Guardian Music — With a voice that makes her sound older than her 23 years, Canadian singer Al Spx – aka Cold Specks – trades in haunting, hymnal 'doom soul'Who is she? Her other name is Al Spx, and she's a 23-year-old Canadian singer, now living in London, wher... more info

Guardian Music — YouTube and Grooveshark might rip off musicians – but not iTunes. The Who guitarist's John Peel lecture was off the markPete Townshend's John Peel lecture made him sound like a dinosaur wishing for the good ol' days. He said people who share music ... more info

Guardian Music — Tell us what music you've been enjoying recently, and listen to some recommendationsThings get a bit heavy in this week's playlist, with Iron Maiden and Enslaved bringing a large dash of metal to proceedings. To temper that we have Belle & Sebastian ... more info

Nialler9 — As well as Florence + The Machine, Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble, Tom Waits, Laura Veirs, Kuedo, Buraka Som Sistema, Oneohtrix Point Never, Kuedo, Phantogram, Beach Boys, Cass McCombs, Little Xs For Eyes, Wild Flag. more info

LargeHeartedBoy — Fresh Air interviews Tom Waits about his new album, Bad as Me. "For a songwriter, you don't really go to songwriting school; you learn by listening to tunes. And you try to understand them and take them apart and see... more info

Guardian Music — Bishopsgate Centre, LondonBoth power trio and a supergroup that spans three generations, expectations were high for this soldout concert. Drummer Chad Taylor was a lynchpin of the Chicago Underground scene and lineups that joined the dots between pos... more info

Detroit Free Press — I was laughing out loud and then choking back tears while first absorbing the kaleidoscopic moods of the superb new Tom Waits album “Bad As Me” ( * * * * out of four stars, in stores now, Anti-). The gamut of emotions was reminiscent of what I fe... more info

Mercury News, California — The new disc swirls with adventure and includes the instant-classic ballad 'Back in the Crowd,' the stomping march 'Hell Broke Luce' and the transcendent closer 'New Year's Eve,' a quiet yarn of a waltz. more info

Guardian Music — Our music team pick the songs or albums, old or new, they just can't turn offGrandaddy He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot The opening track from Grandaddy's wonderful 2000 album, The Sophtware Slump, is a gorgeous, slo-mo symphony of fear and u... more info

Guardian Music — (Fuzzy Moon) The great British jazz singer Norma Winstone has just passed her 70th. Having spent much of her career working with composers who've used her range and precision as a texture, she has blossomed in recent years, with the superb Grammy-nom... more info