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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
A second album from the improvising guitar-bass-drums trio will change your concept of time, finda Daryl Worthington
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
The second in a loose trilogy of stark, beautiful records made with John Cale half a century ago, Desertshore is the moment Nico steps out of the shadows to write the “truly unprecedented” songs of her life, writes Matthew Barton
Reissue of the Week
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
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 TodayKez 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
Kez Whelan returns with your regular guide to a metal scene that shows no sign of a winter hibernation, reviewing essential new releases from Spectral Voice, The Obsessed, The Body & Dis Fig and 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 casting his ears over 2024's first few psych and noise rock releases, JR Moores throws himself into the deep end of music making
2024's first punk and HC round-up contains rage, melody, polemic, weirdness, sass and swing - all within just one of the 10 supreme releases in Noel Gardner’s latest guide. Homepage photo: Dimension by Starion Dreamer
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,
In this month's column on the best in punk and hardcore, Noel Gardner bastes his ears with new music from Snõõper, Landowner, Parallel Worlds, Gimic, Fashion Change, Piñén, Spirito Di Lupo, Motorbike, JFA, as well as a reissue from early 90s Glaswegian group Dawson
Punk
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,
Punk
In this month's column on the best in punk and hardcore, Noel Gardner bastes his ears with new music from Snõõper, Landowner, Parallel Worlds, Gimic, Fashion Change, Piñén, Spirito Di Lupo, Motorbike, JFA, as well as a reissue from early 90s Glaswegian group Dawson
Guitar solos, shouted song from Uyghur folk traditions, a French duo under one name and a Quebecois miscellany in the first Rum Music outing of 2024, reviewed by Jennifer Lucy Allan
Tradition defying bagpipes, failed field recordings of frogs, shimmering post punk and deep electronics from a hair salon in this month’s cassette reviews
Your New Weird Britain roundup returns, bringing you sauntering goth-house, watery electronics and an album released via a flowerpot
The return of Creation Rebel, the long-awaited full release of a 90s video game soundtrack classic, a pleasingly non-literal tribute to The Wicker Man and more all feature in your latest guide to the world of New Weird Britain
New Weird Britain
The return of Creation Rebel, the long-awaited full release of a 90s video game soundtrack classic, a pleasingly non-literal tribute to The Wicker Man and more all feature in your latest guide to the world of New Weird Britain
Our dance music columnist returns with his highlights from the start of 2024, from lethal dancefloor material by Aya and re:ni to superb compilations by TraTraTrax and Wisdom Teeth, the latest from Burial and more
In his latest survey of French releases, David McKenna looks at one of the first great rap releases of the year from Lala &ce, tackles imposing composers and dives into a delightful debut from Franco-Moroccan Hanaa Ouassim. Homepage photo: Hanaa Ouassim by Clara Casero
Jakub Knera’s survey of the scenes of Central and Eastern Europe returns, with this edition exploring the drones, darkness and beauty of the Bulgarian underground
In his latest dispatch from the French fringes, David McKenna looks at Irish and British labels providing great homes for Gallic experimentalists, cosmopolitan pop, abstract rap and the latest avant-folk releases. Homepage photo: Audrey Carmes by Julia Henderson
In his latest report on the contemporary music scenes of Eastern and Central Europe, Jakub Knera compiles his highlights from Hungary, and talks with artists about the scene, the meaning of ‘underground’, and how they operate under the country’s political situation
The Quietus International
In his latest survey of French releases, David McKenna looks at one of the first great rap releases of the year from Lala &ce, tackles imposing composers and dives into a delightful debut from Franco-Moroccan Hanaa Ouassim. Homepage photo: Hanaa Ouassim by Clara Casero
The Quietus International
In his latest dispatch from the French fringes, David McKenna looks at Irish and British labels providing great homes for Gallic experimentalists, cosmopolitan pop, abstract rap and the latest avant-folk releases. Homepage photo: Audrey Carmes by Julia Henderson
The Quietus International
In his latest report on the contemporary music scenes of Eastern and Central Europe, Jakub Knera compiles his highlights from Hungary, and talks with artists about the scene, the meaning of ‘underground’, and how they operate under the country’s political situation
Braga’s Semibreve Festival returns stronger than ever, with a curation of acts including Emeralds, Pedro Cunha, Loraine James and Inês Malheiro, who push the boundaries, expectations and confines of some unexpected performance settings
Attending Supersonic Festival's chaotic, communal, cacophonous twentieth anniversary edition, Patrick Clarke picks out eight of the best from a weekend of extraordinary sets
Jakub Knera reports from the ninth edition of the Sanatorium Of Sound, in Sokołowsko, Poland and focuses on the wild intonarumori instruments of Italian futurism, takes a deep listening walk to a mountainous opencast mine at dawn, and enjoys the healing properties of outdoor sound
Live Reviews
Jakub Knera reports from the ninth edition of the Sanatorium Of Sound, in Sokołowsko, Poland and focuses on the wild intonarumori instruments of Italian futurism, takes a deep listening walk to a mountainous opencast mine at dawn, and enjoys the healing properties of outdoor sound
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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