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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.
Opinionated and informative criticism of all the music that counts
The latest album from Robert Smith & co feels unstuck in time, but taken on its own terms it’s as urgent and compelling as ever, finds Ned Raggett
Violent Femmes’ self-titled debut is one of the most essential American indie rock records of the early 80s, but it’s not the only album by the band you must have in your collection, argues Cal Cashin, as he re-examines its unfairly overlooked follow-up Hallowed Ground 40 years on
Reviewing a new Light In The Attic compilation of Ukrainian music, Richard Foster explores how artists were able to find a voice and sense of identity against the strictures of Russian communism
Squarepusher once said he has no recollection of making Ultravisitor, his “spectacle of beauty and of terror”. As the record is reissued as an expanded edition for its 20th anniversary, Siobhán Kane returns to the record’s ambiguous beauty
50 years ago, John Cale found himself at Heartbreak Hotel, producing sweet and unhinged music from its rooms. Reassessing Fear, Slow Dazzle and Helen Of Troy, Darran Anderson explores the musician’s remarkable year-long burst of creativity for Island Records, half a century on
Reissue of the Week
Violent Femmes’ self-titled debut is one of the most essential American indie rock records of the early 80s, but it’s not the only album by the band you must have in your collection, argues Cal Cashin, as he re-examines its unfairly overlooked follow-up Hallowed Ground 40 years on
Reissue of the Week
Squarepusher once said he has no recollection of making Ultravisitor, his “spectacle of beauty and of terror”. As the record is reissued as an expanded edition for its 20th anniversary, Siobhán Kane returns to the record’s ambiguous beauty
Anniversary
50 years ago, John Cale found himself at Heartbreak Hotel, producing sweet and unhinged music from its rooms. Reassessing Fear, Slow Dazzle and Helen Of Troy, Darran Anderson explores the musician’s remarkable year-long burst of creativity for Island Records, half a century on
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.
Support & Subscribe TodayIn his latest column, Kez Whelan salutes the brilliance that occurs at the intersection of black metal and hardcore punk, the ongoing boom in death metal, and reviews new releases from Scarcity, Harvestman, Krallice and many more
Kez Whelan salutes a particularly fertile year in the world of metal, and delivers your regular guide to all things heavy with reviews of new releases from Darkthrone, Full Of Hell, Pallbearer and many more
Kez Whelan turns his Sauronic eye on the lazy use of AI in metal design this month and praises bands – Judas Priest, High On Fire, Coffins, Inter Arma & more – still using their organic intelligence. Coffin Storm portrait by Christian Kickan Holm
Metal
In his latest column, Kez Whelan salutes the brilliance that occurs at the intersection of black metal and hardcore punk, the ongoing boom in death metal, and reviews new releases from Scarcity, Harvestman, Krallice and many more
Metal
Kez Whelan turns his Sauronic eye on the lazy use of AI in metal design this month and praises bands – Judas Priest, High On Fire, Coffins, Inter Arma & more – still using their organic intelligence. Coffin Storm portrait by Christian Kickan Holm
Before getting stuck into the latest avant rock releases, JR Moores pins his colours to the mast of Macca
From the upbeat and uncouth to the blaringly sullen, via Oslo, Tokyo, Newcastle and Denver, Noel Gardner brings you his latest guide to the very best in brand new punk and hardcore
Noel Gardner delivers ten more frowning bales of intemperate earslaughter, including the perfectly executed anarcho punk of Subdued, the oppressively fucked sound of rising Leeds teenagers Narkotyk, and the feral, bare-brick recordings of Vancouver's Bootlicker
Punk
Noel Gardner delivers ten more frowning bales of intemperate earslaughter, including the perfectly executed anarcho punk of Subdued, the oppressively fucked sound of rising Leeds teenagers Narkotyk, and the feral, bare-brick recordings of Vancouver's Bootlicker
From the limbo of publication week for her new book, Jennifer Lucy Allan returns to Rum Music with a selection of chaotic harmonica incursions, frantic recorder flourishes, raw and serrated hurdy gurdy, and much much more
In September’s report from the cassette fringes, Daryl Worthington explores Beirut-founded label Ruptured, and reviews tapes of blistering noise, slinky punk-funk, library music and the self-proclaimed best producer in the Middle East
Cassettes
In September’s report from the cassette fringes, Daryl Worthington explores Beirut-founded label Ruptured, and reviews tapes of blistering noise, slinky punk-funk, library music and the self-proclaimed best producer in the Middle East
From archive recordings of Notting Hill Carnival soundsystems to free-percussion improvisations from a Todmorden primary school, Noel Gardner delivers his latest guide to the sounds of New Weird Britain
Jaša Bužinel addresses the "panopticonisation" of dance music culture, and reviews exciting new releases from various electronic realms, among them new albums by CS + Kreme, Lechuga Zafiro, Mala Herba, Rrose x Polygonia and more
This month, Bužinel salutes the anonymous YouTubers uploading the rarities from their personal vinyl collections, and presents his top ten picks from July and August, including new releases from Pavel Milyakov, Hassan Abou Alam, and CCL & Ciel
Your latest electronic music roundup brings an eclectic list of top-shelf singles, albums and EPs, from innovative UK techno and eco-charged electronica to deep crate reissues, maximalist new age vibes, and club acrobatics from Miami.
Electronic
Jaša Bužinel addresses the "panopticonisation" of dance music culture, and reviews exciting new releases from various electronic realms, among them new albums by CS + Kreme, Lechuga Zafiro, Mala Herba, Rrose x Polygonia and more
Electronic
This month, Bužinel salutes the anonymous YouTubers uploading the rarities from their personal vinyl collections, and presents his top ten picks from July and August, including new releases from Pavel Milyakov, Hassan Abou Alam, and CCL & Ciel
Electronic
Your latest electronic music roundup brings an eclectic list of top-shelf singles, albums and EPs, from innovative UK techno and eco-charged electronica to deep crate reissues, maximalist new age vibes, and club acrobatics from Miami.
In his latest survey of the French music scene, David McKenna takes stock of a tumultuous few months in French politics, picks some recent cultural highlights and reviews culture-straddling music from Marseille as well as new folk, occult rock and an adventurous gamelan ensemble
In the latest edition of our journey through the global underground, Álvaro Molina examines the steadily-diversifying sounds of Chilean DIY, from abstract hip hop to ambient deep listening, and picks out five crucial new releases
In the latest instalment of his series exploring music in Central and Eastern Europe, Jakub Knera dives into the Romanian underground
In the second instalment of our journey through the global underground, Pedro João Santos delivers a guide to the bold musicians, daring festivals and crucial grassroots collectives that are defining DIY music in Portugal in an era of increasing gentrification, and picks out five key releases
The Quietus International
In his latest survey of the French music scene, David McKenna takes stock of a tumultuous few months in French politics, picks some recent cultural highlights and reviews culture-straddling music from Marseille as well as new folk, occult rock and an adventurous gamelan ensemble
The Quietus International
In the latest edition of our journey through the global underground, Álvaro Molina examines the steadily-diversifying sounds of Chilean DIY, from abstract hip hop to ambient deep listening, and picks out five crucial new releases
The Quietus International
In the second instalment of our journey through the global underground, Pedro João Santos delivers a guide to the bold musicians, daring festivals and crucial grassroots collectives that are defining DIY music in Portugal in an era of increasing gentrification, and picks out five key releases
As Paul Weller closes a UK tour in London, Fergal Kinney considers the decades long appeal of the Surrey singer-songwriter, and Weller's own political interventions
Anna Wood delves into Arcade Fire's fifth long player in order to bring us a track by track breakdown. But is Everything Now something or nothing
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