Wednesday 10th June 2026

Music

Is the dancefloor really dead?

Tongue-in-cheek as it may be, Charli xcx’s ‘Rock Music’ speaks to the structural issues actively decimating nightlife across the world, issues she addresses candidly on its follow-up, ‘SS26’, even if her motivations may be more aesthetic than political.

The rise of Stats.fm: Music as a signal of identity

It is far harder to maintain a separation between your taste, your identity, and how you are thought of by others.  

On Geese and the Cult of the Fake Fan

Great statistics could be drawn up about how often men in Oxford will want to talk to me about Geese. 

Who gets to speak? The rise of the male podcast epidemic

I couldn’t help but notice, however, that one of the reasons for my disillusionment with the genre was likely the glaring gender imbalance, often when it came to the most successful, well-known podcasts.

The New Music Celebrity

The glossy pages of the likes of NME and Rolling Stone were pored over by music aficionados in the past, hoping for a snippet of the intent of...

“Ladies, ladies, ladies, ladies” – the women at the forefront of lockdown releases

My initial self-isolation playlist contained what I thought I would want to listen to during this indoor period - wistful folk-rock and simmering ambient, the types...

“It’s Not a Phase, Mom!” – In Defence of Teenage Clichés

“I’m not like other girls,” comes the mocking cry from my little sister across the kitchen table – a phrase I’m pretty sure I’ve never actually...

Album Review: Hayley Williams’ ‘Petals for Armor’

In ‘Misery Business’, Paramore’s 2007 breakthrough hit, Hayley Williams claimed that “second chances, they don’t ever matter / people never change”. She’s been proving...

A Love Letter to Eurovision

I first discovered Eurovision in 2015. Idly flicking through the TV channels one fateful night, I stumbled onto the largest, glitteriest, and most confusing music competition on...

Review: Laura Marling’s ‘Song For Our Daughter’

Laura Marling’s seventh album, Song For Our Daughter, was scheduled for release later this year. But, like many other artists and entertainers, the likes of Dua Lipa...

Modern Classical: Locked Down, Looking Back

Ludovico Einaudi is in lockdown. With time to think - to take a walk in the fresh Mediterranean breeze - perhaps the Italian pianist could...

Review: Fiona Apple’s ‘Fetch The Bolt Cutters’

“All my particles disband and disperse/And I’ll be back in the pulse.” Music, to Fiona Apple, seems like a Schrodinger’s Cat kind of paradox; it relies...

Review: Jerskin Fendrix’s ‘Winterreise’

Weird things are happening in the world of pop music. Charli XCX and Carly Rae Jepsen have bounced back from ‘Boom Clap’ and ‘Call Me Maybe’...

Album Review: Rina Sawayama’s ‘SAWAYAMA’

Sofia Henderson celebrates a dynamic but thoughtful debut

A City Without Music?

Mila Ottevanger explores Oxford's place in music history...

Study music: ambience over annoyance

Jazz, techno, or lo-fi hip-hop beats, Emmaleigh Eaves asks what music best gets you into a productive zone and why...

Mad Dogs and Englishmen: 50 years on

In the spring of 1970, 50 years ago, a collection of musicians underwent the Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour, which came to be immortalised in a...

Say So, TikTok, and the ‘Viral Sleeper Hit’

William McCathie examines TikTok's hit-making capabilities

Music History: Django Reinhardt

George Newton reflects on the life of the jazz guitarist who defined an era.

Better to burn out or fade away? The crafting of musical legacy

Annabelle Grigg questions our valuing of self-destructive behaviour in the music industry.

Album Review: Dua Lipa’s ‘Future Nostalgia’

Emily Cope defends Dua Lipa's position as 'Britain's leading popstar'.

Album Review: Ruthie Collins’ ‘Cold Comfort’

Maxim Mower finds much to praise in a maturely sombre new country music star

Live Review: Jon Hopkins at the Brighton Dome

Jon Hopkins is not so much a polarising figure as one whose music can appeal to people for precisely opposite reasons. As beloved to...

Review: Four Tet’s ‘Sixteen Oceans’

Fred Waine praises Kieran Hebden's latest offering for its evocation of natural themes

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