artier than most. His acoustic style recalls Faulkner but... more info

Guardian Music — Ghostpoet, On tourSometimes funny, always verbally adept, Obaro Ejimiwe, AKA Ghostpoet, is about as close as you can get to a post-dubstep Arctic Monkeys. But crossover seems to be the last thing on his mind: with dark and occasionally oppressive mus... more info

Guardian Music — Nice girls singing jaunty melodies? Don't you believe it – there's more to these two than meets the inattentive earHometown: Texas and Amsterdam.The lineup: Erin Kleh (vocals, guitar), Tash ter Braak (vocals, guitar), Paul Durbin (percussion), and ... more info