(Unheard of Hope)
On their second collaborative album, the couple based in Mexico City add pop shimmer and thundering blastbeats to their unique, always-surprising sound

In just five years, Guatemalan cellist Mabe Fratti has become one of experimental music’s biggest names. In addition to her spellbinding solo releases, she is an eager collaborator, working with the likes of Efterklang, the improv quartet Amor Muere – which she co-founded in her adopted home of Mexico City – and with her romantic partner, guitarist Hector Tosta, as Titanic. On the latter’s superb 2023 debut, Vidrio, they pioneered a genre-agnosticism that veered from squealing free-jazz saxophone to hammering drum grooves and aggressively processed cello, always anchored in Fratti’s soaring falsetto. It heralded the arrival of a group who embraced experimentation as much as earwormy melodies.

On Hagen, the duo double down on their convictions, complementing their unusual arrangements with a newfound pop shimmer. Opener Lágrima del Sol sets the tone: sparse hand claps and shards of distorted guitar mark the rhythm for Fratti’s lilting nursery rhyme melody, then clattering drums burst through. When the song feels on the verge of falling apart, it suddenly takes on shades of 80s synth-pop, with Fratti singing softly over Phil Collins-worthy toms and twinkling keys. This kind of joyous surprise recurs throughout the record. Escarbo Dimensiones develops from a minimal arrangement of drums, bass and atonal vocals into soft funk that nods to Sade. La Dueña slips from distorted cello and cymbal washes into a dramatic synth ballad that channels Kate Bush’s yearning vocals; La Trampa Sale erupts from a trudging beat into an arena-sized, reverb-laden chorus.

Adrien Brody mesmerises in the Oscar-winning epic, while Spike Lee indulges in a New York love-in with his new crime thriller starring Denzel Washington

Adrien Brody mesmerises in the Oscar-winning epic, while Spike Lee indulges in a New York love-in with his new crime thriller starring Denzel Washington

So-called experts are warning women about men who try too hard to look like feminists. There are worse red flags than that

Picture a man sitting opposite you on public transport. He wields a copy of The Will to Change by bell hooks, and he takes care to parade the front cover or the spine lest any nearby strangers miss the title. He is in his 20s or 30s and conventionally attractive; maybe he has a dangly earring or two. There on his knee rests a tote bag. This man would not engage in loutish, careless behaviour like “manspreading” or placing all his stuff on the seats. And the tote bag probably bears the logo of an ethical brand or a bookshop. The bag is probably adorned with social-justice badges. If he showed you what music he is listening to, it might be, say, Lana Del Rey or Clairo.

Here we have the performative male – a new kind of vaguely problematic man to watch out for. And one who is the subject of all manner of viral TikToks and memes, and media coverage everywhere from GQ to the New York Times, which reported on a recent performative male contest in Seattle. For some reason when I picture him he always has curly hair. Big bouncy lustrous curls. You can probably add your own details, but you get the picture. The idea is that the performative male is a guy who goes about looking feminist and woke. The catch is that his aesthetic is curated to appeal to what he thinks women might like rather than being a totally earnest expression of his interests.

Rachel Connolly is the author of the novel Lazy City

So-called experts are warning women about men who try too hard to look like feminists. There are worse red flags than that

Picture a man sitting opposite you on public transport. He wields a copy of The Will to Change by bell hooks, and he takes care to parade the front cover or the spine lest any nearby strangers miss the title. He is in his 20s or 30s and conventionally attractive; maybe he has a dangly earring or two. There on his knee rests a tote bag. This man would not engage in loutish, careless behaviour like “manspreading” or placing all his stuff on the seats. And the tote bag probably bears the logo of an ethical brand or a bookshop. The bag is probably adorned with social-justice badges. If he showed you what music he is listening to, it might be, say, Lana Del Rey or Clairo.

Here we have the performative male – a new kind of vaguely problematic man to watch out for. And one who is the subject of all manner of viral TikToks and memes, and media coverage everywhere from GQ to the New York Times, which reported on a recent performative male contest in Seattle. For some reason when I picture him he always has curly hair. Big bouncy lustrous curls. You can probably add your own details, but you get the picture. The idea is that the performative male is a guy who goes about looking feminist and woke. The catch is that his aesthetic is curated to appeal to what he thinks women might like rather than being a totally earnest expression of his interests.

Rachel Connolly is the author of the novel Lazy City

• Attacking midfielder has agreed terms and had medical

• Chelsea could move for López as well as Garnarcho

Tottenham are poised to complete the £51.8m signing of Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig. Personal terms have been agreed with the attacking midfielder and a medical has taken place.

Barring any last-minute hitches the deal will be a major boost for Thomas Frank, who has been looking to add an attacking midfielder. Spurs have lost James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski to injury and have missed out on Eberechi Eze, who joined Arsenal from Crystal Palace, and Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White.