The former Scottish first minister writes of his in-laws’ plight and the tragedy of those who weren’t so lucky A week into Israel’s bombing of Gaza in 2023, which followed Hamas’s deadly terrorist attack on Israel, Scotland’s then first minister Humza Yousaf received a text from his mother-in-law,…

Activision; PC, PS5, Switch 2, Xbox From parkour over Manhattan rooftops and car chases in Paris to the climactic battle at a North Korean air base, the developers have thrown absolutely everything at the game And so we return perhaps one final time to Call of Duty’s Modern Warfare strand, with…

(Roundhouse, London) With Jorja Smith, Mark Ronson and others reinterpreting Back to Black for its 20th anniversary, most of the singers are eclipsed by the memory of Winehouse It’s 20 years since Amy Winehouse released her masterpiece Back to Black and 15 since she died at a frighteningly young…

(tak:til) The nine-piece London-based group take a radically fresh approach to traditional music, sounding raging, lo-fi and joyful as they link Britain’s violent past to its present Those thus far unaware of Shovel Dance Collective’s bracing approach to folk should probably note that their third…

Nintendo Switch 2; Nintendo/Nintendo Bringing a holiday vibe and a generous selection of sport-themed games, this is exactly what you want from a family video game When the first Nintendo Switch Sports brought the effortless fun of Wii Sports back into my living room in 2022, I was frankly…

A woman living in California discovers her mother may have been a merciless enforcer of the Islamic revolution, in an intriguing novel of inheritance and identity “It’s a little scary, isn’t it, inheritance?” That’s what Heti, the protagonist of Laleh Khadivi’s latest novel, remarks to a “soccer…

Liverpool makes for an unconvincing Gotham City in this effectively gross but otherwise middling attempt to milk money from a lesser-known Batman villain A sense of desperation is understandably in the air over at DC, the company, like Marvel, slowly realising that the mass superhero fever has…

As video games chase spectacle, Modern Warfare 4 makes a case for putting character and consequence at the heart of its biggest battles • Don’t get Pushing Buttons delivered to your inbox? Sign up here In these strange, subdued weeks before the much-anticipated release of Grand Theft Auto VI, there…

As she auctions off her treasures, the synth-pop savant opens up about her eccentric style and why she doesn’t believe in cancel culture Before Cyndi Lauper rose to fame as one of the most singular pop breakouts of the 1980s, she was queen of the cash register at the edgy Manhattan boutique…

Published four months after her death, the poet’s reflections on mortality are both agonising and profoundly life-affirming There are no atheists in foxholes, goes the saying, and indeed social scientists and evolutionary biologists have argued that the experience of war or conflict drives…

Hailed as a prodigy at 16, the Saddleworth singer-songwriter was patronised in the press and lost his musical path. Now courted by imaginative new bands, he explains his route back Kiran Leonard presses the tips of his fingers together and looks at me solemnly across the table. “I don’t know if I’m…

This collection of essays from the beloved novelist is full of gem-like insights on art and books When Tessa Hadley was a child, someone gave her a copy of Lois Lenski’s Papa Small, which follows Mr Small and his family through a typical week. Papa Small goes to work, Mama Small cooks the supper,…

He gave Jimi Hendrix his gear, freaked out Frank Sinatra, inspired Norman Mailer – and tried to topple the American war machine. As a documentary about his band the Fugs comes out, the 87-year-old gives a rare interview “Charles Manson once wrote me a letter saying, ‘If I was as powerful as you…

The Seinfeld creator went from luckless standup to multi-millionaire – but what’s his secret? Larry David agreed to this authorised biography with a five-word email: “Oh Jesus. If we must.” As Blake J Harris tells it, the comedy writer has always been adept at finding reasons not to do something,…

(Polydor) Its release delayed by ill health, Kiwanuka’s latest was made in tandem with 2024’s Small Changes – but it’s much more than a mere companion album In November 2024, Michael Kiwanuka released his fourth album, Small Changes, an extremely poised and self-assured piece of work. After three…

PC; Origame Digital This odd but absorbing adventure sends you waddling across Antarctica in search of an eldritch entity – uncovering a world far stranger than it first appears A Nazi kneels down on frozen snow, staring at an endless Antarctic horizon. Another holds a gun to his head, ready to end…

The director of Hunt for the Wilderpeople and Jojo Rabbit turns Kazuo Ishiguro’s AI fable into a twee, tiresome tale of love and grief Taika Waititi detonates an explosion of postmodern quirkiness and ironic dorkiness in this unbearably mannered, unspeakably acted film. It’s a slice of sentimental…

The studio is swapping the Mushroom Kingdom’s vivid palette for the blood-soaked grit of military action series Where do you go after Mario? It’s a question the team at Ubisoft Paris found itself pondering three years ago after wrapping up work on the charming turn-based tactics adventure, Mario +…

Looking for a new reading recommendation? Here are some brilliant new paperbacks, from a time-travelling fantasy novel to an eclectic essay collection. Discuss what you’re reading in paperback in the comments *** Continue reading...