I'm sure part of my positive response to Grimm's new album comes from the fact that I grew up listening to the kinds of music it pays tribute to. But another part of it arises from the high-quality songwriting and musicianship, the melodicism, the literate lyrics, and the strong vocals – a pretty powerful formula.

The five-piece vocal group debuts in New York and Los Angeles as its sophomore album soars in the UK and aims for American success.

A the denizens of an Irish country pub chat and gossip, then go on to spin the supernatural tales that are the meat of the drama, a vivid outside world of time and space unfolds – and a world beyond as well.

The crisp energy of the album's expertly performed acoustic arrangements, produced by the great singer-songwriter and all-around instrumentalist Darrell Scott, makes the songs feel both timeless and timely.

A veteran music journalist 'tells the full story of how the Beatles broke up, how the Stones achieved the greatest commercial success in rock history, and how the music business became what it is today.'

Streaming services like Spotify are taking us "back to the future" in a way, reminiscent of the days of free-form radio DJs. Except that today, artists themselves are designing some of these creative, meaningful playlists. Emily West's new Spotify playlist is a prime example.

Two recent releases from bassist-bandleaders show how jazz continues to thrive in the most disparate of musical "cultures," even with its relatively small, specialized audience.

At a moment when lots of theater companies are experimenting with "immersive" productions, a solid traditional one like this meaty comedy, with all the creative pieces fitting together just right, is the true immersive art.

Just about every song bears the imprint of a thoughtful survey of pop music styles from the 1960s to today. If they don't all reach the heights to which they aspire, enough do to make the album one of the more creative pop efforts of the year, and the best are hypnotically compelling.

But they're the only two female characters 'Empire' readers voted into their Top 10 character lists.