All Most Popular
See what others have been reading recently
Baker's Dozen
Instant Grounding: Patrick Wolf’s Favourite Albums
From teenage awakenings at the hands of Björk and Stereolab via English folksong, a lockdown obsession with Dead Can Dance and a newfound love of Lili Boulanger, Patrick Wolf takes Luke Turner through the thirteen records that have defined his life
The Quietus International
Inner Ear: Serbian Music for April by Jakub Knera
In his latest deep dive into the music scenes of Central and Eastern Europe, Jakub Knera explores how Serbia's artists are responding to a climate of increasing political tension, profiles the forward-thinking figures at the heart of the country's underground scene, and reviews a slew of key Serbian releases
Album of the Week
Build Back Better: Greatest Heads by Al Karpenter
Born out of the febrile Basque Country experimental music community and infused with the weirdness of the early 00s New York noise scene, the former solo project of Bilbao’s Alvaro Matilla (now joined by Marta Sainz, Enrique Zaccagnini, and multi-instrumentalist, serial collaborator Mattin) sounds wild and untamed and bursting with possibility
Books
Artists Only? Jonathan Gould’s Book on Talking Heads and Downtown New York
Burning Down the House by Jonathan Gould tells the story of the American new wave band and the fertile scene they came up with, but does the book risk reducing the city and everyone in it to a backdrop for the group's mercurial lead singer? asks Elizabeth Wiet
Strange World Of...
The Strange World of… Jon Spencer
For 40 years, Jon Spencer has been playing a mutant strain of rock & roll. Here he offers Mark Andrews 10 entry points to his vast back catalogue, from his earliest days in Pussy Galore, through the Blues Explosion all the way up to his still-nameless new band
Baker's Dozen
Ain’t it the Truth: Robert Lloyd of Nightingales’ Favourite Music
In the wake of Nightingales' new record The Awful Truth, the band's leader Robert Lloyd takes John Quin for a freewheeling ride through 13 significant tracks, from a boyhood love of Lulu and Lou Reed to later encounters with Faust and Freakwater
Black Sky Thinking
The Jonathan Swift of NYC: an Appreciation of Larry Cohen
Whether working in Blaxploitation, horror or sc-fi, auteur Larry Cohen was often battling against constraints created by money, time and his own skill set, says Mat Colegate, but ultimately he trained a satirical eye on America few could match
Baker's Dozen
No Repeats: Tunde Adebimpe’s Favourite Albums
In the wake of his debut solo album, the TV On The Radio vocalist looks back to his longstanding love of mixtapes for an eclectic Baker's Dozen – taking in 60s psychedelia, hip hop, krautrock, dub, IDM, and his eight-year-old daughter's love of Lightning Bolt
Books
“Want to Change My Clothes, My Hair, My Face”: How Springsteen Helped Me Come Out
In an exclusive edited extract from Niko Stratis’s new book The Dad Rock That Made Me A Woman, the award-winning Canadian writer explores trans identity, the music of the American heartlands and how the Boss changed her life for good
Black Sky Thinking
O Superfan: How Rock & Pop’s Elite Screw their Loyal Supporters – and why it won’t Work
The mainstream music biz reckons that devoted fans are the golden geese that'll keep laying, and the streaming services are about to get in on the grift. Eamonn Forde explains why this makes no business sense
Baker's Dozen
Beauty and Sadness: Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast’s Favourite Albums
Michelle Zauner, driving force behind Japanese Breakfast, takes David Chiu through her life in 13 records, from foundational encounters with Motown, the beauty of Pacific Northwestern indie, and the inspiration she found in Mount Eerie and Joanna Newsom
Album of the Week
In-Between Days: Wind, Again by Sary Moussa
A long-term fixture on Beirut’s underground experimental music scene, the latest from Sary Moussa is caught between the political and the personal, the whisper close and wide-open space. Wind, Again is an album whose contradictions make it all the more compelling, finds Kirsteen McNish
