The xx
Oliver Sim, Jamie Smith and Romy Madley Croft showcase their third album I See You. Rewiring the trio’s trademark melancholia, Smith’s extracurricular DJ activities can be heard in its Caribbean horn fanfares, garage rhythms, a Hall & Oates sample and the flashes of hedonism that echo throughout.
Nottingham, 4 March; Manchester, 5 & 6 Mar; London, 8 to 15 Mar; touring to 17 March
Laura Marling
Six albums down and still in her 20s, the Americana songwriter returns with more poised, poetic wisdom, literary references and twisted romance. Semper Femina – her latest record – strings together her observations on womanhood during what she describes as a particularly “masculine time in her life”. Presence of beard and beer belly yet to be confirmed.
Leeds, 8 March; Bristol, 9 March; Glasgow, 10 March; touring to 28 March
The Weeknd
Bringing diamante-encrusted debauchery and hollow Hollywood glamour to the UK, the Canadian R&B artist’s fondness for meaningless hookups and face-debilitating drug use should be a spectacle, his recent fame forcing this once skulking crooner into becoming a charismatic showman.
Manchester, 5 March; London, 7 & 8 March; Glasgow, 10 March; touring to 14 March
Mitski
The New Yorker arrives armed with tracks about hurt feelings, alienation and all-round angst – bittersweet tales from her awkward coming-of-age (again) album Puberty 2, which are given heft when paired with her barbed folk, gnarly post-punk and slacker college rock melodies.
Lil Uzi Vert
The Philadelphian rapper squeezes a solo show into his run of Weeknd supports. With a thriving online fanbase – SoundCloud awarded him his own trophy for the most new followers in 2016 – he’ll be flexing his skills as the kaleidoscopic king of hip-hop’s youth revolution.
