Sharon Van Etten is my favourite female singer and her latest release, Trouble, goes straight into her top ten for me. After delving deeply into electronica she has emerged with a new band and a new sound.

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Garth Hudson was the classically trained muso of The Band, giving gravitas to the group that arguably invented the Americana genre.

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I’m not always a fan of slavishly retro sounds but I can make an exception for the funky, murky psychedelia of Project Gemini – the musical vision of Paul Osborne.

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Skinshape is a new name to me but I’ve enjoyed discovering their mostly instrumental blend of atmospheric trip-hop with ’60s and ’70s funk, reggae, soul and psych-rock.

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I’m startled to learn that Will Oldham has been making music now for 32 years – for the first four years as Palace (and variations thereon) and, after a brief interlude under his own name, as Bonnie “Prince” Billy. 

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Iggy Pop returns to what he does best with Strung Out Johnny, a powerful song about addiction, from his 2023 album Every Loser.

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Mogwai return with Fanzine Made Of Flesh, a characteristically bizarre and sinister new song and video from forthcoming album The Bad Fire.

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Genre-bending punk survivors The Mekons turn their ire towards British imperialism in general, and the Irish potato famine in particular, on a new album called Horror.

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My December playlist, as you might expect, features a handful of Christmas tunes towards the end. But it’s also got some eclectic choices for a cold winter month, kicking off with a much-needed winter warmer of Electricity. There’s a prominent African flavour to blast away the chills, and some vintage jazz and funk.