Few bands have the reliably populist touch of The Proclaimers, so it's no surprise to learn there's a musical in the works based on their catalogue.

Anyone coming to Gotye's third album via twinkling torch-song-cum-YouTube-phenomenon "Somebody That I Used to Know" may be surprised, then disappointed.

Atholl is a man who keeps his feelings tightly zipped inside a sturdy fleece.

Wild Beasts were, they now admit, on the brink of getting proper jobs when their second album Two Dancers got a surprise Mercury nomination in 2010. They enter their third with an actual audience awaiting it, and the distinct potential to "do an Elbow".

Strange they should mention "murky" because the music within is as clear as Perrier.

Two years may be a long absence, but as his fans readily accede to singer Matthew Murphy's request for another wave, the empathy between both parties remains strong.

R.E.M's 15th album could trade places with almost any of the previous 14.

R.E.M., by bookending the album with the ringing guitar drone of "Discoverer", are suggesting Collapse Into Now has a conceptual unity absent from their recent albums; and certainly, the recurrent themes of conclusion, starting over and rebuilding do lend it a muscular sense of purpose. That muscularity finds its musical equivalent in the rock heft of tracks like "Alligator_Aviator_ Autopilot_Antimatter" and "All the Best", although it's the more tender songs, such as "Überlin" and "Oh My Heart", which are the standouts, recalling Automatic for the People. The latter track, with its waltzing accordion, has a distinctly European flavour, while elsewhere the presence of mandolin/bouzouki folk-rockers like "It Happened Today" and "Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando and I" marks a welcome return to a more varied textural palette.

It's 10 years since Butlins holiday camp was first taken over by twee indie-folksters Belle & Sebastian for their Bowlie Weekender. Since then, the All Tomorrow's Parties festivals have become a fixture of the musical year. To celebrate, Butlins hosted Bowlie 2, again curated by Belle & Sebastian.

B&S's eighth studio album comes after a four-and-a-half year wait, but the hiatus hasn't altered them one jot.

When not working with the likes of Björk, Antony Hegarty and Bonnie "Prince" Billy, contemporary classical prodigy Nico Muhly is best known for his choral pieces, such as 2008's Mothertongue and A Good Understanding, so it's no surprise that this dance work commissioned for the 25th anniversary of the Stephen Petronio Company should open and close with a children's choir.

The sudden death of Sir Christopher Moran, who collapsed while taking part in a triathlon at the age of 54, means the RAF has lost an officer who looked destined to lead the force. As Commander in Chief Headquarters Air Command, he was the RAF's second most senior officer. He was widely tipped to become Chief of the Air Staff, having risen steadily through the ranks since winning his wings in 1978.