Support The Quietus
Our journalism is funded by our readers. Become a subscriber today to help champion our writing, plus enjoy bonus essays, podcasts, playlists and music downloads.
Genuine treasures unearthed
Outliers in the thriving Ukrainian underground during the last days of Soviet rule, a long overdue compilation surveying the career of Cukor Bila Smert provides a complex mosaic of anxiety, surrealism, cabaret, paranoia and darkness, says Jakub Knera
Back in 1974, Richard Pinhas’ Heldon took musical inspiration from Eno and Fripp in order to become France’s Buzzcocks and Throbbing Gristle all rolled into one. The country’s first modern DIY group laid the foundations for electronic music outside of the snobbery of academia and the restrictive practices of the French music industry, says Jeremy Allen
Beautifully intimate home recordings made by an Ethiopian nun reflecting on the idea of exile in the 1970s and 1980s, probably never intended to be heard by anyone but herself, have taken on an astounding universality in 2024, says Jakub Knera
Brilliant film director Peter Strickland has long flown the flag for psychedelic, eccentric and disconcerting European music but on latest film Flux Gourmet he put his money where his mouth was by including his own very curious group, The Sonic Catering Band. Will Salmon celebrates a singular soundtrack and vision
Luke Turner appraises Cherry Red's reissue of The Fall's Real New Fall LP, arguing that Mark E Smith's decision to remix the original version showed his judgement was correct as it paved the way for one of the best periods of the group's operation
At the beginning of the millennium, Khanate created a twisted and challenging new form of sonic torment. Dan Franklin revisits the band’s reissued back catalogue and explores the harrowing context of their existence. CW: contains graphic discussion of torture and war crimes
As the state51 Conspiracy reissue Donovan's double-album box set on mono vinyl, Ben Graham looks back at the artist's most ambitious statement and finds a post-psychedelic message that's still relevant today
This reissue of the 2014 debut album by Ellen O, says Irina Shtreis, celebrates the life of the late dream wave artist, and reminds us there is much more to her story than the tragedy of her death. C/W: this article contains discussion of suicide
On the release of a 20th anniversary boxset celebrating The Darkness' extravagant debut album, Patrick Clarke explores a band who married daftness and dedication, found a brilliance in the superficial, and for whom flamboyance was inherent, not an affectation
Slapp Happy's progressive influence straddled both sides of the punk rock interregnum, says Fergal Kinney reviewing a 50th anniversary reissue of Sort Of, and their influence can be felt as much in Faust as in Black Country, New Road
A narrative is forming around Les Rallizes Denudes that perhaps some of their haunting strength has sprung from the lo-fi quality of their bootlegs. Cal Cashin spends time with the new crystal clear official release of CITTA '93 and finds their sublime avalanche of sound just as addictive as ever
As Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti continue their series of vinyl reissues, Luke Turner argues that the intimacy of their shared creativity powered a run of albums that perfectly combined pop, tough electro and ambient textures. Chris & Cosey archival pic from 1984, credit Birra.
Sandwell District were the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young of austere techno, appearing and disappearing in a haze of bad vibes, Berlin drugs, and imperious, hard-to-find releases. Kiran Sande offers a personal insight into the reissue of their impulsive 2010 masterpiece, Feed Forward
The box set captures the explosive farewell event by EP/64, in which 35 artists – spanning techno, noise, punk, jazz and more – convened for a weekend of improvised sets. It tells the story of a brilliantly strange musical project and raises intriguing questions, finds Alastair Shuttleworth
Robert Barry sits down with the no wave guitarist turned electric guitar ensemble composer, who holds court on phantom choirs, free improvisation, the emergence of no wave and Brian Eno (this archive feature was republished on 14th May 2018 on the news of Glenn Branca's death)
Today from the Rock's Backpages archive, an archive piece from 1997 where Suede's Brett Anderson and Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant (with interjections from Vic Reeves) sat down to discuss the legacy of Noel Coward and changing attitudes to sexuality
Your guide to the best in brand new punk and hardcore returns, with Noel Gardner picking out ten top-tier ragers from the likes of Lathe Of Heaven, Abism, Stigmatism, Mock Execution, Gender Is The Bastard and more. Homepage photo: Stress Positions, photo by Ricardo Adame,
On the release of soft soap film Peter Doherty: Stranger In My Own Skin, Daniel Dylan Wray asks if music documentaries made in conjunction with their subjects can ever be anything other than a PR exercise, or "doc washing"
Jaša Bužinel shares his thoughts on the ongoing debate regarding the divide between Central and Eastern European dance music and Western media, and reviews some jaw-dropping club goodies from Rhyw, Joy Overmono, Shanti Celeste, TRAKA, Naphta and more
With the release of MBV's Loveless, 1991 marked the high water mark for shoegaze before the music press turned its back with a nose-high snort of derision. Ben Cardew looks over the history of the genre and asks if its decline was simply because the music just got boring
The Sunshine Superman and tQ Ed John Doran chew the fat in front of a live audience about colours, flowers, transcendental meditation and the ethical placation of children, before the former plays some songs and the latter shirks his duties as backing singer. Homepage photograph courtesy of Louise Mason