Hard rock enthusiast Sanae Takaichi beamed as she met the rockers in her Tokyo office.
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DEARY
Birding (Bella Union)
Summoning inspirations such as Cocteau Twins and other dreampop pioneers, on their debut album London’s Deary do good not to fade helplessly into the genre, and it’s their strong visual identity, storytelling ability, and lyrical emphasis that sets them aside from merely playing tribute to those who came before them.
Birding’s opener Smile captures this perfectly. Delving into the stark topic of violence against women, using darker riffs and heavier moments of percussion to reflect such intensity, frontwoman Dottie Cockram sings with a lush yet haunting quality: “Not everyman, just another / Somebody’s son, somebody’s brother.”
More surprising are the instrumental tracks – quiet yet all-consuming, these moments are reminders of the world Deary wish to build when lyrics and vocals take a backseat. On Birding, a beautiful piano melody paired with ethereal windchimes concludes the album subtly, if not anticlimactically, and leaving listeners wondering if that child ever took flight.
words RHYS JAMES
CORROSION OF CONFORMITY
Good God / Baad Man (Nuclear Blast)
Corrosion Of Conformity’s first album since the death of drummer Reed Mullin is a comeback of sorts. The Raleigh rockers have delivered a double set of hard rock-blues-thrash with interesting, cohesive punk undertones. Although the album is presented as two halves, the divide isn’t stark, and the snatches of conversation and radio-like fragments between numbers give songs room to breathe.
One of the album’s most striking moments is Brickman: almost a folk anthem, it could have worked as the closing number instead of Forever Amplified, which ends with a flatline tone and is the only jarring moment. There are riffs galore, but no sense that COC are trying to impress anyone; even the bleeped word in Swallowing The Anchor is playful rather than shocking. In a strange way, Good God / Baad Man is the most relaxed album I’ve heard in a long time, and so well-produced it feels effortless.
words LYNDA NASH
The British perfume designer and Zara are being sued by Estée Lauder over a collaboration.
Why are animal stories so popular?
If you have a pet that you love, whether it’s a dog, a cat, a budgie or a tarantula, there’s a good chance you will enjoy seeing videos about similar animals online.
One of the most famous is Nala the cat in New York with more than 4m Instagram followers on the @nala_cat account. Nala has made more than £80m from advertising different products. That’s a lot of animal lovers being encouraged to buy stuff!
A 2025 study led by Professor Ghalia Shamayleh from Essec Business School in France found that sharing pictures of cute animals with people we care about, in order to make them smile, is an activity known as pebbling. It gets its name from a group of penguins that present pebbles to potential mates as a sign of affection. Prof Shamayleh told the BBC Science Focus magazine: “Our research observes a similar behaviour in humans interacting on social media.”
She continued: “We share them with our loved ones as a token of affection, to reinforce our relationships.” Animal posts were seen by the researchers as a good example of ‘pebbles’.
Other research has found that videos that bring out strong emotions in us, such as joy, are twice as likely to be shared on our socials. If you love dogs and are a huge Star Wars fan, the sight of George Cowboy as Chewie could very likely make you joyful enough to share it.
Star Wars is a hugely popular series of films and TV spin-offs. Dogs are well-loved pets. That means they are relatable to lots of people and gives a sense of connection – again, this makes them very shareable. Also, if something is easy to share on our socials and has hashtags which are popular or trending, then it can quickly reach a big audience – helping George, and his other furry friends, get all those millions of likes.
The bold and sensual fashion house has been struggling with debt amidst a slowdown in global luxury spending.
The British actor played the villainous character in the original movie franchise from 2005 to 2011.
Zimmer, who has has produced scores for movies including Dune, The Lion King, Interstellar and True Romance, previously stated that Labrinth had “shaped the show’s identity”, and that he was “looking forward to contributing to the ongoing story and helping shape this new season through music”.
A Tourette’s campaigner involuntarily shouted a racial slur while two black actors were on stage.
Manon announced in February she was taking a break from the group, who play Coachella this weekend.