It has been another big year with a music calendar filled with quality releases by new artists and old hands. The Arts & Life team take a look at the albums that got them buzzing.
Art Angels Grimes
Any doubt that Claire Boucher is a visionary was crushed to dust with Art Angels, her first record as Grimes since 2011's equally stunning Visions. Boucher is a true auteur who meticulously perfects every facet of her art in studio, and delivers it to the world via a persona that's as bubbly as it is abrasive. Art Angels mixes pitch-perfect pop like California with pound-your-dashboard electro-scuzz like Kill V. Maim seamlessly. In one track you can easily see her being the world's biggest pop star, while in the next you realise that she's way too talented to ever be so. No one else is making music like this, and there might not be anyone else even capable.
* Kevin Jeffers
At Least For Now Benjamin Clementine
Poet, pianist, busker, balladeer – Benjamin Clementine's debut album signalled the arrival of a most singular talent. Years spent honing his craft on Paris Métro platforms meant the 27-year-old arrived fully formed, a holistic artistic voice both fresh and familiar. Backed fleetingly by beats and strings, At Least For Now captures Clementine's ample gifts as composer, musician, vocalist and lyricist in an unforced environment – his freewheeling piano cascades rawly, moving between musical passages of his mini-opera with a spontaneity compared to Nina Simone. On top Clementine's soaring, soulful voice urgently pours considered, crafted verse, packed with the power to twist emotion and thought alike. Don't just believe us – he won the Mercury Prize last month for a reason.
* Rob Garratt
Beauty Behind the Madness The Weeknd
While many of the year's finest records were motivated by world-changing intent or life-altering events, Abel Tesfaye, aka The Weeknd, hit the A-list with an album primarily pushed by his, ahem, love for the ladies. Although the word "love" might be over-legitimising things a touch. The two hit singles the album birthed could scarcely have been more different: I Can't Feel My Face was a jaunty pop romp; while The Hills was a dark, late-night journey. You wouldn't want to leave your partner alone with him for five minutes, but somehow Beauty Behind the Madness slapped its potential sleaziness down for a set of arresting R&B.
* Adam Workman
Carrie and Lowell Sufjan Stevens
With his seventh release, Carrie and Lowell, Stevens proved that no one is better at finding beauty – and melody to spare – in the quietest shadows of our darkest thoughts. He's written and performed about his complicated relationship with his late mother before, but this record full of elegies is his first since the eponymous Carrie's death in 2012 (the deathbed recollection Fourth of July would move anyone to tears). A truly personal deep dive into his psyche, Carrie and Lowell is a hauntingly gorgeous work, and a return to form for a man once considered the poster boy of hushed indie-folk.
* Kevin Jeffers
Chasing Yesterday Noel Gallagher's Highflying Birds
It's quite infuriating how Noel Gallagher does it. The 48-year-old takes familiar chord progressions – and in some cases lifts a whole bunch of lyrics – from classic songs and transforms them into something new and vital. This is partly the reason why the music slowly grows on you and refuses to be branded as trite. His second solo album, Chasing Yesterday, should put a stop to rumours that Oasis may reform anytime soon. The fact is that Gallagher has too much to express on his own. Tracks such as Riverman and Ballad of the Mighty I demonstrate he hasn't lost his knack for majestic choruses. The driving In The Heat of the Moment and the delicious groove of The Mexican show that swaggering spirit first displayed in Oasis hasn't been lost. None of it may sound remotely innovative, but then again, it's only rock'n'roll.
* Saeed Saeed
Compton: A Soundtrack Dr Dre
The hip-hop genre achieved another milestone with Dr Dre's third album Compton: A Soundtrack dropping unexpectedly in August. Inspired by his home city in Southern Los Angeles, the super-producer and rapper sounds positively revitalised with a thunderous and cinematic set of songs reminding the younger set to pay homage to the good doctor, all the while setting another benchmark for hip-hop production. As is the case with Snoop Dogg in The Chronic and Eminem in 2001, each Dre album elevates an artist from the underground to the mainstream. In the case of Compton, rappers Anderson Paak and Jon Connor have generated serious buzz from their appearances. In the case of Connor, the Michigan artist's crushing verse in One Shot is one of the best rapping performances of the year.
* Saeed Saeed
Déjà Vu Giorgio Moroder
Perhaps the most surprising comeback of the year arrived in the shape of 75-year-old producer Giorgio Moroder. Once recognised as disco's king, Moroder has been on hiatus for the best part of 30 years, turning his back on pop and dance at the very moment the world appeared to adore everything he put out. He returned to the fold this year with Déjà Vu, an infectious collection of pop, EDM and retro disco. Moroder always did keep good company and Déjà Vu is no exception, stringing together collaborations with artists including Sia, Charli XCX, Kylie Minogue and Foxes. The ensemble cast delivers an album that seems to drop the very best kind of mix tape into a mildly riotous house party. This is dance music to make you smile and laugh uproariously.
* Nick March
Depression Cherry Beach House
There comes a stage when memories once acrimonious take on a sepia glow courtesy of time and distance – those who experienced heartbreak know what I am talking about. Baltimore dream-pop duo Beach House perfectly crystallises those deep emotions in Depression Cherry. The fifth album finds them dialling it back somewhat to produce a sound revelling in its vastness as opposed to its volume. Victoria Legrand's bewitching vocals and haunting organ work blends seamlessly with Alex Scally lyrical guitar passages. Such sweeping sounds help cushion some of the lovelorn lyrics such as in Blue Birds: "If there should come a match before you, I would not ever try to capture you ... things change before they are over."
* Saeed Saeed
How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful Florence + The Machine
What an adrenalin-fuelled and gratifying year Florence Welch carved out for herself. From taking Glastonbury by storm in the summer to running with abundant energy around the stage in Abu Dhabi last month, it's been one heck of a career high. Her extraordinary success has been underpinned by How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, Florence + The Machine's best-selling third album, which is a brutal confessional on which Welch spares no one, least of all herself. This is the sound and the fury of a mind in turmoil and a performer approaching the peak of her powers. From the opening moments of Grammy-nominated Ship To Wreck onwards, Florence delivers a faultless collection of stirring, evocative songs that refuse to be subdued.
* Nick March
Mundo Mieu Flavia Coelho
Discovering a new favourite artist is akin to meeting someone you instantly get along with. Such is the case with Flavia Coelho's Mundo Mieu. The irrepressible Brazilian singer has long been a darling of the world music circuit, but her second album deserves an even greater audience. A restless curiosity abounds in Mundo Mieu. Power of Money is sprightly, with gypsy and Balkan folk arrangements. Pai de Santo incorporates flamenco guitars with African percussion, while the vibrant Fora da Lei sounds like Coelho and her band indulging in a carefree jam session on a street corner. The end result is a heady collection of tunes suitable for any mood from soundtracking a beach side barbecue to a late night drive.
* Saeed Saeed
Vulnicura Björk
When Icelandic chanteuse Björk broke up with avant garde artist Matthew Barney in 2013, the resulting turmoil all went into her ninth album. As break-up LPs go, Vulnicura is not an easy listen: songs are ordered chronologically according to Björk's cycle of heartbreak, neatly dated in the booklet ("3 months before", "11 months after"). Lyrics are plain-spoken ("without love I feel the abyss"). An artistic statement as interesting at it is indulgent, Vulnicura is framed by a juxtaposition of the electronic and organic. It is full of wanderlust beats and glacial strings that are as fragile and cold as a broken heart.
* Rob Garratt
To Pimp a Butterfly Kendrick Lamar
President Barack Obama's favourite song of the year was the To Pimp a Butterfly cut How Much a Dollar Cost. Good choice, sir, but something of an amusing one given that it's drawn from an album with cover art depicting a low-level revolution on the lawn of the White House. Kendrick Lamar's razor-sharp mind probably allowed him a short chuckle at such knowledge, before returning to his focused mission of kicking mainstream hip-hop square in the pants until it bucks up its ideas for good. Up for more Grammys than anybody else in next year's February ceremony, he is poised to be the most-deserving multiple winner in living memory.
* Adam Workman
The Epic Kamasi Washington
Saxophonist Kamasi Washington's major label debut was more than just an album; it was an event. Much like Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly rewrote the hip-hop rule book for 2015 – which, incidentally, Washington helped out on – The Epic dragged jazz kicking and screaming into the 21st Century. The title is no exaggeration, the fearlessly ambitious set clocking in at close to three hours; an exhausting collection of stratospheric small-group improvisations augmented by orchestra, choir and gospel vocals, moving from hard and post-bop workouts through swing, soul, funk and – even – Debussy's Clair de Lune. Perhaps Washington should have done more conceptually with such a long runtime, but what he has done – introduce jazz onto thousands of playlists for the first time – can be described as nothing short of game-changing.
* Rob Garratt
No Cities to Love Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney released No Cities to Love to a bigger, more appreciate audience than the seminal American band ever found during their prolific 1990s run. Even though the Portland trio never found much fame then, their first record in 10 years was an event because it showed what an entire generation of radio-weary new listeners were missing. The gap left by Corin Tucker, Janet Weiss and Carrie Brownstein (whose unlikely comedic run on Portlandia assuredly added to that newfound fame) was a sizeable one, and Cities was a satisfying fix. It's a record full of no-frills rock anthems to stand alongside the best in their impressive catalogue.
* Kevin Jeffers
Music Complete New Order
Over the past 25 years, New Order albums have arrived less frequently than leap years and when they have turned up, they've rarely been altogether satisfying experiences. Music Complete appeared this year offering mixed signals: the band were both replete with the return of founder member Gillian Gilbert and incomplete following the departure of bassist Peter Hook, who was always so much an anchor point of the New Order sound. No matter, as Music Complete rolls back the years, being at once true to the band's rich legacy of dance floor-friendly indie and somehow managing to sound contemporary as well. The special guests – notably, La Roux's Elly Jackson and Killers's Brandon Flowers – deserve special mention for helping New Order deliver their best album since 1989's Technique.
* Nick March
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More on Quran memorisation:
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Read more about the coronavirus
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
The biog
Full name: Aisha Abdulqader Saeed
Age: 34
Emirate: Dubai
Favourite quote: "No one has ever become poor by giving"
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
RESULT
Brazil 2 Croatia 0
Brazil: Neymar (69'), Firmino (90' 3)
The specs: 2019 Audi A8
Price From Dh390,000
Engine 3.0L V6 turbo
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 345hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque 500Nm @ 1,370rpm
Fuel economy, combined 7.5L / 100km
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
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Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
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Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Company%20profile
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
