Guardian Music — Two new albums show a surge in forward thinking in a derivative ageIt probably helps that you like jazz when it comes to swashbuckling new albums by Polar Bear (Peepers – quick-witted, feisty, melancholy) and Brad Mehldau ( the two-CD Highway ... more info

Guardian Music — Paul Morley delves into experimental jazz with Mercury-nominated Shoreditch quintet Polar Bear and Florida-born pianist Brad Mehldau It probably helps that you like jazz when it comes to swashbuckling new albums by Polar Bear (Peepers – quick-... more info

Guardian Music — (Virgin)You can read Laura Marling's progress through her album titles, from 2008's Mercury-nominated but youthful Alas I Cannot Swim to the confident, fully-formed I Speak Because I Can. Still only 20, she has delivered songs worthy of an English fo... more info

DrownedInSound — Three years ago, Paul Marshall released Vultures to a largely delirious fanfare of critical acclaim. Echoing the withdrawn sentiments of a young Nick Drake or Tim Buckley, his subsequent signing to esteemed independent Bella Union seemed to ensure hi... more info

Guardian Music — The suicide of Sparklehorse's Mark Linkous means the loss of a prolific – if melancholic – musical talent. Rob Fitzpatrick pays tributeThe really upsetting thing about the sudden death of Mark Linkous was that it just wasn't much of a s... more info

Guardian Music — Even after six months of listening, I still find Laura Marling's latest album so beautiful that it can bring me close to tearsIf, over the last six months, you have happened to ask me just what I have been listening to, most likely I will have raved ... more info

Rolling Stone — Whenever rock & roll appears in advertisements, some fans protest. A few years ago, Rolling Stone tracked the Worst Rock Sell-Outs Ever! (”All you need is Luvs” … diapers) and the Best Rock Sell-Outs Ever! (VW adopts Nick Drake’s “Pink Moon... more info

Guardian Music — His debut album was nominated for the Mercury prize – then his label locked away the followup. For his third album, Fionn Regan is going it aloneFionn Regan sits in the ­window of an east London cafe, all spindly limbs and a great scoop of ... more info

Guardian Music — Hammersmith Apollo, LondonIn a 1999 Guardian critics' poll of ­alternative albums, Todd ­Rundgren was the only artist apart from Nick Drake with two albums in the top 10. One was A Wizard, a True Star, his 1973 cult masterpiece made up of a sid... more info

Guardian Music — Last week we asked you to remember music about forgetting. Now we want you to suggest songs that have gone to la la landAmid all the songs about forgetting, those about remembering, those about trying not to remember, and, finally, those about gettin... more info