Joan As Policewoman remains one of the most (ahem) arresting artists around and she’ll be bringing it (i.e. her amazing bunch of songs) when she visits The Glasshouse in Gateshead this April.

US singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Joan Wasser (aka Joan As etc.) released one of my very favourite albums last year in the shape of ‘Lemons, Limes and Orchids’. It was her first album of original material in six years (there had been a couple of stopgap albums including ‘Cover Two’ (featuring reworkings of tracks by the likes of The Strokes and Prince) and a live album) and, boy, was it worth the wait. It’s a release that sees Wasser lean heavily into smooth textures, with tracks such as ‘Back Again’ even deploying some slinky R&B grooves. And her voice remains as strong as ever, particularly on torch songs such as ‘With Hope In My Breath’. And, as ever with Joan, she retains that ineffable something, giving things just enough of a twist to keep things interesting. But it’s the kind of thing we’ve come to expect from her. Whether she’s hitting us up with retro-soul (such as on 2014’s ‘The Classic’) or funk (2018’s ‘Damned Devotion’), she always pushes genres into pastures new. Live, she’s absolutely immense so make sure you jump all over this one. DP

Joan As Policewoman, Wednesday 23 April, Sage Two, The Glasshouse, Gateshead, 8pm, £33.80, theglasshouseicm.org