Nick Bollinger gets to grips with the glacial grooves of Icelandic quartet Vök.

In The Sampler this week Nick Bollinger discusses the glacial grooves of Icelandic quartet Vök; the Tennessee twang of Los Straitjackets; the solo debut of Berlin electronicist Daniel Brandt, and a set of big-hatted ballads from Nashville songwriter Chris Stapleton.

Elliott Childs assesses the latest from Canadian D.I.Y. exponent Mac Demarco.

Nick Bollinger talks to Benjamin Booker about Mexico, Mavis and his sophomore album.

Nick Bollinger reviews a set of country songs about passion's pitfalls from John Moreland.

In The Sampler this week Nick Bollinger talks to Benjamin Booker about Mexico, Mavis and his sophomore album, and reviews a set of country songs about passsion's pitfalls from John Moreland, while Elliott Childs assesses the latest from Canadian D.I.Y. exponent Mac DeMarco.

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is not just one of the biggest-selling albums in history; it might also be the most culturally significant. To mark the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ classic, Nick Bollinger discusses its impact, legacy and how it rates today, with Split Enz founder Mike Chunn, producer Ed Cake and teenage critic Toby McWilliams.

In The Sampler this week Nick Bollinger sets out to identify the various voices of Aldous Harding; a goth-themed album from long-running indie band The Mountain Goats; and the Cameroonian blues of Blick Bassy.

Nick Bollinger reviews a familiar yet strange sound which combines blues and Cameroonian folk song, and just about everything else.

There's a sense of theatre about Party, which subverts the typical notion of the singer-songwriter as confessor and beacon of authenticity. Aldous Harding seems to be giving herself permission to enjoy some of the success her astonishing music has found so far.