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Essays, investigation and opinion on today’s cultural landscape
On the fiftieth anniversary of Nick Drake's death, Rob Chapman argues that his legacy has been let down by a culture that allows his mental health struggles to overshadow his art, and that turns his songs into fodder for wellness-adjacent twee whimsy
As the Universal Music Group gobbles up independent stalwart PIAS, music biz expert Eamonn Forde asks if this corporate greed suggests bleak times are ahead for the rest of the indie ecosystem
As London's Night Czar Amy Lamé leaves her job this week, Ed Gillett investigates her failures and successes, the increasing politicisation of her role, and whether alternative approaches offer any chance of doing better
Clubs are closing, a new generation is less keen on going out and bashing their bonces with garries – yet raving is discussed more than ever, with endless books and academic articles discussing the dancefloor as a utopia. Chal Ravens asks what this phenomenon tells us about the state of modern raving.
As Sonic Cathedral prepare for a run of birthday gigs and a box set release, founder Nat Cramp reflects on how shoegaze went from being a dirty word to darlings of Gen Z via a new generation of artists like Whitelands, pictured here. Have a listen to a specially-compiled Spotify playlist here.
The word 'ambient' is a misdirection worthy of the greatest illusionist, says John Doran, SAW2 is the work of a modern electronic composer, intent on destroying the boundaries between himself and the material of Cornwall which inspired him
Ahead of a 30th anniversary reissue, Darran Anderson casts a caustic eye over feverish cash-driven nostalgia for the big-hitters of 1994, reserving praise for Suede, who, despite the odds being stacked against them, got it exactly right with their second album
'Thread head' Jude Rogers has spent decades in thrall to the notorious nuclear war television drama as well as recent months researching and writing a new BBC Radio documentary on it. Here she writes about being a member of an international community of fellow, often neurodiverse, obsessives who find companionship within the horror of its devastating frame
Kat Lister hits the road in the footsteps of Wim Wenders, travelling from Brooklyn to North Carolina, in search of the meaning of instant photography, looking for answers about the transience of life and the ephemerality of art
Twenty years on from the release of his first Solo Piano album, Gonzales writes for tQ on his regret that the music he helped to bring into existence now provides easy fodder for streaming algorithms, and piles of cash for a lazy music business.
Ahead of an appearance at Skaņu Mežs festival in Latvia, Derek Walmsley assesses to what extent Ae are unique in the world of electronic music given their live shows represent a space of spontaneous creation while the release of live albums and radio sessions have started to feel as essential as their studio output... if not more so
The penniless genius creating work in his or her garret is a long-standing staple of popular culture, exploited for good PR by artists from Bob Dylan to Seasick Steve and Pete Doherty. But, says Eamonn Forde, the reality of life faced by artists like Lawrence of Mozart Estate, is not something to be celebrated by lazy music fans
On the release of a new Uniform single and video for 'Permanent Embrace', Michael Berdan writes about the harsh realities of bulimia nervosa. CW: some readers may find this article disturbing. Band portrait by Joshua Zucker-Pluda & Sean Stout
We're really happy with our beautiful, easy-to-navigate new Quietus, but in order to survive and thrive we need to hit 2000 subscribers by our birthday in September, writes John Doran. With that in mind, we're running a huge sale on subscriptions
From disco to Eurodance, acid house to EDM, and electroclash to new album Nonetheless, Matt Anniss explores Pet Shop Boys' long-held fascination with dancefloor culture, and the way it's shaped them across their career
With music venues in crisis, does celebrating them as places where bands appeared on the way to fame overshadow their true purpose as the places in which music is played for the sake of communal joy, asks Luke Turner
When Haitao Yang was shot in the head, it brought him to within touching distance of death, an experience that has profoundly influenced his music ever since, but he's not alone. Jak Hutchcraft investigates the bizarre and sometimes disturbing world of music and the near death experience. With thanks to Daniel Hall
Squarepusher's new album is a palate-cleansing summary of work to date displaying an admirable breadth of technique with some amazing peaks, says John Doran, but as a continuity LP it points more clearly to a crisis in criticism rather than IDM
After Dhruva Balram's family emigrated from India to Canada, he came of age in a new city, the optimistic soundtrack provided by emerging megastar Drake. Here he celebrates the breakthrough mixtape which provided the background to first love but also looks back and asks, what went wrong?
A viral question about jungle on University Challenge gave everyone the chance to be an expert and get a few laughs – but it also revealed some pernicious underlying assumptions, says Joe Muggs.
Lifelong Watford FC fan Keith Kahn-Harris looks at Elton John's time as chairman of the club, his friendship with Graham Taylor, and asks why the music industry couldn’t offer the megastar the solace that football could. Images all courtesy Alan Cozzi Archive & Watford FC
The streaming services have become locked into an arms race to see who can own the end of year reveal, says Eamonn Forde. It's just that the artists who are, arguably, being badly treated and the listeners who foot the bill are the ones doing all of the heavy lifting when it comes to branding and marketing
Referencing two new albums, the compilation Synthetic Bird Music and Kate Carr's A Field Guide To Phantasmic Birds, plus Daphne du Maurier's avian horror and one of England's oldest documented songs, Summer Is Icumen In, Daryl Worthington asks how the rich interlinked history of bird song and human music has changed over the centuries and what it now means in a time of climate crisis
The online ticket resale industry is still exploitative and worryingly unregulated. Professor Guy Osborn of Westminster Law School and Professor Mark James of Manchester Law School present their latest research on this controversial practice and make a case for a new Labour government bringing in legislation to deal with it
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