wearethelastbeatniks

Having died on the operating table, Josh Homme has returned with an incredible new QOTSA album with help from his friends – Alex Turner, Trent Reznor, Dave Grohl, and, oh yes, Elton John. Full story inside contains life-changing moments, riding motorbikes with the Arctic Monkeys and watching Game Of Thrones with Jake Shears.

A few weeks ago Canadian electro popstar Grimes wrote a long-awaited post on Tumblr about the perils of being female in the music industry. And loads of fellow females in the music industry agree with her! Has she started a new wave of rock’n’roll feminism? Angel Haze, Deap Vally and more discuss…

An 8-page pullout looking at all the biggest summer shindigs with all the must-know info on who you need to see and which festi-trends you need to follow. Don’t miss!

Back sooner than expected with fourth album ‘Once I Was An Eagle’, Laura Marling receives the NME Review treatment. Will it be even more of a masterpiece than her previous efforts?

Alex Kapranos gives NME the skinny on the long-awaited fourth Franz Ferdinand album ‘Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action’. It almost ended up sounding like Dr Feelgood crossed with Daft Punk… apparently.

Is this really the end for Sonic Youth? Thurston Moore on new project Chelsea Light Moving, lecturing at the Jack Kerouac School Of Disembodied Poetics, playing “Burroughs rock” and, uhm, staring at goldfish.

This new These New Puritans album – genius or pretentious shite? How will Kurt Vile stand up to the punishment of our Braincells quiz? What rare footage will we be seeing in the latest Bowie rock doc? What did Yuck do next? Who rocked The Great Escape? And what the giddy Christ were The Knife doing at their surreal Roundhouse gig?

Alt-J, Savages, ATP and Carl Barat live plus new albums from Mount Kimbie, Frankie & The Heartstrings and Sean Nicholas Savage!